NAZK presented research, in which 79.4% of Ukrainians consider corruption to be one of the country’s most serious problems, second only to the military aggression of the Russian Federation. This number is a record for the last four years and reflects the growing public concern about this threat.
The head of the NAKC Viktor Pavluschyk emphasized that the results of the study demonstrate not only a high level of concern among citizens, but also indicate the need to strengthen the fight against corruption at all levels. Along with citizens, business representatives also express similar views: 76% of the entrepreneurs surveyed consider corruption to be a “very serious problem”.
The study found that political corruption, i.e. abuse of power at the highest levels (in the Government or the Verkhovna Rada), causes the greatest concern among citizens and businesses. 80.2% of the population and 76.8% of entrepreneurs called it the most serious form of corruption. This shows that the society expects from the highest state bodies not only efficient work, but also transparency and responsibility.
Corruption in relations between business and officials also remains an acute problem. For 61.5% of citizens and 48.9% of enterprises, it is “very serious”. However, everyday corruption, such as bribes in schools, hospitals or other institutions, although less critical, still worries 47.4% of the population and 18.8% of businesses.
Among the population, the judicial system was called the most corrupt, which received an average score of 4.49 out of 5 on the corruption perception scale. In second place is customs (4.4 points), followed by border control (4.26 points).
For businesses, the list looks a bit different. Entrepreneurs consider customs to be the most corrupt area (4.47 points). The areas of permitting and mining received 4.45 points, and public procurement in construction received 4.42 points.
Over the past year, citizens have noted a significant increase in the level of corruption. 69.1% of respondents believe that corruption has “increased a lot” — this is 7.9% more than in the previous year. Among businesses, the situation is similar: 57% of respondents confirmed an increase in corruption (+10.7%).
Only a small proportion of citizens and entrepreneurs saw improvement. Only 2.5% of the population and 10.4% of businesses noted a decrease in corruption.
According to citizens, the main responsibility for the fight against corruption lies with the President and the Office of the President (56.5%), the Verkhovna Rada (39.6%) and NABU (25.8%). These data reflect society’s expectations for leadership in addressing this issue.
The survey covered two key groups: citizens and business representatives. Among the population, 2,488 respondents were interviewed by the method of personal interviews, with an error of only ±2%. For business, telephone interviews were used, interviewing 1,206 entrepreneurs with a maximum error of ±3%.
