Interesting findings from the Transparency International 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The CPI is based on expert opinion surveys of public sector corruption in 163 countries around the world. Countries are scored on a scale from zero to ten. Ten is good and if it's zero, don't do business there.

Transparency International says there is a correlation between poverty and corruption. Which explains why countries like haiti, Myanmar and Iraq are right at the bottom.

But check the CPI table carefully and you'll see there are some worrying signs for developed countries, with plenty of money.

The United States, for example, is ranked at number 20 with a score of 7.3 and it's one of the countries with a deterioration in perceived levels of corruption. That places the US somewhere alongside Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago and Tunisia.

Britain comes in at 11 (score: 8.6) and Australia at 9 (score: 8.7). Finland, Iceland and New Zealand are ranked the least corrupt with scores of 9.6.