New Zealand remains the world's least corrupt nation but is joined by Singapore and Denmark, the latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International shows.
New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark are tied for first place with scores of 9.3. Finland and Sweden were just behind, scoring 9.2. The result is a slight move up for both Denmark, which was second last year, and Singapore which was third.
The Asia-Pacific region also has the worst, bar one, most corrupt country. Myanmar, along with Afghanistan, share the second worst nation position.
The index, based on a poll of businesses and people in 178 countries, shows war-torn Somalia, on the eastern African coast, as the most corrupt nation.
The 2010 index shows that nearly three-quarters of the 178 countries scored below five on a scale from 0 -- perceived to be highly corrupt -- to 10, where the country will have the lowest level of corruption.
Canada was ranked sixth, moving up from eight in the 2009 index. However, the United States slipped back, from ranked 19 in 2009 to 22 for this year's index, and behind Qatar and Chile.
Australia came in eighth and the United Kingdom was 20th.
At the other extreme, Somalia, as the most corrupt country, scored 1.1 - no change from last year's ranking. Somalia was followed by Afghanistan and Myanmar on 1.4.
"These results signal that significantly greater efforts must go into strengthening governance across the globe," Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International, said.
"With the livelihoods of so many at stake, governments' commitments to anti-corruption, transparency and accountability must speak through their actions. Good governance is an essential part of the solution to the global policy challenges governments face today. We need to see more enforcement of existing rules and laws. There should be nowhere to hide for the corrupt or their money."
The world's most pressing problems, from the instability of financial markets to climate change and poverty, has put pressures on businesses and governments to make the most of their financial and business opportunities, Transparency International said in the statement. But corruption remains an obstacle to achieving much needed progress.
"To fully address these challenges, governments need to integrate anti-corruption measures in all spheres, from the responses to the financial crisis and climate change to commitments by the international community to eradicate poverty," the group said. "For this reason TI advocates stricter implementation of the U.N. Convention against Corruption, the only global initiative that provides a framework for putting an end to corruption."
Some nations improved their scores and moved up the index. Those showing less corruption since the previous report are Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Gambia, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait and Qatar.
Countries moving down the index and showing higher levels of corruption include the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Madagascar, Niger and the United States.
The assessment of the 36 industrialized countries party to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's anti-bribery convention -- which forbids bribery of foreign officials -- reveals that as many as 20 show little or no enforcement of the rules. This sends out the message that they are unwilling to put a stop to corrupt practices, Transparency International said.
The index drew on 13 expert and business surveys and was conducted January 2009-September 2010.
Transparency International said the assessments and business opinion surveys it consults are carried out by independent and reputable institutions. It captures information about the administrative and political aspects of corruption. This includes questions relating to bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts.