Malta among 25 least corrupt nations

Malta is the least corrupt country among the new EU member states, according to Transparency International, the global watchdog devoted to curbing corruption.

Ranked in 24th place, Malta was given a cleaner bill of health than Italy and Greece, which lie in 42nd and 49th place respectively in the corruption stakes.

However, it still trails behind most of the EU15 states, the Berlin-based organisation said in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

It is the first time that Malta has been included in the global list.

A total of 106 out of 146 countries scored less than five against a "clean" score of 10, according to the index. Sixty countries scored less than three out of 10, indicating rampant corruption. Corruption is perceived to be most acute in Bangladesh, Haiti and Nigeria.

Countries with a score of higher than nine, with very low levels of perceived corruption, are the predominantly rich countries. The countries with the cleanest slate were Finland, New Zealand, Denmark and Iceland. The UK placed 11th and the US 17th.

Latvia and Slovakia were deemed to be the most corrupt EU states, placing jointly in 57th position, trailing countries like Botswana and South Africa.

Contacted by The Times, TI spokesman Jeff Lovitt said that the Malta figure was derived on the basis of four reports - two drawn up by the World Economic Forum, another by the World Markets Research Centre and the fourth by the Merchant International Group.

Such reports probed several business leaders and analysts and delved into various issues - from political corruption to whether businessmen offered bribes to public officials to exhort licences.