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North Korea retreated four notches in an annual international corruption ranking to 174th among 180 countries last year, a report by an anti-corruption watchdog showed Monday.

The reclusive North scored 16 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report issued by the Berlin-based Transparency International, down two points from the previous year.

The index evaluates countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, using data collected "by a variety of reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum."

North Korea does "not have the basic institutional infrastructure ― such as mechanisms for administration and rule of law ― to form an integrity system," the watchdog said.

South Korea climbed a notch to rank 32nd with 62 points, while Denmark, Finland and New Zealand shared the top spot with 88 points. South Sudan was at the bottom of the list with 11 points. (Yonhap)