Illegal Payments Are More Common Than You Think

By Pete Rizzo, Editor (@pete_rizzo_)

New research from global non-profit Transparency International is once again bringing the issue of corruption to light. The organization found that 27 percent of global consumers report having paid a bribe in the last year. 

In total, the organization polled 114,000 respondents from 107 countries as part of its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer. Researchers found 16 countries where less than 5 percent of survey takers reported paying a bribe, and 14 countries where more than 50 percent reported engaging in this activity.

In this PYMNTS.com Data Point, we let you go behind the data to see larger trends.

Hover your cursor over India to view the percent of its consumers that reported paying a bribe in the last year. Scan Europe and the Middle East to see how this metric compares country-by-country, or let the full chart tell its tale. 

The study didn’t just assess bribery by country. By gender, men were more likely than women to say that they had paid a bribe. Twenty-eight percent of men reported making this type of payment compared to 25 percent of women. Certain countries proved exceptions to the rule. Men were much more likely to report paying bribes in Nepal and Pakistan. Women were more liable to report paying bribes in Colombia.

The higher the income of the respondent, the more likely he or she was to have reported taking a bribe. The study noted that 31 percent of individuals who earned more than the average income in his or her country were likely to have paid a bribe. Conversely, only 26 percent of those below the average income reported this action.

Broken down by service across 95 countries, bribes were most likely to be paid to police forces, with 31 percent of survey takers reporting a payment to these institutions. Bribes to judiciary, registry, land and medical services rounded out the top five most corrupt institutions. 

For more insights into global corruption, download the full report here.