ISLAMABAD: Corruption situation in Pakistan has worsened as its ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has fallen from 42nd most corrupt country in 2011 to 33rd in 2012.

Releasing the global index here, TI’s chairman in Pakistan Sohail Muzaffar said the country had scored 27 points and had been placed at 139th position among 176 countries.

Bhutan has the best record in the region.

About two-thirds of the 176 countries scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean), showing that public institutions need to be more transparent, and powerful officials more accountable.

According to a press release, TI chair Huguette Labelle said: “A growing outcry over corrupt governments forced several leaders from office last year, but as the dust has cleared it has become apparent that the levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings are still very high in many countries. TI’s CPI 2012 shows corruption continues to ravage societies around the world.

“Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all public decision-making. Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent and making public bodies more accountable to people.”

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for first place with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions.—Reporter