Hungary, the most corrupt country in the EU, study says. Where does Romania rank?

​Hungary is perceived as the most corrupt country in the European Union’s 27 states, according to the latest Transparency International report quoted by Politico. Bulgaria and Romania come next in the ranking.

According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2022, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania occupy the top three places among member countries, with scores between 42 and 46 out of 100.

On a worldwide basis,Romania ranks 63rd, with an insignificant change compared to the data of 2021, when it recorded 46 points, just one point more than in 2022. Transparency International’s report reflects how public sector corruption is perceived in 180 countries and is done by awarding points from 0 to 100, where 0 means very corrupt and 100 not at all corrupt.

The least corrupted EU countries

The top 3 least corrupt in the European Union is made up of Denmark, which scored 90 points, followed by Finland with 87 points and Sweden with 83, according to Transparency International’s study.

Denmark and Finland also top the world rankings, the latter tied with New Zealand 87, due to their “strong democratic institutions and respect for human rights”, while Syria and South Sudan 13 and Somalia, with a score of 13 and 12 respectively, “involved in protracted conflicts”, completes the tail of the ranking.

Luxembourg, Great Britain and Austria’s scores have all fallen significantly since 2017, while Ireland is the only EU member state whose score has improved.

And the Republic of Moldova, which received EU candidate status in June 2022, also improved its score.

With a score of 28, Russia has one of the worst results in Eastern Europe, ranking 137 out of 180, and the invasion of Ukraine is a “stark reminder of the threat that corruption and lack of government accountability pose to global peace and security , according to a Transparency International press release.

Ukraine’s score is only slightly higher, at 33 points, but the country has “undertaken important reforms and steadily improved” since the start of the war, says Transparency International. But the conflict has not ended corruption in Ukraine, as recent scandals involving several officials show.

The index uses survey data based on interviews with experts and businessmen from various sources (including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum) to rank 180 countries around the world according to their perceived level of corruption, on a scale from 0 — which means highly corrupt — to 100.

Its definition of “corruption” focuses on specific examples involving public officials, from bribery to diversion of public funds, as well as governments’ ability to contain corruption in the public sector.