India has been placed in a better position than neighbouring China in a global list that measures business bribery risks while, New Zealand has emerged as the country with lowest bribery risk.

The list by TRACE, an anti-bribery standard setting organisation, measures business bribery risk in 200 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions.

With a total risk score of 48, India is ranked higher than neighbouring China whose score is 59.

Apart from India, Azerbaijan, Ghana, the Bahamas, Panama, Samoa and Thailand, also have a score of 48 in the matrix.

The score is based on four factors -- Business Interactions with Government, Anti-Bribery Deterrence and Enforcement, Government and Civil Service Transparency, and Capacity for Civil Society Oversight, including the role of the media.

Among the BRICS nations, South Africa is ahead of other countries with a score of 42.

The scores of Brazil and Russian Federation are 53 and 55, respectively.

“Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Yemen and Venezuela presented the highest risk of bribe demands. New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland presented the lowest bribery risk,” TRACE said in a statement on its website.

TRACE President Alexandra Wrage said the matrix provides multi-dimensional, actionable insights about business bribery risk that can be used by companies to develop more targeted compliance procedures.