KUWAIT: Kuwait has jumped five places in two years to a rank of 73rd out of 180 countries in a global index of perceived corruption in 2021, the country's anti-corruption watchdog (Nazaha) said yesterday, citing a report by Transparency International. Kuwait ranks seventh in the Arab world and fifth among Gulf states in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The annual report, which measures perceptions of corruption and graft, does not offer an in-depth analysis of corruption on a national level, leaving it up to concerned local bodies to handle the task. Based on global rankings, corruption remains prevalent in various parts of the globe, the report indicated, showing that 86 percent of countries have not showed even a slight improvement in their ranking. Kuwait's national watchdog stressed that there would be no letup in the fight against corruption, saying it would do everything necessary to rid the country of the scourge. Based in the German capital Berlin, Transparency International aims to expose corruption on a national level through its annual report, which ranks countries based on how pervasive corruption is. - KUNA