8 Caribbean Countries Perceived To Be Highly Corrupt

Haiti, which held local and legislative elections on Jan. 29, 2017, is deemed the most corrupt nation in the Caribbean. (Photo credit: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

By NAN Business Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 3, 2017: News on the most corrupt nations in the world for 2016, as unveiled by Transparency International, the politically non-partisan group that measures corruption in governments annually, is still making headlines globally. So which of the 176 countries and territories surveyed last year are perceived to be the most corrupt in the Caribbean alone? Here are the top 8 compiled by NAN, based on the latest scores and rankings from TI:

1: Haiti

Topping the Caribbean as the most corrupt nation in the region is Haiti. The Caribbean nation ranked only 159th out of 176 on the global scale, putting it on par with the Chad Republic.  It scored a poor 20 out of 100 in 2016 but  that was an improvement over 2015 when it scored only 17 out of a 100.

2: Dominican Republic

The second most corrupt nation in the Caribbean, according to TI, is Haiti’s neighbor, which shares the same island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic scored just 31 out of a 100 last year, down from a score of 33 in 2015, to rank globally at 120 out of 176.

3: Guyana

The South American CARICOM nation of Guyana ranks as the third most corrupt nation in the region, according to NAN’s analysis of the TI data. The country scored a low 34 out of a 100 in 2016, but it was an improvement from the 29 it scored in 2015. Guyana is ranked globally at 108th.

4: Trinidad & Tobago

The twin-island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago is perceived as the fourth most corrupt nation in the Caribbean. The country scored 35 out of 100 in 2016, down from 39 in 2015, landing it at 101 on the TI global ranking.

5: Jamaica

Coming in at fifth on the list of Top 8th Most Corrupt Caribbean nations in 2016, is Jamaica. The country that gave the world reggae and Usain Bolt scored just 39 out of 100 last year, down from 41 in 2015, to land it at 83 on the global ranking scale – on par with Lesotho.

6: Suriname

Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean nation in South America took the sixth spot on the Top 8th Most Corrupt Caribbean nations list. The country managed to show somewhat of an improvement over 2015, scoring 45 out of 100 last year. In 2015 it managed to score only 36. Still Suriname only managed to make it to 64th on the global TI ranks.

7: Cuba

While there may be a lot of interest in Cuba, especially from US companies, the Communist island is perceived as highly corrupt by TI. Cuba scored only 47 out of 100 last year, showing no change over 2015, to land it at 7th on our Top 8 Most Corrupt Caribbean nations list. Globally, it was ranked at 60th overall.

8: Grenada

Rounding out our list of Top 8 Most Corrupt nations in the Caribbean is the Spice Island of Grenada. The country scored 56 out of 100 last year to land at 46 on the Global TI ranks.

The Caribbean nation that is perceived as the least corrupt is The Bahamas, which scored 66 out of 100 last year to land at 24 on the global ranks.

GLOBALLY

Globally, more countries declined than improved in this year’s corruption results, “showing the urgent need for committed action to thwart corruption,” TI said in a statement.

“In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity,” added José Ugaz, the organization’s chair.