Transparency International (TI), a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption, yesterday rated Nigeria 121st in a survey of 180 most corrupt nations.

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI), released in Berlin, Germany, puts Nigeria's integrity at 2.5 ahead of such nations as Indonesia, Libya, Uganda, Pakistan, Iran, Cameroon and the Philippines.

The integrity score is prepared by a mathematical calculation by a Switzerland-based professor on the basis of the findings of the surveys on governance.

TI listed Nigeria among the countries where in the last year, there has been "significant improvement" in the battle against corruption.

Last year, Nigeria ranked 147 and three years ago 152.

Other countries that have improved are Albania, Cyprus, Georgia, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, South Korea, Tonga and Turkey.

The Berlin-based watchdog drew attention to how corruption has created a humanitarian disaster which threatens to derail the global fight against poverty.

It urged donor agencies to address the problem by carefully targeting aid.

For the second year running, Somalia and Myanmar received the poorest marks, each scoring 1.4, just below Iraq on 1.5. Corruption in India has increased marginally in the last two years, taking its position from 72 to 85. The organisation puts India's integrity score at 3.4 as against 3.5 last year.

India and China were at par last year in the corruption index. But this year, China's position is 72. Pakistan, with 2.5 integrity score, has been ranked at 134 in the list.

Denmark defended its rank as the world's least corrupt country, alongside Sweden and New Zealand. All scored 9.3.

In a statement accompanying the rating, Transparency International Chair, Huguette Labelle, called the high levels of corruption in low income countries a "humanitarian disaster."

"Stemming corruption requires strong oversight through parliaments, law enforcement, independent media and a vibrant civil society.

"When these institutions are weak, corruption spirals out of control with horrendous consequences for ordinary people and for justice and equality in societies more broadly," Labelle said.

TI estimated that unchecked level of corruption would add $50 billion or nearly half of annual global aid outlays to the cost of achieving the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals on combating poverty.