Brazil improved five positions in the annual ranking of perceived corruption released on Tuesday by Transparency International, ranking 75th out of 180 countries.
The higher the country's position, the less corrupt it is considered to be. Despite the improvement, Brazil is still among the countries with the highest degree of perceived corruption in the world.
Brazil's situation is similar to other Latin American nations; the majority of the countries in the region received a grade below five out of
ten, which indicates a high level of corruption. In its report, Transparency International stated that the corruption is seriously disseminated through Latin America.
According to Transparency International, the countries are graded based on surveys which measure the people's perception of corruption in the politics and public sector. In 2009, Brazil received 3.7 points out of 10, the same grade received by Colombia, Peru and Suriname.
Latin America's low grades were attributed to weak institution, deficient govern practices and excessive interference of private interests, which frustrate initiatives which aim to promote a more sustainable development.
According to the Transparency International's ranking, New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world, having jumped two positions from 2008. Denmark, which led the ranking in 2008, fell to second place. Singapore jumped from fourth to third position, tying with Sweden, which ranked second last year.