Kopi Talk - Singapore Corrupt Country - the world's third least corrupt nation.

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		Singapore (left) was ranked the fourth least corrupt last year. This year it shares the third spot with Sweden, which tied in first place with New Zealand and Denmark in 2008. The other country in the top five spots is Switzerland. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

SINGAPORE has moved up a notch to become the world's third least corrupt nation, after New Zealand and Denmark, according to the annual ranking released by graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday.
Singapore was ranked the fourth least corrupt last year. This year it shares the third spot with Sweden, which tied in first place with New Zealand and Denmark in 2008. The other country in the top five spots is Switzerland.
TI attributed the strong performance of the five to the 'political stability, long-established conflict of interest regulations and solid, functioning public institutions' in these nations. The ranking measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 180 countries and draws on surveys of businesses and experts.
The United States placed 19th in the 2009 survey. That was down from last year's 18th place. Somalia remains the world's most corrupt country, followed by Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq.
The bottom five nations show that 'countries which are perceived as the most corrupt are also those plagued by long-standing conflicts, which have torn apart their governance infrastructure,' TI said.
New Zealand scored 9.4 points, Denmark 9.3 and Singapore 9.2, which is the same as last year.