Thailand's ranking shows decrease in corruption levels

Corruption in Thailand appears to have decreased a little this year, with the nation ranking 80th among 183 countries on the 2011 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Last year, Thailand was placed the 78th among 178 countries.

The ranking was released on Thursday by Transparency International, said Transparency Thailand Secretary General Juree Vichit-Vadakan.

The country received 3.4 points on a scale of 0-10, and ranked 80th among 183 countries on the list. Ten points means a country has a low corruption level, while zero equates to a high level of corruption.

Apart from its global position, Thailand was ranked 10th among 26 Asian countries, with Singapore getting the highest transparency score at 9.2 out of a possible 10.

Juree said that this year Thailand shared the same rank as Columbia, El Salvador, Greece, Morocco and Peru.

Most countries on the list scored less than 50 per cent, Juree said. Only 49 countries received more than five points.

New Zealand achieved 9.5 points and ranked first as the least corrupt globally, followed by Denmark and Finland at 9.4 points, while Somalia and North Korea jointly rated the most corrupt in the world with a 1.0 point score.

CPI is a composite index, a combination of polls, drawing on corruption-related data from experts and business surveys carried out by a variety of reputable independent institutions.

Juree said that the CPI index as a tool encourages governments and the public worldwide to realise the severe impact of corruption, both domestic and international, in order to jointly tackle the problem.

She said that awareness of corruption in Thailand is growing, and that many sectors have taken part in battling the problem.

She also praised Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for launching its "Growing Good" programme. This initiative aims to empower Thai youths in kindergarten to grade three by teaching them social values and ethics to fight corruption over the longer term.