Malta is perceived as being more corrupt than it was last year, in a comparison to the rest of the EU member states.

According to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, published yesterday by Transparency International, Malta ranks 22nd, down three places from last year’s 19th position.

The study again ranks Denmark and Finland in pole position, perceived as the countries where corruption is very low. On the other hand, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania are perceived as the most corrupt countries in the EU.

On a global level, the corruption index places Malta in 43rd place out of 175 countries (45th out of 177 countries last year).

China, Turkey and Angola were the worst performers, dropping four to five points on the scoreboard when compared to 2013. More than two-thirds of the countries listed in the index scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very honest).

Malta features near the middle, with a score of 55.

Denmark also placed first (least corrupt ) on a global level.

On the other hand, North Korea and Somalia are perceived as the most corrupt countries in the world, sharing last place.

The Corruption Perception Index – now in its 20th edition – is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption.

Transparency International said that countries’ scores could be helped by open government, where the public could hold leaders to account. A poor score was a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that did not respond to citizen’s needs.