Arab nations among 'most corrupt' globally. Here's a breakdown of their scores

Transparency International (TI), a global movement with an aim to stop the abuse of power, recently released its 2019 report in which it details corruption in countries across the world.

The Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries and territories around the world, concluded that a staggering number of countries have failed to make progress in their fight against corruption. The report, however, shed light on the protests that erupted all around the world during the course of the year, including Lebanon. 

"Citizens are fed up with corrupt leaders and institutions," the report says.

The index, which uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean, revealed that some Arab countries have improved in the ranking, while others have worsened. Two-thirds of the countries scored below 50; the average score globally sits at a slump of 43. 

The cleanest countries in the world include Denmark (87), New Zealand (87), Finland (86), Singapore (85), Sweden (85), and Switzerland (85). The most corrupt countries in the world include three Arab countries. Yemen (15), Syria (13), and Somalia (9) are listed at the bottom of the ranking, with the latter being the most corrupt country worldwide.  

The least corrupt Arab country is the UAE, which scored 71 on the index. The Gulf nation ranked No. 21 least corrupt country in the world. The second least corrupt Arab nation is Qatar, with a score of 62. 

To put things in perspective, here's a ranking of the Arab countries — from least corrupt to most corrupt. The higher the score, the least corrupt the nation is. 

1. UAE (71)
2. Qatar (62)
3. Saudi Arabia (53) 
4. Oman (52)
5. Jordan (48)
6. Tunisia (43)
7. Bahrain (42)
8. Morocco (41)
9. Kuwait (40)
10. Algeria (35)
11. Egypt (35)
12. Djibouti (30)
13. Lebanon (28)
14. Mauritania (28)
15. Comoros (25)
16. Iraq (20)
17. Libya (18) 
18. Sudan (16) 
19. Yemen (15)
20. Syria (13)
21. Somalia (9) 

Both Yemen and Syria have dropped points since 2012, according to the report. Additionally, the report highlighted the high levels of corruption in Lebanon, in particular the corruption that pervades elections. 

According to the Global Corruption Barometer (Middle East and North Africa) report, nearly one in two people in Lebanon "is offered bribes in exchange for their votes, while more than one in four receives threats if they don't vote a certain way."

*Disclaimer: Palestine was excluded from the ranking. 

With a score of 53, Saudi Arabia improved by four points since last year. The report did not neglect to mention the human rights abuses and restrictions that exist in Saudi Arabia. It also mentioned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's "anti-corruption" purge in 2017. The anti-corruption campaign didn't stop there. In 2019, the kingdom upped its efforts to combat rampant corruption within its public institutions. That year, the country's public prosecution detained a prominent businessman who bribed a government employee with 75 million Saudi riyals ($20 million) in a bid to get approval on a billion-dollar project. 

Saudi Arabia is listed under the "countries to watch" in the report. 

Some Arab countries improved slightly over the stated period including Jordan (1 point), Morocco (2 points), and others. Many nations saw minor drawbacks (UAE went back 1 point) while others' scores remained at a standstill. Here's how the countries ranked back in 2018 if you'd like to compare:

1. UAE (70) 
   
2. Qatar (62)
3. Oman (52)
4. Jordan & Saudi Arabia (49)
5. Morocco & Tunisia (43)
6. Kuwait (41)
7. Bahrain (36)
8. Algeria & Egypt (35)
9. Djibouti (31)
10. Lebanon (28)
11. Comoros & Mauritania (27)
12. Iraq (18)
13. Libya (17)
14. Sudan (16)
15. Yemen (14)
16. Syria (13)
17. Somalia (10)