BERLIN - An international watchdog group says Afghanistan remains the world's second most corrupt country, and Iraq is not far behind.

The annual report of Transparency International found Somalia to be most corrupt country, followed by Afghanistan tied with Myanmar, and then Iraq.

Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore tied for first place as the most principled nations.

Of the 178 countries surveyed about public sector corruption, nearly three quarters fell below an index score of five on a scale where zero is the most corrupt and 10 is the least.

The group said Tuesday the overall results show that greater efforts must go into strengthening governance across the globe.