The International Anti-Corruption Day was established by the United Nations in 2003 and is marked every year on December 9. The day aims to promote the fight against corruption and put an end to corrupt practices in governments and other organisations. Corruption puts important ideas like justice, rule of law, democracy and freedom of institutions at risk and stunts development of countries.

Each year, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks 180 countries and territories across the world on their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).Here are the 10 least corrupt countries in the world based on their CPI score for 2021.

Rank 10 | Country: Germany | The economic powerhouse of the European Union is known for following rules and sticking to procedures. The country scored 80 out of 100 in 2021, and has been continuously one of the least corrupt countries in the world since the CPI was established.

Rank 9 | Country: Luxembourg | Those working and living in this tiny European country of Luxembourg find it to be one of the least corrupt countries in the world. Luxembourg scored 81 out of 100 in the CPI and went up one spot in the rankings since the last index.

Rank 8 | Country: Netherlands | Another Benelux country on the list, the Netherlands ranked 8th with a score of 82. Consistently ranked as one of the best places to work, live and stay, the Netherlands also has extremely high trust in its public institutions.

Rank 7 | Country: Switzerland | The following three countries are tied for the fourth spot. The landlocked country of Switzerland is famous for its chocolates, watches and banks. The country is also one of the least corrupt countries in the world even though it has been gradually declining in score since 2014, even dropping a rank since last year.

Rank 4 | Country: Sweden | Unsurprisingly, the Scandinavian country ranks three-way tied for 4th for the least corrupt country in the world. The country scored 85 out of 100 on the CPI. The low level of corruption is attributed to high levels of transparency and accountability in the public sector.

Rank 4 | Country: Singapore | The tiny Asian city-state is one of the least corrupt in the world. The low levels of corruption are due to heavy enforcement and punishment against corruption. The government’s Singapore Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigates cases of corruption in the public and private sector, making Singapore the least corrupt country in Asia by a wide margin.

Rank 4 | Country: Norway |Another Scandinavian country near the top of the rankings, Norway is the third country tied for rank 4 with a score of 85. The country’s high level of transparency makes it score high on low levels of corruption.

Rank 1* | Country: New Zealand | The following countries share the top spot as the least corrupt countries in the world. New Zealand was ranked at the top of the list with a score of 88. The country has managed to hold the top spot for six out of the previous eight years.

Rank 1 | Country: Finland |The third Scandinavian country in the top 10, Finland is also ranked the least corrupt country in the world with a score of 88. The country’s score improved by three points to propel it to the top of the ranking in this year’s index.(Photo credit: Harri Tarvainen)

Rank 1 | Country: Denmark | The fourth Scandinavian country on the list, Denmark scored 88 and was the least corrupt country in the world. With bribes being virtually non-existent in the public space and the public not considering corruption as a major problem as corruption is rare in the country.