How corrupt is a country?

(This post was updated on 06/30/2014.)

There's a relatively easy way to find out. Transparency International is an organization that ranks countries using a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Pre 2012, the index was a number from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean).  From 2012 onwards, the score goes from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Here's how the CPI of the US has varied over the years.

Year - CPI - US Ranking - Least corrupt country (CPI)
1995 - 7.79 - 15 - New Zealand (9.55)
1996 - 7.66 - 15 - New Zealand (9.43)
1997 - 7.61 - 16 - Denmark (9.94)
1998 - 7.5 - 17 - Denmark (10)
1999 - 7.5 - 18 - Denmark (10)
2000 - 7.8 - 14 - Finland (10)
2001 - 7.6 - 16 - Finland (9.9)
2002 - 7.7 - 16 - Finland (9.7)
2003 - 7.5 - 18 - Finland (9.7)
2004 - 7.5 - 17 - Finland (9.7)
2005 - 7.6 - 17 - Iceland (9.7)
2006 - 7.3 - 20 - Finland + Iceland + New Zealand (9.6)
2007 - 7.2 - 20 - Denmark + Finland + New Zealand (9.4)
2008 - 7.3 - 18 - Denmark + New Zealand + Sweden (9.3)
2009 - 7.5 - 19 - New Zealand (9.4)
2010 - 7.1 - 22 - Denmark + New Zealand + Singapore (9.3)
2011 - 7.1 - 24 - New Zealand (9.5)
2012 - 73 - 19 - Denmark + Finland + New Zealand (90)
2013 - 73 - 19 - Denmark + New Zealand (91)
2014 - 74 - 17 - Denmark (92)
2015 - 76 - 16 - Denmark + New Zealand (91)
2016 - 74 - 18 - Denmark + New Zealand (90)
2017 - 75 - 16 - New Zealand (89)
2018 - 71 - 22 - Denmark (88)

2019 - 69 - 23 - Denmark + New Zealand (87)

2020 - 67 - 25 - Denmark + New Zealand (88)

The US has gotten more corrupt since the inception of the index but, on the bright side, it's still within a fairly narrow band.

Finding a "safe" bank

With all the news about the economy headed downhill, a natural question that comes up is whether or not one is banking with an institution that is sound (i.e. unlikely to fail). Here are some sites that allow us to check on the health of financial institutions -- banks, thrifts, and credit unions.

• Bauer Financial's star ratings
• The Finance Buff has a post on how to go about finding a local bank.