Countries with the least corruption have been best positioned to weather the health and economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic according to a closely-watched annual study released Thursday by an anti-graft organization.

Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the perception of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, concluded that countries that performed well invested more in health care, were “better able to provide universal health coverage and are less likely to violate democratic norms.”

“COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis,” said Transparency head Delia Ferreira Rubio. “It is a corruption crisis – and one that we are currently failing to manage.”

This year’s index showed the United States hitting a new low amid a steady decline under the presidency of Donald Trump, with a score of 67 on a scale where 0 is “highly corrupt” and 100 is “very clean.”

That still put the U.S. 25th on the list in a tie with Chile, but behind many other western democracies. It dropped from scores of 69 in 2019, 71 in 2018 and […]