India ranked far better in terms of the fight against corruption in comparison to its neighbours, including China, as per the corruption perception index (CPI) 2018, released by non-profit organization Transparency International.
The country was ranked 78 in the list of 180 countries in the world, while China ranked 87 and Pakistan 117. China slipped in the rankings in comparison with last year's index.
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The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption as viewed by experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
"Despite stagnation and declines in the 2018 scores, there are promising political developments within the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Malaysia (47), Maldives (31), Pakistan (33) and India (41) that will be important to watch moving forward", the statement released by Transparency International reads.
In all four countries, massive public mobilisation against corruption, coupled with significant political participation and voter turnout, has resulted in new governments that promised extensive anti-corruption reforms.
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The top countries are Denmark and New Zealand, with scores of 88 and 87 respectively. The bottom countries are Somalia, Syria and South Sudan, with scores of 10, 13 and 13 respectively.
"This year further research analysis shows a disturbing link between corruption and the health of democracies, where countries with higher rates of corruption also have weaker democratic institutions and political rights", reads a statement released by Transparency International on Tuesday.
With a score of 71, the United States lost four points from its score last year, dropping out of the top 20 countries on the CPI for the first time since 2011.
