These are the countries mining investors should stay away from

While resource nationalism is still a major risk for miners, corrupted governments can be equally or more detrimental to the industry, leaving companies and investors to the mercy of bribe-takers and influence peddlers, Transparency International hinted Tuesday in its annual corruption survey.

The Berlin-based watchdog index, which ranks states based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be, shows than more than two-thirds of the 177 countries surveyed scored below 50 on a scale where zero is seen as highly corrupt and 100 considered as very clean.

Somalia, Afghanistan and North Korea each scored 92, making them the three most corrupted countries in the world.

Previously well-respected Spain and Slovenia, where the turmoil has mostly been financial, saw their good governance rankings slide this year. However the epicentre of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis which erupted in 2009, was among the biggest improvers, while Australia was one of those to witness the largest declines.

Unlike previous years, there was very little improvement recorded this year in even the most open and law-abiding countries. Only two states — Denmark and New Zealand — scored in the top 10 percentiles on the 100-point index. The two countries at opposite ends of the world tied for first place with scores of 91, each up 1 point from 2012.

The other “clean” countries according to the index are Finland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and Germany in that order.

Corruption within the public sector, said the watchdog, remains one of the world’s biggest challenges, particularly in areas such as political parties, police, and justice systems.

According to Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International, public institutions need to be more open about their work and officials must be more transparent in their decision-making.

Future efforts to respond to climate change, economic crisis and extreme poverty will face a massive roadblock in the shape of corruption, the report warned. slurry pump

“It is time to stop those who get away with acts of corruption. The legal loopholes and lack of political will in government facilitate both domestic and cross-border corruption, and call for our intensified efforts to combat the impunity of the corrupt,”said Labelle in a statement.

The study concludes that international bodies, such as the G20, must crack down on money laundering, make corporations more transparent and pursue the return of stolen assets.

Click on the infographic below for a detailed evaluation of the different countries analyzed by Transparency International.