Jerusalem – Study Finds Israel Perceived Among Most Corrupt Developed Country

Jerusalem – The results of a new study released Tuesday shows that Israel is perceived as being among the least corrupt countries in the Middle East, but among the most corrupt in the developed world.

The Times of Israel http://bit.ly/ICjpSw) reports that a global survey of 177 countries released Tuesday by Transparency International showed the findings that support the perception of a corrupt Israel.

Tansparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index survey ranks more than four-fifths of countries in the Middle East below 50 out of 100, with zero being highly corrupt and 100 being very clean. The Corruption Perceptions Index surveys countries based on local and international experts’ opinions of public corruption.

Israel scored 61 out of 100, above the Middle Eastern average of 37 and the global average of 43.The figure placed Israel as the 36th-least corrupt country out of 177 by perception, but came in at 23rd-least corrupt among the 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries.

The survey also found locals feel that political parties, civil servants and religious institutions are among the most corrupt groups in the country. Seventy-nine percent of respondents felt that political parties were either corrupt or extremely corrupt, 73 percent said religious organizations were corrupt, and 60 percent said public officials and civil servants were corrupt.