In recent survey on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency Inter-national, Nepal has slipped ten places earning a dubious distinction as one of the most corrupt states in the world. The annual survey by the Berlin-based watchdog has placed Nepal in 126th position with a score of 29 among 175 countries. It was placed 116th on the index among 176 countries last year. The CPI measures the extent of corruption within a country on a scale ranging from zero to 100. Countries securing higher scores are rated as the least corrupt and those with low scores are perceived to the most corrupt. According to the TI, countries that score below 50 are perceived as highly corrupt and those that secure 100 are cleanest. Except Bhutan all South Asian countries secured scores below 50, with Afghanistan ranked the most corrupt country in the region. Bhutan is the least corrupt in the region with a score of 65, followed by India (38); Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh (29) and Afghanistan (12).
