Government corruption “worsening” in major garment exporting countries

Public perception of government and public-sector corruption has recently worsened in virtually all major garment-making countries, according to the 2014 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

The Index scores public perceptions in 175 countries on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean). In 2014, Denmark came top with a score of 92. Among major garment importers, Germany was ranked number 12, scoring 79, the UK ranked 14 scoring 78, Japan ranked 15 scoring 76, the US ranked 17 scoring 74 and France ranked 26 scoring 69. Among the top 30, scores and ranks were practically unchanged over the previous three years. North Korea and Somalia share last place, scoring just 8.

The highest ranking exporting country was Turkey at 64, scoring 45 – but its ranking fell from 51 in 2013. Apart from Turkey, all the other top 10 garment exporters were ranked in the most corrupt half of countries in 2013, and only India significantly improved its ranking in 2014.

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The 2014 results were based on the findings of 12 surveys conducted by independent institutions such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, Bertelsmann Foundation and Freedom House.