Chile, Uruguay are the least corrupt South American countries, ranking shows

Chile and Uruguay are the least corrupt countries in South America, the latest global corruption ranking from Transparency International shows. The two nations were both ranked at number 20, ahead of nations such as France, Austria and Ireland. South America's largest country, Brazil, was ranked at 69th, and recent press reports said that authorities in Rio de Janeiro have arrested no less than 59 policemen on corruption charges. The crackdown is part of the state's efforts to clean up its police force before it will host the World Cup in 2014 and the summer Olympics in 2016. Some Caribbean countries placed well on the 2012 ranking with Barbados ranked at 15, followed by the Bahamas and Saint Lucia, which shared 22nd place. The global ranking showed no big surprises at the top with Denmark, Finland and New Zealand sharing first place. Venezuela and Haiti were the worst ranked countries in all of Latin America and the Caribbean at number 165, which they shared with Burundi and Chad. To see the full ranking from Transparency International, go to this link