The bloody civil war in Syria is having yet another impact: The nation is now considered one of the most corrupt in the world, according to newly released data from the anti-corruption group Transparency International.
The organization's annual "Corruption Perceptions Index," first published in 1995, is one of the most closely watched barometers of the issue. The group surveyed experts on public sector corruption in 177 countries, grading each nation on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being "highly corrupt" and 100 being "very clean."
Play Video
US 'long way away' from most transparent countries
Robert Barrington, executive director at Transparency International, reveals which countries are at the bottom of the transparency survey and why the U.S. is "quite a long way" from the top 10.
Syria has never been considered particularly virtuous, but growing attention to the business dealings of President Bashar al-Assad and his associates helped its score plunge to 17 from 26 in 2012. The country now ranks near the bottom—tied with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for 168th place. It ranked 144th last year.
(Read more: Corruption worsens amid deep distrust of government)
But no nation has a monopoly on corruption, according to the study, which found that 70 percent of the countries scored 50 or below.
"The 'Corruption Perceptions Index 2013' demonstrates that all countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations," Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International, said in a statement.