In 2010, Romania ranked 69th, with 3.7 points, and 25th in the European Union, overtaking Bulgaria (3.6 points) and Greece (3.5 points).
In the EU, Romania this year has again overtaken Greece (ranked 80th, with 3.4 points) and Bulgaria (ranked 86th, with 3.3 points).
On a global scale, Romania is on the same spot as China, and has been overtaken by Croatia (66, with 4 points) and Macedonia (69, on a par with Italy, with 3.9 points), which are both EU membership contenders.
Just ahead of Romania, on the 73rd spot, are Brazil and Tunisia, with 3.8 points.
The Republic of Moldova is ranked 112nd, with 2.9 points.
Somalia and North Korea share the 182nd spot, the last in the ranking, and are perceived past the world’s most corrupt countries, with just 1 point.
New Zeeland is at the top of the ranking, with 9.5 points, followed by Denmark (9.4 points), Finland (9.4 points), Sweden (9.3 points), and Singapore (9.2 points).
Nearly two thirds of the 183 countries and territories in the ranking scored less than 5 points, which means much remains to be done in the fight against corruption, Transparency International said.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public-sector corruption, drawing on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum.