Before revolutions began sweeping the Arab world, Transparency International issued a warning that corruption, whether nepotism, bribery, or something else, could be the region’s undoing and might be so entrenched that existing laws could do nothing to fix it. Radio Free Europe reports that stagnation at the bottom of the list is at the foundation of the Arab public’s anger that boiled over into the uprisings.
"We all have the images of the Arab Spring -- Tunisia, Egypt, a street vendor setting himself on fire in desperation because of corruption. So while you don't see dramatic changes in the rankings, people are losing patience," Miklos Marschall, the deputy managing director of Transparency International, told Radio Free Europe.
All but a handful of Arab countries – and all of the countries that experienced uprisings in 2011 – score below a 4. At the low end is Libya, with a score of 2. The least-corrupt country, according to the index, is Qatar, with a score of 7.2 (a tenth of a point above the US).
Bloomberg notes that perception of corruption has not necessarily improved with the ousting of corrupt leaders – at least not yet.
Egypt, where a revolution ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power in February, plummeted 14 places in the ranking to 112th. Tunisia, where the movement began, fell to 73rd place from 59th, while Libya slid 22 slots to 168th. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was killed by militia fighters in October.
