WASHINGTON, D.C. January 11, 2007 — A major 43-country investigative report on anti-corruption and governance trends spanning months of on-the-ground reporting and data gathering by a team of 200 in-country journalists has resulted in the 2006 Global Integrity Report. Successfully launched by the Center for Public Integrity as an international non-profit organization, Global Integrity tracks governance and corruption trends around the world.

The report’s key findings revealed that political financing is the #1 anti-corruption challenge facing this year’s group of countries and lack of legislative accountability measures threatens to undermine anti-corruption reforms. “The mixing of money and politics continues to be a recipe for corruption in countries both rich and poor,” said Nathaniel Heller, Global Integrity Managing Director. “And yet, some nations have shown that even with limited resources, political will and strong leadership can prove effective in addressing governance challenges.”

Global Integrity’s reports are distinguished from other corruption indices in that its data consists of original, empirical on-the-ground research, not third-party information. The 2006 Global Integrity Index is organized into six categories: (1) Civil Society, Public Information & Media, (2) Elections, (3) Government Accountability (4) Administration & Civil Service (5) Oversight & Regulation and (6) Anti-Corruption & Rule of Law. The Integrity Index assesses not only the existence of laws, regulations and institutions designed to curb corruption, but also their implementation and level of public access.

Among the country-specific findings:

• Vietnam, one of Asia’s hottest emerging markets, has the second weakest overall anti-corruption framework in the Global Integrity Index. Governance and corruption challenges in Vietnam are deep rooted and systemic, raising red flags for potential investors.

• Russia has made little progress in establishing and enforcing effective anti-corruption mechanisms compared to other former Soviet Republics. Global Integrity’s data highlights structural barriers to effective Russian anti-corruption enforcement, such as poor implementation of conflicts of interest regulations for senior civil servants.

• Romania and Bulgaria, newly admitted European Union (EU) members, displayed moderate gaps in overall anti-corruption mechanisms, with Romania’s performance exceeding Bulgaria’s. The data, however, confirms that the “carrot and stick” EU accession process has been effective in promoting institutional reforms in both countries.

• Liberia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Uganda are part of the 2006 Global Integrity Index’s 15 African countries which have either recently emerged from or continue to struggle with internal conflicts. The results confirm that there are no quick fixes for promoting responsive government in the aftermath of civil strife, though strong political will can help promote an environment of accountability.

Global Integrity, launched by the Center for Public Integrity, is an independent Washington, D.C.-based international nonprofit organization dedicated to the comprehensive and timely research and reporting of governance and corruption trends around the world. Global Integrity shares the Center’s mission to make institutional power more transparent and empowering citizens with the information they need to hold governments accountable.

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