India tops Forbes list of most corrupt Asian country followed by Vietnam and Thailand
A recent survey by the Transparency International states that India is the most corrupt country in Asia. The Forbes article rates India the highest in the list with 69 per cent bribery rate,
The report describes India as: “In five of the six public services – schools, hospitals, ID documents, police, and utility services – more than half the respondents have had to pay a bribe.”
India is closely followed by Vietnam at 65 percent bribery rate and Thailand at 41 percent bribery rate.
India’s neighbour, Pakistan, stands fourth in the list with 40 per cent bribery rate. The article describes the nation as: “In Pakistan, about three-fourths of respondents perceive most or all of the police to be corrupt. Of the people who encountered either the police or the courts, nearly seven in ten had to pay a bribe. Sadly, people don’t feel things can change-only a third think ordinary people can make a difference.”
Japan came out as the least corrupt nation, with a 0.2 per cent bribery rate, the report said.
The 18-month long survey by Transparency International was concluded after talking to more than 20,000 people in 16 countries, regions and territories in the Asia Pacific. The Berlin-based corruption watchdog had put India at rank 76 out of 168 countries in its Corruption Perception Index last year. The country’s 2015 corruption perception score remained the same as 2014’s – 38/100 – showing lack of improvement.