The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index

Click on the map above to enlarge it.

In the November 17, 2009 Fast Company article "Infographic of the Day: The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index," Cliff Kuang says "Transparency International releases the 2009 edition of its signature study of international corruption--this time with infographics. How does the U.S. fare? Not great, actually." He goes on to explain:

Transparency International has just released its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, the preeminent, annual study of governmental corruption levels around the world.

This time, they've added a nice little interactive map--not much too it, besides the fact that mousing over the country gives you the numeric value. But it does give you a great indication of what countries do well, relative to their neighbors and what countries are basically sinkholes of graft and fraud. For example, Uraguay and Botswanna do far better than the countries around them--no wonder that Botswanna in particular is a prime example of economic development that works.

The CPI is a survey of surveys, which combines indexes found in 13 feeder studies with the expertise of academics who follow these issues. (Experts are polled on questions like how well a country's courts work, and the effectiveness of its watch dog agencies.)

If you're new to the study, the most surprising thing will be how poorly the U.S. does, relative to its first world peers. We're basically just a shade above some pretty dicey governments. The reasons are complex, but you can point to the influence of lobbying on our lawmaking and the ongoing controversy over how we've prosecuted the war on terror, among other things.