Corruption in Albania: 2010 Survey

USAID Albania, IDRA, Corruption Survey, Ambassador Withers
IDRA

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Stephanie Pepi
+355 4-229-3384

Tirana, May 05, 2010     Today, USAID released its sixth annual public opinion survey.  The survey - conducted by IDRA with the support of USAID  - tracks the perceptions of ordinary citizens, public officials, and judges regarding corruption in Albania, as well as their experience with corruption.  Below you will find a summary of findings:

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CORRUPTION IN ALBANIA: PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCE 2010

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION:   The perception of corruption in Albania remains high.  The average corruption perception of 20 institutions and groups evaluated in 2010 is 62.4 points on a 0-100 scale, where 0 means “Very honest” and 100 means “Very corrupt.  Religious leaders, the President, the military, the media, public school teachers and NGO leaders continue to be perceived as the least corrupt institutions and groups among the 20 evaluated.  On the other hand, custom officials, tax officials and doctors are perceived as the most corrupt institutions/groups evaluated.  According to the general public, corruption among public officials is common. 91.8% of the respondents think that corruption among public officials is either “Widespread” or “Somewhat widespread”.

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION:  Overall, the Albanian public has a negative perception of the contribution that different institutions have made in the fight against corruption.  The average score for the 9 institutions/groups evaluated is 42.4 points, which is below the midpoint scale from 0-100 where 0 means “Does not help at all” and 100 means “Helps a lot”.  As in previous years, media is the only institution that is perceived to help in the fight against corruption. It scores 61 points in 2010.  All the other institutions and groups are evaluated below the mid-point scale.  High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets, religious leaders and courts are seen as the least helpful in the fight against corruption.  Albanian citizens’ trust in institutions continues to be very low.

TRUST:  On average, the trust score for all institutions evaluated is 43.5 points, on a 0-100 scale where 0 means “Do not trust at all” and 100 means “Trust a lot”.  Only the military is rated with a score above 50 points.  The Property Restitution and Compensation Agency (28), trade unions (32) and political parties (32) are the least trusted institutions in 2010.

TRANSPARENCY:  Both the general public and public sector employees perceive that transparency in institutions is low overall.  The average score of nine institutions considered is below the midpoint in the 0-100 scale where 0 means “Not at all transparent” and 100 means “Fully transparent”, 38.7 points by the general public and 48.9 points by public sector employees.  The most transparent institutions in the eyes of the general public are considered to be local government and Ministry of Education, both with 44 points, while the least transparent is considered to be the Property Restitution and Compensation Agency (PRCA) with 26 points.

CORRUPTION EXPERIENCE:  In 2010, respondents report to have been victimized on average 1.31 ways out of 10 ways surveyed.  The corruption victimization index has not changed from 2009. Still, the index is lower than in 2005 where the reported direct experience with corruption was 1.7 ways out of 10.  In almost all of scenarios provided in the questionnaire, the percentage of respondents who declare to have been a victim of corruption in the respective scenario has decreased from 2005.  The health sector still remains the one most quoted for bribery.  In 2010, 33.5% of respondents declared to have offered a bribe to a doctor or a nurse.

ATTITUDES TOWARD CORRUPTION:  Attitudes toward corruption over the years show little change. In the scenario where a student gives a shirt to a teacher hoping to receive a better grade, empathy for the ‘giver’ is less strong than for the mother’s scenario.  The proportion of respondents who think of the student as “Corrupt and must be punished” has not differed significantly over the years.  In 2010, there is a significant increase in those who justify corruption as well as a significant decrease in those who think the student is not corrupt.  The Albanian public perceives businesses that inflate prices during periods of higher demand as engaging in corrupt practices.  When asked about a flower vendor who increases prices during holidays, approximately one in two respondents judged the flower vendor as “Corrupt and must be punished.”  33.8% of the respondents said the vendor was “corrupt but justified” while only 17.5% said the vendor was “not corrupt.”  From 2009 to 2010, more respondents consider the vendor corrupt but also more consider the vendor justified.  Also, in the case of a lawyer who charges too high a fee for the services provided, the general public (71.5%) considers that the lawyer is engaging in a corrupt practice.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM:  Trust toward the judicial system has declined from 2009, having increased steadily from 2005. In this year’s survey, only 35.9% of the respondents declared that they trust the judicial system either “A lot” or to “Some” degree.  This is 10.7 percentage points lower than 2009.  The proportion of respondents who trust the judiciary “A little” or “Not at all” remains high at 64.1%.  Treatment by the courts has deteriorated from 2009. 38% of respondents who have dealt with the courts believe they have been treated “Poorly” or “Very poorly”.  This is 11.3 percentage points worse than 2009. According to the general public, 79.7% of them declare that it is difficult to get information from the courts; a deterioration of 10.2 points from 2009.

PROBLEMS FACING ALBANIA:  The economy is the number one public concern in 2010.  Slightly more than half of the respondents (53.9%) think the country’s economic situation is “Bad” or “Very Bad”.  There are slightly fewer respondents who think that the economy will be better in the coming year.  Those who expect an economic stagnation have increased from 35.3% in 2009 to 39.8% in 2010.  Citizens continue to be pessimistic about the economic future.  Roughly a quarter of the general public thinks that the country’s economic situation will be worse a year from now.

Sample Size & Margin of Error

 

 Sample Frame  Number of Respondents  Margin of error
 General Public Sample 2010  1,194  (18+ years old)  ±  2.8%
 Public Sector employees  600 public employees  ±  4.0%

 

Corruption in Albania: Summary Findings 2010 [PDF, 3.4MB]