• Bribery is widespread: Overall, more than one in four people (27 per cent) report having paid a bribe in the last 12 months when interacting with key public institutions and services.
  • Public institutions entrusted with the task of protecting people suffer the worst levels of bribery: Among the eight services evaluated, the police and the judiciary are seen as the two most bribery-prone institutions. An estimated 31 per cent of the people who came into contact with the police report having paid a bribe. For those interacting with the judiciary, the share is 24 per cent.
  • Governments are not thought to be doing enough to hold the corrupt to account: The majority of people around the world believe that their government is ineffective in fighting corruption and that corruption in their country is getting worse.
  • The democratic pillars of societies are viewed as the most corrupt: Around the world, political parties, the driving force of democracies, are perceived to constitute the most corrupt institution.
  • Personal connections are seen as corrupting the public administration: People surveyed regard corruption in their country as more than just paying bribes—almost two out of three people believe that personal contacts and relationships help to get things done in the public sector in their countries.
  • Powerful groups rather than the public good are judged to be driving government actions: More than one in two people (54 per cent) think their government is largely or entirely run by groups acting in their own interests rather than for the benefit of the citizens.
  • People state they are ready to change this status-quo: Nearly 9 in 10 surveyed say they would act against corruption. The majority of people said that they would be willing to speak up and report an incident of corruption. Two-thirds of those asked to pay a bribe say they refused.