Thailand's global corruption ranking has improved this year to 85 out of a total of 175 countries and territories, compared with a ranking of 102 last year, meaning the country is now regarded as less corrupt.
The government hopes to have the country ranked among the top 50 least corrupt within the next three years.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released yesterday, ranks countries and territories on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be.
Thailand ranks 85th on the list with a score of 38 points out of a possible 100, where the higher the score, the less corrupt a country is seen as being. The country ranked 102nd with a score of 35 last year.
In Asean, Singapore ranks highest at 7th with a score of 84, followed by Malaysia in 50th (50 points). The Philippines and Thailand are equal 85th (38 points), Indonesia is listed 107th (34 points), Vietnam is 119th (31 points), Laos ranks 145th (25 points), while Cambodia and Myanmar are both ranked 156th (21 points).
Denmark topped the list with 92 points, followed by New Zealand with 91, then Finland at 89. Somalia and North Korea were considered most corrupt with only 8 points. The index is drawn from 12 surveys, including ones conducted by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chairman Panthep Klanarongran said he was satisfied with this year's ranking which shows the country's anti-corruption efforts are improving.
"It's not an easy task for a country to get a better score like this," he said, adding that the government's anti-graft policy and national reforms helped the result.
The NACC has received full backing in its anti-graft efforts and law enforcement has been effective since the coup in May, Mr Panthep said. He said the NACC wants Thailand to break into the CPI's top 50 countries with a score of around 50 by 2017.
Churee Wichitwathakan, secretary-general of Transparency Thailand, an anti-graft network of private sector and civil society groups, said only Singapore and Malaysia scored 50 and above in Asean.
Thailand's improvement followed cooperation by various sectors in dealing with corruption and anti-graft campaigns in schools and universities, she said.
"Awareness among Thai people is rising and this is a good sign for the country," she said.
Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said his ministry will allow the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand to monitor three ministry projects to ensure transparency, the Suvarnabhumi airport expansion, the procurement of 3,183 gas-fueled public buses, and the Bang Sue-Tha Phra section of the Blue Line electric rail route.