Not the usual suspects

Transparency International published its 2005 report indicating the most and least corrupt countries in the world. The dubious honor of being the most corrupt country in the world.was unexpectedly 'won' by Chad. The West African republic was the only African country in the bottom five, meaning TI had seen relative improvements in habitual bottom feeders Cameroon and Nigeria. Nigeria improved to sixth-worst (up from third-worst) but still remains near the bottom.

Resource-rich African states are seen as particularly corrupt, the [Corruption Perception Index] says. Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all in the bottom 20.

Interestingly, Singapore was rated as the fifth least corrupt country in the world behind Iceland, Finland, New Zealand and Denmark. The Asian Tiger's ranking shows that it is indeed possible for non-western countries to fight corruption and reap the benefits of the resulting development and quality of life improvement.