More than two thirds of the 177 countries included in the survey got less than 50 points, on a scale of 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (no corruption).
Romania got 43 points, on a par with Italy and Kuwait.
Denmark and New Zealand both got 91 points, and are followed by Finland and Sweden (89 points) and Norway and Singapore (86 points).
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia got eight points each.
The score obtained by Romania mirrors the disappointment of businesspeople and experts, as promises to fight corruption, made by Romanian politicians during the election campaign, led to no actual results, according to Transparency International Romania.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public-sector corruption.