Perceived corruption
Definition
The perceived level of corruption – defined as "the abuse of
public office for private gain" - among New Zealand politicians
and public officials, on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly
clean). A country’s score in the Corruption Perceptions Index is
derived by Transparency International from a number of different
surveys of business people and country analysts.
Relevance
Corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law and
threatens domestic and international security. Corruption also has
adverse social and economic consequences for a country. The Corruption
Perceptions Index is a good proxy indicator of the values and norms
that underpin public institutions.
Current level and trends
New Zealand's score in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2004
was 9.6. Since the index was first developed in 1995, New
Zealand has consistently scored well, with more than nine out of a
possible ten in each period reported.
International comparison
In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2004, New Zealand was
ranked the second least corrupt nation in the OECD after Finland. Since
1995, New Zealand has consistently ranked favourably in this
index, being among the top four OECD nations perceived as highly clean.
New Zealand scored better in the perceived corruption
index than Australia (eighth, 8.8), the United Kingdom (10th, 8.6),
Canada (11th, 8.5) and the United States (15th, 7.5).
Figure CP4.1 Corruption Perceptions Index scores (0=Highly
corrupt, 10=Highly clean), OECD countries, 2004
Source: Transparency International (2004)
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