Least corrupt nation: Finland

2004-10-20 12:13

London - The Finns have done it again. For the fifth year in a row Finland has again been ranked the least corrupt country in the world by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

The group's annual Corruption Perceptions Index released on Wednesday gave Finland the number one rating for low public sector corruption out of the 146 countries ranked.

So what's Finland's secret?

"Finnish civil servants are basically honest", said Leila Mustanoja, who heads Transparency International's (TI) Finland chapter. "And there isn't that much corruption in Finnish companies".

Finns are innocent

Mustanoja told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that laws in Finland differed from central Europe in that they required state documents to be public unless there was a very good reason to keep them closed.

She also underlined that Finland was a prosperous and stable society.

"We are a small country and you cannot easily hide things here," said Mustanoja, adding: "I think Finns are still quite innocent - a little timid - and law abiding."

More broadly speaking, she said Finland was simply part of the Nordic region's long tradition of transparency.

Indeed, the Nordic states top the world for being clean of corruption with Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway among the eight least corrupt nations in the world, this year's TI index shows.

But Mustanoja noted there was still room for improvement.

A problem area in Finland remained giving contracts or deals to friends, she said.

"We Finns have the trading of influence. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. It's not big but it's here," concluded Mustanoja. - dpa

- SAPA