Corruption continues to plague Romania, according to Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, released today. The country remains among the most corrupt in Europe, and its 2011 results have slid since 2010.

The index ranks Romania 25th out of the 27 European countries, with a 3.6 score, and 75 among the total of 182 countries that were monitored, on a par with China.

In last year’s Index, Romania had a total score of 3.7, ranking 69th out of 178 countries monitored. New Zealand ranks first (lowest corruption), followed by Finland and Denmark. Somalia and North Korea are last (highest corruption).

The index scores 182 countries and territories from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (squeaky clean) based on perceived levels of public sector corruption. It uses data from 17 surveys that look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, access to information and conflicts of interest. Read more about the report here.

Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Transparency International)