Transparency International, a global anti-corruption group, has said three Arab nations were among a dozen worldwide where corruption has seen a significant rise in the past year. The Arab nations named the international body were Jordan, Bahrain and Oman.
The survey ranked 180 states on a scale of one to 10 based on the perceptions of business people and analysts, the BBC reported.
The Arab countries with the least perceived corruption were Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar has scored 6 points in the index.
Bahrain was 46th with a score of five out of 10, while Jordan and Oman both scored 4.7 to be equal 53rd.
Last year's rankings gave Bahrain a score of 5.7 (36th position), Oman 5.4 (39th position) and Jordan 5.3 (40th position).
The following are the ranks of some of the countries in the region. The United Arab Emirates - 34th place (CPI 5.7), Kuwait - 60 (4.3) and Saudi Arabia - 79 (3.4).
Scores below five indicate "serious" perceived levels of corruption, the organization said, while scores below three reflect "rampant" corruption.
