PANAMA’S ranking on the world perceived corruption ranking has remained  basically unchanged over the last five years and sits at the same level as  El Salvador, Mongolia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The index, issued  by Transparency International on Wednesday, January 27. placed Panama in 72nd place out of 168 countries..

At the top of the list are Denmark, Finland and Sweden, while Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia were at the bottom.

According to the list the best country in Latin American is Uruguay and the worst is Venezuela.

The report noted that "people working together can succeed in the fight against corruption."

It noted that people in Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Ghana worked to oust corrupt officials in 2015.

In Panama  dozens of former government officials  and businessmen linked to them during the Ricardo Martinelli administration are under investigation or awaiting trial, but concerns have been voiced recently that corrupt practices are continuing.