Indicator 16.3.a, b Corruption Perceptions Index in Germany and in partner
countries for German development cooperation

Text from the Indicator Report 2022 

The study on CPI conducted by Transparency International is the most comprehensive overview study on perceived public sector corruption. The CPI is a composite indicator that is based on various expert and corporate surveys regarding the perception of corruption in the public sector. Depending on the survey, underlying definitions of corruption may differ, and the sources used for calculations may change over time. The results of these surveys are prone to distortions due to information about prior CPI values or results from similar studies. The index includes all countries for which at least three selected surveys are available. In its analysis of the CPI, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission points out that, the statistical significance of the change must also be examined when the results are interpreted and that even in the case of statistically significant differences, the results of this indicator should be interpreted with caution. Hence, comparison over time and among countries is limited.

Compared to 2012, Germany’s score improved from 79 to 80 points in 2021. This value has worsen in comparison to 2017, which means that Germany comes to tenth place in the ranking. Though, compared with 2012, this change should not be viewed as statistically significant (at a significance level of 5 %).

The Federal Statistical Office also gathers information on the topic of corruption as part of its satisfaction survey on official services. According to this survey, during their contact with public authorities 3.9 % of the population had the impression in 2021 that public service employees were susceptible to corruption. In the corresponding survey of companies, 4.0 % of companies had the impression that public service employees were open to corruption.

The Police Crime Statistics record all criminal matters that become known to the police. In 2021, 712 cases of accepting/granting a benefit as well as taking/offering a bribe were recorded in the public sector. Furthermore, the Police Crime Statistics also list cases where bribes were taken or offered in commercial practice as well as concomitant offences of corruption such as fraud and breach of trust, document forgery, agreements in restriction of competition upon invitations to tender, obstruction of punishment, false certification in public office and violation of official secrecy.

With reference to German official development assistance, 48 of the 87 partner countries evaluated by the CPI scored better in 2021 compared with 2012. In the review period, the number of partner countries developing in a positive direction has increased each year up to 2016. Their number decreased slightly in 2018 and increased again in the subsequent years. As many as 31 partner countries of German development assistance reported a statistically significant improvement (at a significance level of 5 %) in 2021 compared with 2012. In 2014, six partner countries had reported a significant improvement.