Egypt ranked 117th on the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of the graft watchdog Transparency International, compared to 108 in 2016.
Transparency International issues its CPI report on an annual basis. The report included 180 countries in 2017, up from 176 countries in 2016.
Egypt, according to the CPI report published on Wednesday, recorded 32 points, compared to 34 points in the 2016 report, witnessing a slight increase in corruption domestically, and faring markedly worse off internationally.
According to Transparency International official website, the index uses a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being highly corrupt and 100 being very clean.
In 2017, more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43.
The Middle East suffers from violent conflicts and dictatorships, said the report, adding that corruption is still endemic in Arab countries where attacks on the freedom of expression, press, and civil society continue to occur.
Nineteen out of 21 Arab countries garnered less than 50 points on the public sector corruption index.
Somalia garnered 9 points, Sudan 12, and Syria 14.
The United Arab Emirates was the least corrupt Arab country, ranking 21st globally, followed by Qatar which ranked second in the Arab world and 29th on the CPI scale.
Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia have taken small positive steps to combat corruption and increase transparency and integrity, said the report.
Meanwhile, Israel ranked 32nd, and Turkey 81st.
Overall, New Zealand ranked first, followed by Denmark in second place, and Finland, Norway, and Switzerland being joint-third. The US ranked 16th.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
