ABSTRACT
The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an annual index, compiled since 1995. The author started the operational work behind the index many years ago at the University of Goettingen; this work is done now at the University of Passau under author's leadership. The goal of the CPI is to provide data on extensive perceptions of corruption within countries. The differences drawn between bribery, embezzlement and fraud may be troublesome and the statistical methodology of counting and aggregating the data used in each national agency can differ considerably from that used elsewhere. Countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong have extremely high per capita conviction rates for bribery. Unbiased, hard data is difficult to obtain and usually raises questions with respect to validity. A ranking of countries may easily be misunderstood as measuring the performance of a country with absolute precision.
