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September 14, 2000 Transparency International, stating that
its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a valuable reminder that corruption
remains widespread in very large numbers of countries, today issued the year
2000 CPI ranking 90 countries. "Corruption takes many forms and is
a universal cancer," said Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency
International (TI), the world's leading anti-corruption organization. The Corruption Perceptions Index,
which TI first launched in 1995, ranks countries in terms of the degree to
which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and
politicians. The 2000 CPI is a composite index, drawing on 16 surveys from 8
independent institutions. The surveys embrace the perceptions of business
people, the general public and country analysts. The surveys were undertaken
over the last three years and no country is included in the CPI unless there
are results from a minimum of three surveys. Dr. Eigen noted that:
"The CPI 2000 should remind everyone that the fight against corruption
dare not be relaxed. TI said that the public needs to be aware
of the damage wrought by corruption. It noted the Gallup International 2000
Millennium Survey, which interviewed about 57,000 people in 60 countries and
found that where corruption is at its worst, disillusionment with democracy
is at its highest. New CPI is a rolling Index based on
1998-2000 data The CPI is based on the understanding
that levels of corruption are not sharply changed by short-term actions, while
perceptions of corruption may fluctuate significantly based on highly visible
events. TI Executive Director Jeremy Pope explained that: "The CPI is a
poll of polls conducted over a period of three years. The new CPI is based on
surveys for the 1998-2000 period. This multi-year approach is more accurate
and realistic. The rankings fail to fully take into account the impact of
recent scandals that have damaged perceptions of the integrity environment of
a country, nor do the rankings tend to reflect recent efforts by governments
to introduce anti-corruption reforms in their countries." This year's CPI covers 90 countries,
compared to 99 last year. Some countries had to be dropped because there was
insufficient 1998-2000 data. For example, some of the surveys used in the CPI
are based on international investor attitudes and if a country is widely seen
to no longer interest investors, then some survey sources may drop that
country in their polling. The message is clear: dropping out of the CPI for
lack of data may be bad news for countries and may indicate reduced investor
interest stimulated by enhanced perceptions of widespread corruption in these
countries. TI has started developing a Global
Corruption Report, to be published in conjunction with the CPI and the BPI in
2001
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The 2000 Corruption Perceptions Index
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