Germany has again placed in the lower mid-field among European countries in the Transparency International index of 133 countries with the cleanest government

Germany has again placed in the lower mid-field among European countries in the Transparency International index of 133 countries with the cleanest government, improving slightly from previous years. Transparency International put Germany at rank 16 in the world, up from position 18 last year. The 2003 index is based on an international survey of businesspeople, who are asked about the prevalence of bribes and other corruption in the awarding of public contracts and approvals. Scandinavian countries dominated the top 10, with Finland deemed to have the most honest civil service.