We are still ranked 37th on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) but the score has improved from 5.3 to 5.7, acknowledging an improvement to fight corruption in the Kingdom. Of Arab countries we come in 4th after Oman (28th), UAE (30th) and Bahrain (36th). Any score below 5.0 (out of 10) suggests a significant level of corruption. According to the report:
Jordan CPI score is “well above the average in the region, and shows a slight improvement compared with last year and over the past decade,” the report said. It attributed the progress to the Kingdom’s “relatively liberal stance regarding political and social affairs, and numerous new laws based on international standards that have accompanied the reform process.” The report also noted that Jordan “will be the first Arab country to establish an independent agency to fight corruption.”
5 least corrupt states (countries we aspire to): Iceland Finland New Zealand Denmark Singapore
5 most corrupt states (countries we’d rather not be): Chad Bangladesh Turkmenistan Burma Haiti
To keep things in prespective Jordan was ranked 5 years ago at 39th, tied with Italy at a CPI score of 4.6 Improvements have obviously been made but there’s still a while to go before corruption is uprooted
"fixing (or repair)"
[Jordan Times]
[BBC Report]
[CPI 2005]
I have a point to make, who provides these institutions with the local rating? How do they rate each country, what methodology they use?
I remember the World Econoomic Forum’s Global Competitve Index, where Jordan ranks very high among Arab states. I went to the ministry of planning’s competitveness department and asked how does the WEF asess Jordan’s competitiveness?
The answer came that government officials and prominent rich businessmen fill out surveys, that are gathered and studied by the ministry, then they send the results to the WEF.
I think it is just the same thing for this report. Do we see a huge drop in corruption? Maybe on the outside, I think, but on the inside its all just the same, if not worse than ever.
rami, first theres really no country that presents a huge drop in corruption or based on the index jumps 10 spots. it takes a lot of time.
as for methodology you can refer to this
http://ww1.transparency.org/surveys/#cpi
Nas, surely you know that اصÙ?اؠis exactly the opposite of corruption, it is fixing what is corrupted.
SC, lol yeah ure right, the word corruption was on my mind 😉
I am just believe that we always should remain critical to press for a faster pace of reform. Concerning the methodology, if you read carefully, a-it is government figures, indeed, as I expected, b- not all states are included, c-the situation in other countries have worsened, so this would contribute to us going up a little.
I am not saying that there’s no effort happening to reduce corruption, or that it has not dropped, but I am saying its a long way, and we need to fight it within ourselves to begin with (as in Wastat).
It’s not all about the government, afterall.
rami, (a) the figures have to obviously be government based as well business men surveys otherwise it wud be impossible to figure the corruption levels in a country (b) thats true (c) i dont think that really effects our current rank since it hasnt changed although the CPI has increased. i think they based each country individually.
and yes it is a long way as i said in my post. and your right most of this rests on the people and not the government.
thanks
I have been reading up on Jordan as a possible area for investment. I currently own a small but extremely upmarket manufacturing operation in Egypt – but have become totally disenchanted with the country after 15 years here, precisely because of corruption. I note that Egypt is 64th in the transparency league, and Nigeria is 101st: frankly I think that if one reversed the positions, one would be closer to the truth.
Casting around for an alternative location, Jordan seems a very interesting proposition, but I have to stress that never again will I invest in a country where extortion by petty bureaucrats is a 24/7 scourge that one cannot escape.
So….would you encourage a small investor to come to your country?