Israel ranked 24th out of 34 OECD member states in the annual Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday. The report, compiled by the anti-corruption organization Transparency International, ranked 175 countries and territories based on how corrupt experts perceived them to be. Countries were ranked from "very clean" (with a score of 100 points) to "highly corrupt" (0 points). Israel, with 60 points, was ranked in 37th place, in a tie with Spain. In 2013, Israel scored 61 points and tied with Taiwan in the 36th spot. Denmark topped the 2014 list with a score of 92, followed by New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Somalia and North Korea were both at the bottom of the list, with a score of 8 each. More than two-third of the countries surveyed received scores lower than 50. Out of the 34 OECD countries, the world's most developed countries, Israel came in at 24th, one place lower than in 2013. Turkey received a score of 45, Italy and Greece received score of 43 each, and Mexico had a score of 35. The Middle East generally featured low on the list, with Jordan ranked 55th (with a score of 49 points), Egypt in 97th place (with 34 points), Lebanon in 135th place (with 27 points) and Syria in 159th place (with 20 points). Former State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, who chairs the Israeli chapter of Transparency International, said Monday that "corruption doesn't only harm the just distribution of wealth or proper economic development, it also profoundly impacts the public's faith in government institutions. In order for us to be a part of the community of advanced nations, our elected officials need to promote general transparency, and specifically transparency in the decision-making process. Proper public office appointments are another way of boosting the public's faith and diminishing nepotism in the public sphere. Law enforcement officials need to address reports of corruption with full severity and create effective oversight and enforcement mechanisms."
