Macedonia tops region in bribery, study finds

On average, Macedonians are asked for or pay 5.9 bribes per year, according to the Macedonian government’s statistics office.  This averages to €80 per bribe.

The survey examined regional trends, noting that across the Western Balkans, the most common bribes are to medical professionals: About 57 percent of respondents acknowledged bribing a doctor in the last year, and a third reported paying nurses under the table.  Another 35 percent of those asked admitted to bribing police officers.

In almost half of the cases (43 percent), payment is actually offered by citizens themselves, as opposed to being requested.  Report authors said this indicates “the lack of faith some citizens have in the ability of the public administration to function without the payment of some kind of kickback for facilitating bureaucratic procedures.”

Moreover, say authors, the existence of “deficiencies and bottlenecks in the public sector is confirmed by the fact that more than a quarter of citizens who participate in an act of bribery do so to receive better treatment, while almost exactly the same number do so to speed up a procedure.”

Bribery is also reported as a key factor in attaining employment in the public sector.  One in eight who were hired last year admitted to “paying some money, giving a gift or doing a favor to help secure their position,” according to the report.

Albanians spend the least on bribes, with an average of 4.1 totaling €43. The average annual expenditure on bribes is €257, according to official calculations. Kosovo ranks first in the individual number of bribes annually.  Report researchers registered 10.2 instances of bribery per citizen for an average expenditure of €179.

According to the report, co-financed by the European Commission, corruption is more of a concern for citizens in the region than security and education.  It ranks third after unemployment and poverty.  However, 18 percent of respondents said they believed bribery was a positive practice “when constituting an expression of gratitude for services rendered.”

Authors said that the results thwarted the global tendency for bribery to be a predominantly urban phenomenon, because in the western Balkans, corruption is slightly more prevalent in rural areas.

While perceptions of safety regarding crime are generally positive, over 50 percent of respondents believe that corruption is widespread in public institutions including central and local governments, hospitals, courts, and police jurisdictions.  Over one third said they felt corruption is increasing.