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"Transparency International's 'Corruption Perceptions Index 2005,' released on the organization's website (http://www.transparency.org) on 18 October, ranked Turkmenistan one of the most corrupt countries in the world. With a score of 1.8 (where 10 is 'highly clean' and 0 is 'highly corrupt'), Turkmenistan shared 155th place with Haiti and Myanmar. The only countries rated as more corrupt were Bangladesh and Chad, sharing 158th place with identical scores of 1.7. Other Central Asian countries fared better than Turkmenistan but still found themselves in the lower realms of the survey, which evaluates 'perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts.' Tajikistan placed 144th with a score of 2.1; Uzbekistan 137th at 2.2; and Kyrgyzstan 130th at 2.3. The survey scored Kazakhstan the least corrupt country in Central Asia, in 107th place with a score of 2.6. By way of comparison, Russia placed 126th with a score of 2.4, on par with Albania, Niger, and Sierra Leone." From RFE/RL Newsline, October 19, 2005.