BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Bahamas was rated as being least corrupt in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), according to the latest figures released by Transparency International on Wednesday.

It is ranked number 24 in the world with a score of 66 while the next highest ranked Caribbean country is Barbados at position 31 with a score of 61.

St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines tied for third position ranked 35th with a score of 60, followed by Dominica at 38 with a score of 39 and Grenada ranked 46th with a score of 56.

Transparency International which examined 176 countries worldwide, ranked Suriname at 64 with a score of 45, up from the 36 points it had last year with Jamaica ranked at 83rd and a score of 39, down from the 41 points it scored the previous year.

The oil-rich twin island republic, Trinidad and Tobago was ranked 101 with a score of 35, lower than the 39 points it had in 2015 with Guyana ranked at 108 with a score of 34, up from the 2015 figure of 29.

The French-speaking CARICOM was ranked as the most corrupt country in the region, being put at position 159 with a score of 20, three more than it had in 2015.

Transparency International said “over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories in this year’s index fall below the midpoint of our scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

“The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in a country’s public sector. Top-scoring countries (yellow in the map below) are far outnumbered by orange and red countries where citizens face the tangible impact of corruption on a daily basis.”

It said that this year’s results highlight the connection between corruption and inequality “which feed off each other to create a vicious circle between corruption, unequal distribution of power in society, and unequal distribution of wealth.

“In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity,” it said.

It warned also that the interplay of corruption and inequality also feeds populism.

“When traditional politicians fail to tackle corruption, people grow cynical. Increasingly, people are turning to populist leaders who promise to break the cycle of corruption and privilege. Yet this is likely to exacerbate – rather than resolve – the tensions that fed the populist surge in the first place”

Transparency International named Denmark with a score of 90, one point less than last year, as the least corrupt country in the world.