International Transparency: Iran Ranks 130th in Global Financial Corruption

The International Transparency Organization, in its latest annual report published on Wednesday, March 2, states that Iran ranks 130th among 180 countries worldwide in terms of financial corruption. The corruption index assigned by this international organization ranges from one to one hundred, with zero indicating highly corrupt countries and one hundred representing transparent nations. Iran's score was set at 30 last year, which is an improvement of one rank from the previous year. The scores for the years 2012 to 2015 were 28, 25, 27, and 27 respectively, indicating a gradual improvement in the corruption index since Hassan Rouhani's presidency began. Despite the improvement in Iran's corruption index, the country's position remains at 130th. Somalia is ranked as the most corrupt country, while New Zealand is the most transparent. The report indicates that overall, the financial transparency situation worldwide has not significantly progressed over the past year, with most countries either making very little progress or experiencing no change at all. International Transparency adds that two-thirds of the world's countries have transparency scores below 50. The best region in terms of financial transparency is Western Europe (with an average score of 66), while the worst region is Sub-Saharan Africa (with an average score of 32), along with Eastern Europe and Central Asia (with an average score of 34). International Transparency states that its studies show that civil activists and independent journalists in areas with higher financial corruption 'risk their lives every day.' According to this report, governments that are at odds with free media and non-governmental organizations are in the worst condition regarding financial corruption. In high-corruption countries, an average of one journalist has been killed each week over the past year.