Ireland ranked 19th least corrupt country in world
New Zealand was found to be the most open and transparent country in the world, followed closely by Denmark, Finland, and Norway.
Syria, South Sudan, and Somalia rank lowest with scores of 14, 12, and 9 respectively out of 100.
The best performing region is Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34).
Britain ranked joint 8th place alongside Luxembourg, Canada and Holland while the US ranked in joint 16th place alongside Belguim and Austria.
Ireland scored a total of 74 points out of 100, which was one point higher than 2016 but one lower than the 75 points scored in 2015.
The CPI 2017 is calculated using 13 different data sources from 12 different institutions that capture perceptions of corruption within the past two years.
The 2017 report found that authoritarianism rose across Eastern and South East Europe, hindering anti-corruption efforts and threatening civil liberties. “Across the region, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and independent media experienced challenges in their ability to monitor and criticise decision-makers,” the report said.
The analysis, which incorporates data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, shows that in the last six years, more than nine out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that score 45 or less on the index.
Transparency International made a number of recommendations in the report.
It says governments and businesses must do more to encourage free speech, independent media, political dissent and an open and engaged civil society.
It also says governments should minimise regulations on media, including traditional and new media, and ensure that journalists can work without fear of repression or violence.
In addition, international donors should consider press freedom relevant to development aid or access to international organisations.
The report also says civil society and governments should promote laws that focus on access to information.
Governments and businesses should proactively disclose relevant public interest information in open data formats, the report states.
