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Around the world political corruption is considered one of the most serious problems in society. In its most recent report on global bribery, the Berlin-based organization, Transparency International, found that the demand for bribes by government officials occurs everywhere, but the highest rates of bribery are in Africa, the Newly Independent States (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova) Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
The levels of bribery in different regions are summarized in Table 1 below. 
What people most frequently pay bribes for is shown in Table 2. The same surveys by Transparency International show that, globally, the greatest amount of corruption involves paying off the police. Second place is held by the judiciary, followed by bribes for business licenses and permits. Government education and health care are also found to be riddled with corruption, as are the legal systems in general and the tax authorities.
What the survey data shows, however, is that the degree of bribery in each of these categories varies by global region. For example, the bribing of police was most frequent everywhere, but differed in the following ways: Africa (47 percent); Newly Independent States (34 percent); Asia-Pacific (33 percent); Latin America (23 percent); South East Europe (20 percent); European Union (3 percent); and North America (2 percent).
Africa also had the highest reported rate of judicial bribery (24 percent), with Asia-Pacific coming in second with 23 percent, followed by Latin America (7 percent). In both North America and the European Union, 2-3 percent of the respondents admitted bribing someone in the judicial system.
In Africa, 22 percent of those surveyed said they had paid bribes for business licenses and permits. In Asia-Pacific, about 17 percent said they had done so, the number being about 7 percent in the countries surveyed in Latin America. In North America and the European Union, this type of bribery was admitted by, again, 2-3 percent of the respondents.
Which institutions do people around the world view as most corrupt? Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said political parties. Parliaments and legislatures came in second with 55 percent of people giving this answer. The police are viewed as a close third with 52 percent. Over 45 percent consider the judiciary as corrupt, followed by the tax authorities (45 percent); the media (42 percent) medical services (34 percent); government licensing and business permit agencies (33 percent); the military (32 percent) religious organizations (30 percent); and non-governmental organizations in general (28 percent).
Finally, what lies ahead? Transparency International found about 54 percent of all respondents expect corruption to increase in the years ahead. Only 20 thought it might become less, while 26 percent anticipate it will remain about the same. Not a very promising future for the world.
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