Russia has fallen again in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index.
Russia ranked 131st out of 176 countries in 2016, four places below its 2015 spot, when Russia scored 119th with 168 countries taking part. The new rating sees Russia ranked alongside countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Nepal.
The Corruption Perceptions Index operates on a point-based system, where zero points signifies the worst corruption possible and 100 points represents a total absence of corruption. In 2016, the average score was 43 points, compared to Russia's offering of 29 points.
Denmark and New Zealand topped the rankings with 90 points each, while third and fourth places went to Finland and Sweden respectively. Somalia, South Sudan and North Korea all found themselves languishing at the bottom of the table.
The countries with the best ratings are those which have a high level of press freedom, high access to information about state budgets, honest officials and an independent judiciary that does not discriminate between wealthy and poor citizens, according to Transparency International.
The group claimed that Russia was among the eastern European states which promoted a "culture of impunity" among politicians, prosecutors and oligarchs, and that "companies, networks and individuals unduly influenced laws and institutions to shape policies, the legal environment and the wider economy to their own interests."
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