ZAGREB, February 20, 2018 - As many as 94% of respondents in Croatia believe corruption is widespread in the country, 58% think it has increased in the past three years, but 80% claim they did not experience or witness a case of corruption over the past year, according to Eurobarometer findings presented on Tuesday.
Denmark fares best in the perception of corruption, with 75% of respondents saying corruption is rare in their country, followed by Finland (74%), and Sweden (62%). On the other end are Greece, where 96% of respondents think corruption is widespread, Spain, Cyprus and Croatia (94% in each).
A survey on the perception of corruption was conducted last October in the European Union's 28 member states, covering 28,080 respondents.
In Croatia, 5% of respondents think corruption is rare and 1% said they did not know. In the EU, 68% think corruption is widespread and 25% that it is rare. Also, 58% of Croats think corruption has increased in the last three years and 33% that it has stayed the same. In the EU, 43% of respondents think corruption has increased and 36% that it has stayed the same.
In Croatia, 59% of respondents think corruption affects them in daily life, while 38% disagree with that statement. In the EU, 25% think corruption affects them in daily life, while 68% claimed otherwise.
In Croatia, 61% of respondents think political parties are the most corrupt (61% in the EU), followed by politicians at national, regional and local level (59% in Croatia and 53% in the EU), courts (58% in Croatia and 23% in the EU), the police and customs (55% in Croatia and 31% in the EU).
Asked if they experienced or witnessed a case of corruption in the last 12 months, 80% of respondents in Croatia said no and 16% said yes (93% and 5% respectively in the EU). Asked if they reported a case of corruption, 95% of Croats said no (81% in the EU), while only 4% said yes (18% in the EU).
Croats' trust in institutions about tackling corruption is weak. Asked who they would trust the most to deal with a corruption case, 34% of respondents said the police (60% in the EU), followed by media, newspapers and journalists (29% in Croatia and 14% in the EU), and a specialised anti-corruption agency (27% in Croatia and 10% in the EU).
In the last 12 months, 65% of Croats went to a doctor or stayed in hospital and 95% said they did not have to give an additional payment, valuable gift or make a hospital donation (96% in the EU).
While 76% of respondents in Croatia think that favouritism and corruption hamper business competition, 75% think corruption is part of the business culture and 81% that having political connections is the only way to succeed in business.
