GCB2009/2009/in focus/news room

02 June 2009

Global Corruption Barometer 2009

Transparency International’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer reveals a growing distrust of business, the daily struggle of the world’s poor with petty bribery and public unconvinced of governments’ anti-corruption efforts.

A global public opinion survey, the 2009 Barometer reflects the views of more than 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories around the world.

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Consumers demand zero corruption

From mitigating financial, legal and reputational risks to generating stable returns, the business case against corruption is unquestionable. The 2009 Barometer shows that zero corruption matters to consumers as well. Half of respondents globally expressed a willingness to pay a premium to buy from corruption-free companies. In Cambodia, Hong Kong, Liberia and Sierra Leone, this number rose to as many as 4 in 5 respondents. Making the business case against corruption even more persuasive, this finding provides business with a powerful incentive to prove that they are clean and to communicate this clearly with the public.

Companies must do more, though, to address the challenges posed by corruption. More than half of those polled believe that the private sector uses bribes to influence public policy, laws and regulations. Half of respondents view the private sector as corrupt. Moreover, in roughly a fifth of the countries and territories surveyed, respondents identified the private sector as the most corrupt institution.

Single institution/sector perceived to be most affected by corruption, by country

Institution/Sector

Political Parties	Parliament/ Legislature	Business/ Private Sector	Public officials/ Civil Servants	Judiciary

countries not included

podcast>>

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Robin Hodess, Director of Policy and Research, presents the findings of the 2009 Global Corruption Report.	Juanita Riaño, Coordinora Senior - Programa Herramientas de Medición de la Corrupción, presenta los resultados de Latino América del Barómetro Global de la Corrupción (en español)
Robin Hodess Policy & Research Director	Juanita Riaño Senior Programme Coordinator on Measuring Corruption

World’s poor persistently hard hit

The global economic downturn has affected people around the world, but in particular the poorest. As jobs and incomes shrink, petty bribery compounds the already difficult situation of low-income households. The 2009 Barometer reveals that low-income respondents continue to be more likely to pay bribes than high-income respondents.

“As economic growth shifts into reverse, poor households are increasingly forced to make impossible choices in allocating scarce resources,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair, Transparency International. “Do parents pay a bribe so that a sick child can see a doctor or do they buy food for their family? It is simply unacceptable that families continue to face these decisions.”

In Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda, more than 50 per cent of respondents reported paying a bribe in the past 12 months. Regionally, the Middle East and North Africa registered the worst results, with 4 in 10 respondents reporting bribe payments in the last year. Worryingly, petty bribery was reported to be on the rise in Venezuela, Ghana, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bolivia, Senegal, Russia and Kenya. The police are most frequently reported to be given bribes worldwide - one in four of those who had contact with them in the previous year claim to have paid a bribe.

Government efforts lacking

More than half of those interviewed in the 2009 Barometer rated their governments’ anti-corruption efforts as ineffective. Fewer than 1 in 10 respondents in Argentina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Ukraine considered their governments’ efforts effective. In comparison, 7 in 10 or more respondents in Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nigeria and Singapore see their governments’ efforts to be effective.

In keeping with past editions of the Barometer, 68 per cent of respondents view political parties as corrupt, and 29 per cent saw them as the single most corrupt institution in their country. The civil service and parliament follows closely behind, perceived by 63 and 60 per cent of respondents as being corrupt.

The legitimacy and effectiveness of official channels for making corruption-related complaints are not trusted. Fewer than one in four of respondents who reported paying a bribe in the previous year filed a formal complaint, while most of those interviewed felt that existing channels were ineffective.

Call for action

Just as in the past five editions, the 2009 Barometer underlines the general public’s negative perceptions of public institutions and government anti-corruption efforts, and low-income households being burdened with petty bribe payments. The increasingly critical view of the private sector and a public motivated to pay a premium for clean business are new developments. However, the 2009 Barometer makes clear that much must be done by the private and public sectors to gain the public trust.

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