Bangladesh tops most corrupt list - 2005

By Waliur Rahman
BBC News, Dhaka

Bangladesh has topped the list for the fifth consecutive time
Bangladesh has been ranked as the most corrupt country on earth in the latest list of corrupt nations published by Transparency International.

The Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog said Bangladesh shares the top spot with the central African country of Chad.

The government has not yet commented on the latest corruption list.

This is the fifth year in a row that Bangladesh has topped the corruption perception index.

Last year, the Caribbean country, Haiti, ranked top with Bangladesh.

The survey relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption in different countries, as seen by business people, academics and risk analysts.

'No real effort'

Corruption is widespread in Bangladesh and is a hot political and controversial issue and feuding political parties often charge each other with being corrupt.

MOST AND LEAST CORRUPT
5 most corrupt states:
Bangladesh
Chad
Turkmenistan
Burma
Haiti
5 least corrupt states:
Iceland
Finland
New Zealand
Denmark
Singapore
Source: Transparency International

Officials at the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International say they have seen no real effort over the years to root out corruption.

Previous surveys by the Transparency's local researchers found police, revenue and land departments to be the most corrupt among the country's public institutions.

This list is quite controversial in Bangladesh and government ministers have dismissed the index in the past on the grounds that perceptions do not necessarily mean that it is true.