Ukrainians believe that the level of corruption in the country increased in 2023, and that the responsibility for fighting corruption lies primarily with the head of state, the President's Office, the National Anticorruption Bureau and the Verkhovna Rada.
This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Info Sapiens on behalf of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"This year, the majority of the population - 61.2% - believes that the level of corruption has increased. Among businesses, the number is 46.3%. Business is more optimistic about the situation than the population," Info Sapiens CEO Dmytro Savchuk commented on the survey results.
As for those directly responsible for corruption in Ukraine, both the population (47.5%) and business (48.3%) hold the top leadership of the state, in particular, the head of state and the Presidential Office, responsible. According to the survey, the NABU is second in the ranking of those responsible for fighting corruption - 36.9% of respondents expressed this opinion. Business, in turn, puts the Verkhovna Rada in second place in terms of responsibility, with 39.2% of respondents making this point.
When assessing the performance of public authorities responsible for fighting corruption in one way or another, Ukrainians have returned to the results of the pre-war period.
Thus, according to respondents, the SBU is the most effective in fighting corruption (20.29%), followed by the president, while the NABU is ranked third. The Verkhovna Rada is considered the least effective body (in the fight against corruption).
In 2022, Ukrainians noted a leap in the efficiency of all government agencies.
As for the areas in which corruption should be tackled first, Ukrainians believe it is the judiciary. Half of all respondents agree with this opinion, and this figure has increased compared to last year and the year before.
"People's rejection of corruption is growing. This is one of the key arguments that underpins the formation of zero tolerance among people in general," said NAPC chairman Viktor Pavlushchyk.
The second important point, he said, is the public's attitude to exposing corruption. "According to the survey, corruption whistleblowers are people who bring benefits," he said.
The NAPC head stressed that this social survey will help identify corruption-prone areas, and the results will be taken into account when formulating anti-corruption policy.
The survey was conducted in November-December 2023 by Info Sapiens, a sociological company commissioned by the NAPC. This is the fifth wave of a nationwide comprehensive assessment of the corruption situation in Ukraine. The study included a representative survey of the population and business representatives. A total of 2,500 Ukrainians were interviewed in person in the territories controlled by the Ukrainian government. Telephone interviews were conducted with 2,100 business representatives.