WORLD'S 5 MOST CORRUPTING COUNTRY

                                                                  No. 1 Myanmar (Burma) 

The Burmese government drew widespread international criticism after it hindered international relief efforts following a deadly cyclone. The government, which tied for the top spot in perceived corruption, doesn't tolerate dissent. Last year, the military regime in this Southeast Asian nation brutally suppressed protests by democracy activists and monks.

                                                           No. 1 Somalia (tie)

The East African country suffers from a weak national government riddled with crooked officials. Somalia, with its many poor people and 1,880-mile coast, is also a breeding ground for piracy. The bandits look for easy prey in the crowded shipping routes of the Red Sea.

                                                                                   No. 3 Iraq

With plenty of American money pouring in and the Iraqi public sector struggling to rebuild itself, corruption is rife in this Middle Eastern country. "Corruption and smuggling have diverted government revenues potentially available for rebuilding efforts," said the U.S. Government Accountability Office in a report last year. Even more worrisome is that some of the money is being used to fund the Iraq insurgency.

No. 4 Haiti

Last month, a prominent Haitian banker railed against corrupt legislators after his bid for prime minister was thwarted. "At the very beginning of the process, I was confronted with the forces of corruption," he told reporters. It's a fair excuse in this Caribbean nation, which ranked fourth in perceived corruption. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere hopes to make progress under the democratically elected president and parliament that came into power in 2006.

No. 5 Uzbekistan

Houston oil services company Baker Hughes pleaded guilty last year to making improper payments to get jobs in a number of countries. One was Uzbekistan. There's a lot more going on in this former Soviet republic. The country was ranked the fifth worst at having honest officials. Sadly, it also finished at the bottom of a recent ranking of the world's happiest countries.