Corruption Study Ranks Stickiest Fingers

The United States was ranked as the 14th least corrupt country in the world by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Nigeria was ranked the most corrupt, followed by Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Cameroon, Angola, Russia, Kenya, and Mozambique.

Finland was ranked least corrupt followed by Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.

The study measures the perception of corruption as seen by business people, risk analysts and the general public. Ninety countries were listed.

"Corruption takes many forms and is a universal cancer," said Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparency International. "On the eve of the Olympic Games, too, it is worth recalling the bribery scandal that enmeshed the International Olympic Committee and the fact that some of the leaders of the bribe-scarred IOC are still running the show."