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Man gently accepts bribe via Shutterstock
# Brown Envelopes
Almost one in three people paid a bribe in the last year, global survey finds
27 per cent of respondents admitted paying a bribe in the last 12 months, but more than two-thirds of those asked to pay say they refused.
More than one person in two thinks corruption has worsened in the last two years, according to a global public opinion survey on the issue.
114,000 people in 107 countries were polled as part of the research, carried out by anti-corruption group Transparency International. Of that number, 27 per cent said they had paid a bribe in the last 12 months, showing no improvement from previous surveys.
Two-thirds of those who were asked to pay a bribe said they refused, the survey found, while nearly nine out of ten said they would act against corruption.
“Bribe paying levels remain very high worldwide, but people believe they have the power to stop corruption,” chair of the group Huguette Labelle said. “The number of those willing to combat the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery is significant”.
The Global Corruption Barometer found that in many countries, the institutions people rely on to fight corruption are themselves not trusted. 36 countries view police as the most corrupt authority, and in those countries an average of 53 per cent of people said they had been asked to pay a bribe to the police.
20 countries view the judiciary as the most corrupt, and in those countries an average of 30 per cent of people who had come in contact with the judicial system had been asked to pay a bribe.
In the UK, 65 per cent of those surveyed said corruption had increased in recent years, with 28 per cent saying it had stayed the same. Ireland was not surveyed as part of this year’s survey.
Read: Ireland failing to tackle corruption, claims report >
Read: How to prevent corruption in future: Mahon’s recommendations >
