The United Arab Emirates ranked first among the Arab & Middle Eastern most transparent countries according to the Transparency International Index. The UAE scored 70 points in the index. Denmark topped the index followed by New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Holland, Canada and Luxembourg.
The Corruption Perception Index of 2018 revealed that the continued failure of most countries to effectively reduce corruption contributes to the worsening of the global crisis of democracy.
Patricia Moreira, the executive director of Transparency International said: "given what we see as a threat to democratic institutions around the world, we need to do more to strengthen democratic forms and balances and to protect citizens' rights," pointing out that "corruption penetrates the democratic regimes little by little, leading to a vicious cycle where corruption weakens the democratic institutions and, in turn, it causes its weakness and makes it incapable to fight it."
Source: (Al Khaleej newspaper, Editede)
