Cambodia has won the unenviable distinction that its levels of corruption have worsened since its Anti-Corruption Unit was formed in 2010. The Germany-based corruption monitoring organization Transparency International says that Cambodia is perceived as having the most corrupt public service among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is second only to North Korea among all the countries of East Asia.
On a global scale, Cambodia came 160th out of 177 nations with Indonesia at 114th and Burma at 157th. Regional countries that used to have worse reputations for corruption than Cambodia – Laos and Bangladesh – are now in 140th and 136th place, respectively.
