BERLIN, Jan. 27 - Ukraine's challenges in tackling corruption remain daunting, at least if you go by a report just out by Transparency International.

According to a global 2015 index by the public interest group, the level of public sector corruption in the country is only exceeded by 33 countries of the 168 covered by the report.

Ukraine's 130th place ranking puts the country on par with Iran, Nepal, Nicaragua and Paraguay. The country's raw score, according to the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index methodology, weighed in at 27, with zero to seven being “highly corrupt“ and countries with scores of 90 to 100 certified as “very clean."