There is a strong correlation between corruption and poverty.

40% of those scoring below 3 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant, are classified by the World Bank as low-income countries.

Somalia and Myanmar share the lowest score of 1.4, while Denmark shares the top score of 9.4 with Finland and New Zealand.

2007 saw significantly higher scores in several African countries, including Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, and Swaziland - reflecting the positive progress of anti-corruption efforts.

Other countries with a significant improvement include Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominica, Italy, FYR Macedonia, Romania, and Suriname.

Countries with a significant worsening in 2007 include Austria, Bahrain, Belize, Bhutan, Jordan, Laos, Macao, Malta, Mauritius, Oman, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand.

At the same time, deeply troubled states such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, and Sudan remain at the very bottom of the index because “[c]ountries torn apart by conflict pay a huge toll in their capacity to govern. With public institutions crippled or non-existent, mercenary individuals help themselves to public resources and corruption thrives."

The report notes that the economically poorest countries suffer most under the yoke of corruption, and that it is ultimately their responsibility to tackle the problem. That said, corruption in economically poor countries can have an international dimension, implicating the CPI's top scorers.

Specifically, bribe money often stems from multinationals based in the world's richest countries; it should not be acceptable for these companies to regard bribery in export markets as a legitimate business strategy.

In addition, global financial centres allow corrupt officials to move, hide, and invest illicitly gained wealth.

Offshore financing, for example, played a crucial role in the looting of millions from developing countries such as Nigeria and the Philippines, facilitating the misdeeds of corrupt leaders and impoverishing those they governed.