( CNN ) -- Somalia , Myanmar and Afghanistan have the lowest scores on Transparency International 's Corruption Perceptions Index , which measures how people in 178 countries and territories view corruption in their public sectors . On a scale of 0-10 , with 10 being `` very clean '' and 0 being `` highly corrupt , '' all three countries score below 1.5 . Somalia is the lowest at 1.1 , while Myanmar and Afghanistan are tied for second at 1.4 . At the other end of the list are Denmark , New Zealand and Singapore , which score the highest at 9.3 . The United States , with a score of 7.1 , is among the countries viewed as least corrupt . It 's tied for 22nd overall with Belgium . But while the U.S. is well ahead of neighbor Mexico ( 3.1 ) , it seems to have some work to do to catch Canada ( 8.9 ) . The latest scores were drawn from 13 surveys and assessments published between January 2009 and September 2010 by `` independent and reputable institutions , '' according to Transparency International . It defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain . Transparency International is a nongovernmental organization headquartered in Berlin . It acknowledges that corruption , by nature , is often hidden and therefore difficult to quantify , but it says it has found people 's perceptions to be a reliable estimate over the long term . Some other noteworthy scores from the index : . ** Because of activist Anna Hazare and his recent hunger strike , corruption has been brought to the forefront in India . The country scored a 3.3 on the most recent index , putting it among the countries viewed as most corrupt . ** Libya ( 2.2 ) and Syria ( 2.5 ) , were also near the top of the perceived corruption list , something that might not be a surprise considering the recent unrest there . Yemen also scored a 2.2 . Egypt ( 3.1 ) and Tunisia ( 4.3 ) scored better , but not by much . Again , it 's important to point out that these surveys were conducted well before these two countries ' longtime leaders were ousted . More comparisons : Which country has the smallest gender gap ? Where is the Internet most popular ? Where are the undernourished ? Where do people live the longest ? Which countries have the most vacation days ? Who requires the most education ? Who 's got the highest ( and lowest ) unemployment rates ?
Transparency International ranks countries by their perceived levels of corruption . Somalia is perceived to be the most corrupt of the 178 countries , territories on the list . Denmark , New Zealand and Singapore are perceived to be the least corrupt .