Singapore ranks 4th for least corruption in public sector

Singapore has taken fourth spot in an annual ranking of countries deemed to have the least corruption in the public sector, tying with Switzerland and Sweden in its scoring for the second year running.

The three countries maintained their score of 85 on graft watchdog Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries on a scale from zero, for highly corrupt, to 100, for very clean.

Singapore remains the only Asian country in the top 10.

Denmark and New Zealand - consistent front runners for years - tied for top spot with 87 points on the index, which was released yesterday.

Finland, which had tied previously with Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland for third place in the 2018 index, pulled ahead of the pack by one point. It now ranks third at 86 points.

Norway followed with a score of 84, then the Netherlands (82), and Germany and Luxembourg (both 80).

The report noted that a "staggering" number of countries showed little to no improvement in tackling corruption. Two-thirds of the 180 countries scored below 50, with an average score of 43, similar to 2018.

Since 2012, only 22 countries, including Greece, Guyana and Estonia, have significantly increased their scores, while the scores of 21 countries, including Canada, declined considerably.

The index, started in 1995, ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption, according to experts and business people.

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau director Denis Tang said in a statement: "While Singapore has done relatively well in the fight against corruption, as attested to by several international surveys, we must not allow this to lull us into a sense of complacency."