非政府组织“透明国际”公布的2009年度“清廉指数”显示，在受评估的180个国家当中，新西兰以9.4分的成绩高居榜首，成为全球最清廉的国家，紧随其后的是得分9.3的丹麦，新加坡和瑞典则以9.2分并列第三。冲突不断的索马里和阿富汗分别以1.1分和1.3分在排名中垫底。该清廉指数采用10分制，10分表示最廉洁，0分表示最腐败。透明国际表示，根除腐败需要政府强有力的监督、司法系统的有序运行、审计和反腐部门的独立运作、公共预算及收入的透明等各方面的协同支持，国际社会必须帮助那些受战争创伤的国家发展和维持本国的法律体制。

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The annual index by Transparency International ranked 180 countries on a scale of zero to 10 according to 13 independent surveys, with zero being perceived as highly corrupt and 10 as having low levels of corruption.

New Zealand was on Wednesday named the world's least corrupt（腐败的，贪污的） nation out of a list of 180 countries, unseating（去职，退职） Denmark after a year in which the global recession and ongoing³ conflicts proved challenging.

The annual index by Transparency International ranked 180 countries on a scale of zero to 10 according to 13 independent surveys, with zero being perceived（觉察，认知） as highly corrupt and 10 as having low levels of corruption.

New Zealand topped the table with a score of 9.4 after coming second last year. In second place was last year's leader, Denmark with 9.3 followed by Singapore and Sweden tying at 9.2 and Switzerland at 9.0.

Countries at the bottom of the table were those which are unstable⁴ or impacted by war and ongoing conflicts that have affected⁵ the public sector⁶ and torn apart governance infrastructure⁷.

Somalia had a score of 1.1, Afghanistan was 1.3, Myanmar ranked 1.4 and Sudan tied with Iraq at 1.5.

"Stemming（填塞物） corruption requires strong oversight⁸ by parliaments, a well-performing judiciary（司法部，法官）, independent and properly resourced audit⁹（查账，审计） and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous（精力充沛的） law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant¹⁰ civil society," said Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International.

"The international community must find efficient ways to help war-torn countries to develop and sustain（承受，支撑） their own institutions（制度，体系）."

Rounding out the top 10 least corrupt nations were Finland, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Iceland.

Britain came 17th in the list and the United States was 19th with a score of 7.5.

More than 130 of the countries scored below 5.