Singapore the 5th least corrupt country for business

There's a serious worldwide corruption problem - but thankfully those of us in Singapore don't have to worry about fraudulent and dishonest business activity too much.

The latest Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 ranked 177 countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.

The index ranked Denmark and New Zealand in the number one spot, followed by Finland and Sweden in joint third place, with scores of 91 and 89, respectively.

The figures were according to a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being perceived as a country which is highly corrupt and 100 meaning it is perceived as very clean.

Singapore was ranked the 5^th least corrupt country - joint with Norway - with a score of 86.

Somalia, North Korea, and Afghanistan were found to be the most corrupt, attaining a score of 8 each.

The survey, however, concluded that because none of the countries had a perfect score of 100, corruption exists in every of the countries it ranked.

In addition, it found 69% of countries have a score less than 50, "indicating a serious corruption problem".

The figures "serve as a reminder that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world," it added.

"It is time to stop those who get away with acts of corruption," said Huguette Labelle, the chair of Transparency International, which conducted the survey.

"The legal loopholes and lack of political will in government facilitate both domestic and cross-border corruption, and call for our intensified efforts to combat the impunity of the corrupt."

Least corrupt countries:

1. Denmark

1. New Zealand

3. Finland

3. Sweden

5. Norway

5. Singapore

Most corrupt countries:

1. Somalia

1. North Korean

1. Afghanistan

2. Sudan

3. South Sudan

Go to Transparency International for the full results.