New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Pakistan, with a ranking of 139, is perceived to be more corrupt than India by global corruption watchdog Transparency International in its latest survey of 180 countries.
The 2009 Transparency International survey, released worldwide Tuesday, has ranked India 84th among the 180 countries assessed for integrity.

According to the findings of the independent organisation which tracks prevalence of corruption worldwide, Pakistan’s integrity score stands at 2.4 on the scale of 0 (perceived as highly corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt).

India, which shares the 84th spot with El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Thailand, has an integrity score of 3.4.

Pakistan has, in fact, slipped a notch below on the integrity score from 2.5 in 2008.

China, which was ranked a joint 72nd with India in 2007, has improved its corruption perception. It is ranked 79th and its integrity score is 3.6.

The least corrupt country in the South Asian region is the fledgling democracy of Bhutan, which has scored a good 5.0 and is at 49th spot.

New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland occupy the top five places as the least corrupt nations of the world, while at the bottom of the table come Somalia and Afghanistan.