Albanians are "masters" of bribery/ They rank second in Europe, in relation to population

2026-05-25 08:37:00, Sociale CNA

Albanians are "masters" of bribery/ They rank second in Europe, in

After the 1990s, the culture of bribery in Albania became commonplace. The perception was that if you didn't pay, you wouldn't get any work done in the administration, you wouldn't be served in hospitals, or in other institutions.

Although many services have gone online in recent years, recent Eurostat data showed that registered bribery offenses in Albania for 2024 remain high in relation to the population.

According to Eurostat, 261 criminal proceedings for bribery were registered in 2024, or 10.9 proceedings per 100,000 inhabitants. At this level, Albanians rank second in Europe for bribery in relation to population, after Hungary, which has a record of 39 proceedings per 100,000 inhabitants.

Hungary clearly tops the rankings, with 38.99 prosecutions per 100,000 inhabitants, a level far higher than all other countries. Hungary has faced international criticism for years over corruption and weaknesses in the implementation of anti-bribery measures.

The OECD has expressed concern about the low level of law enforcement against international bribery in Hungary and the lack of progress on previous recommendations. However, Eurostat emphasizes that data on criminal offenses recorded by the police should be interpreted with caution, as they are affected by changes in legislation, recording methods, reporting practices and the intensity of law enforcement in each country.

In the case of Hungary, the high level may also be related to the way the authorities record bribery cases and the greater focus of law enforcement bodies on this category of offenses.

In the case of Albania, the high level of bribery prosecutions is related to a combination of factors: a strong presence of petty corruption in public services, a long-standing culture of informality, and an increased focus of law enforcement institutions on corruption offences.

The European Commission has stressed that corruption remains a serious area of ??concern for Albania, despite progress in judicial reform and the growing role of SPAK in investigating high-level corruption. Transparency International data also shows that the perception of corruption in the public sector remains problematic.

In the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Albania scored 42 out of 100 and ranked 80th globally, still far behind Western European countries. A previous UNODC and INSTAT study on corruption in Albania showed that bribery was seen by many citizens as a common practice, while less than 1% of those who encountered bribery reported the incident.

In Albania, since 2016 when data was reported, the highest number of proceedings was recorded in 2022 with 495 such proceedings.

In the region, Albania stands significantly higher than other countries. Montenegro has 4.01 proceedings per 100 thousand inhabitants, Kosovo 2.24, Serbia 1.83, North Macedonia 1.2, while Bosnia and Herzegovina does not appear in this graph for this category. Albania's large difference with neighboring countries shows that bribery remains a phenomenon present in the relationship between citizens, businesses and public institutions.

In developed Western European countries, bribery prosecutions are much lower in relation to population. Italy has 0.52 prosecutions per 100,000 inhabitants, Portugal 0.48, Switzerland 0.41, Denmark 0.32 and Spain only 0.18. This does not necessarily mean that corruption is absent, but it does indicate that direct bribery in everyday services is less widespread or less registered as a criminal offense.

In these countries, corruption often appears in more sophisticated forms, such as conflict of interest, influence in tenders, dishonest lobbying or favoritism in public contracts. While in countries with weaker institutions, bribery remains more vulnerable to the ordinary citizen, in administrative services, health, police, education or relations with local government./ Monitor Magazine

Albanians are "masters" of bribery/ They rank second in Europe, in