Transparency International has ranked Bulgaria 72nd in the world in its 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Corruption in Bulgaria has increased according to the 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International.
Bulgaria's score has dropped from 4,1 in 2007 to 3,6 in 2008, which assigns it 72nd place out of a total of 180 countries.
The Transparency International report points out that Bulgaria's EU accession had not helped the country deal with its corruption at all, and in fact it was now on the rise.
Bulgaria is found to have serious issues with combating political corruption, which is linked to organized crime. The corruption in the country affects seriously the public procurement procedures, the concession contracts, and the legal proceedings, and is reported to be hindering Bulgaria's progress, and to be the main reason for EU sanctions.
Bulgaria is also ranked as the most corrupt country in the EU, followed by Romania. In the overall ranking, Romania is again one place ahead ranking 71st. Columbia, Ghana, Georgia, Cuba, Kuwait, Tunisia, and Croatia occupy the spots before Bulgaria, whereas the People's Republic of China is ranked 73rd and the Republic of Macedonia is 74th.
For a second year in a row Somalia is found to be the most corrupt country in the world with a score of 1. It is followed by Myanmar, Iraq, Haiti, and Afghanistan. With a score of 9,3 Denmark is reported to be the country with the lowest levels of corruption together with Sweden and New Zealand.