Welcome to the TI web pages on poverty & development. Here, you will find information and different resources on current efforts that are being undertaken by TI and other international organisations to alleviate poverty and to advance development by fighting corruption.

TI views the level of poverty that still prevails in the world as unacceptably high. Corruption aggravates poverty. Surveys of the very poor in developing countries point to corruption as having a significant and detrimental impact on their lives. For a poor household, the bribe randomly extorted by a police officer may mean that families cannot afford to pay school fees for their children or to buy goods to maintain their small business and source of income.

Corruption not only reduces the net income of the poor but also wrecks programmes related to their basic needs, from sanitation to education to healthcare. It results in the misallocation of resources to the detriment of poverty reduction programmes.

The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is put at risk unless corruption is tackled as an integral part of poverty reduction strategies. Many political leaders of the developing world view corruption as a very serious impediment to the overall development of their countries. Corruption threats and risks are increasingly taken into account in the design of national development programmes. The growing global consensus on the importance of corruption as an impediment to development is reflected in the ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

We welcome your suggestions and recommendations for improvements and additions to this website. Please contact Kulan Amin at poverty@transparency.org for further information.