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Ireland has been ranked as the 16th least corrupt nation in a new survey which reveals that corruption in poor countries has created a humanitarian disaster which threatens to derail the global fight against poverty.

Releasing its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) today, the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said donor countries should address the problem by carefully targeting aid.

The index ranks 180 countries according to perceived levels of public sector corruption. The CPI scores countries on a zero to 10 scale, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low levels.

Denmark defended its ranking as the world's least corrupt nation, alongside Sweden and New Zealand. All scored 9.3. Ireland was ranked in 16th place with a score of 7.7. Last year, Ireland achieved a score of 7.5 putting it in 17th place.