PUBLIC perceptions of corruption as a serious problem have reduced, but Bulgarians are increasingly worried by crime, a survey has found.
Coalition 2000 this week released the findings of the survey, conducted by Vitosha Research Agency among Bulgarians aged over 18, assessing corruption indices for the third quarter of 2003.
Vitosha Research director Alexander Stoyanov said 37 per cent of those polled viewed corruption as a grave problem in July 2003, while in October the percentage dropped to 32 per cent.
At the same time, crime was seen as a problem of growing significance, which could be explai-ned by the shootings and blasts which had started to become a daily routine as of late, Stoyanov said.
Corruption was becoming a less topical issue and had dropped from fourth to fifth place. Public perception of significant social problems was still topped by the issue of unemployment, which registered a slight drop from 63 to 59 per cent, possibly demonstrating people's awareness of the effect of Labour and Social Policy Ministry employment programmes, Stoyanov said.
The survey covered two types of corruption, passive and active. In the first case, someone receives money, gifts or services in return for a service. In May 2002, the index was 0.4, meaning that between 1.5 and 2 per cent of the population would give a bribe every month. This index has been stable for more than a year now, which means that corruption is neither shrinking, nor expanding.
There was a change in the scale of bribes. In October, 83 per cent of the respondents would give bribes up to 100 leva, while in January the percentage was 63 per cent. The survey focused on petty daily corruption, meaning survey did not register bribes given by firms and commercial entities, which possibly reached higher levels, Stoyanov said.
Vitosha Research is currently conducting a survey on corruption among 450 firms. The results will be announced later this month.
The second type of corruption is "corruption pressure," meaning citizens are "invited" to give a bribe. In October, the chart of professional groups exerting corruption pressure on ordinary people was topped by university lecturers with 16.6 per cent, physicians 16.6 per cent and customs officers 15.3 per cent, followed by police officers 13.9 per cent and lawyers 13.8 per cent. The percentages are very close, almost within the frameworks of a statistical error, so, it cannot be said for sure which of these groups is most corrupt, yet it could definitely be said that there was a corruption problem in each of these groups, Stoyanov said.
The survey reflected public opinion on whether the Government had been addressing corruption efficiently. In January, March and October 2002, there was a considerable drop in the percentage of people believing the Government was doing nothing to combat corruption. Assessment rates have remained stable for a period of several months now, which means Bulgarians do not have a very high opinion of the Government's effectiveness against corruption.
"When we say the situation has not changed for some time now and has occupied low corruption levels for most than a year, this does not mean the problems have been solved. Stability in this context can be said to mean stagnation," Stoyanov said.
Coalition 2000 this week released the findings of the survey, conducted by Vitosha Research Agency among Bulgarians aged over 18, assessing corruption indices for the third quarter of 2003.
Vitosha Research director Alexander Stoyanov said 37 per cent of those polled viewed corruption as a grave problem in July 2003, while in October the percentage dropped to 32 per cent.
At the same time, crime was seen as a problem of growing significance, which could be explai-ned by the shootings and blasts which had started to become a daily routine as of late, Stoyanov said.
Corruption was becoming a less topical issue and had dropped from fourth to fifth place. Public perception of significant social problems was still topped by the issue of unemployment, which registered a slight drop from 63 to 59 per cent, possibly demonstrating people's awareness of the effect of Labour and Social Policy Ministry employment programmes, Stoyanov said.
The survey covered two types of corruption, passive and active. In the first case, someone receives money, gifts or services in return for a service. In May 2002, the index was 0.4, meaning that between 1.5 and 2 per cent of the population would give a bribe every month. This index has been stable for more than a year now, which means that corruption is neither shrinking, nor expanding.
There was a change in the scale of bribes. In October, 83 per cent of the respondents would give bribes up to 100 leva, while in January the percentage was 63 per cent. The survey focused on petty daily corruption, meaning survey did not register bribes given by firms and commercial entities, which possibly reached higher levels, Stoyanov said.
Vitosha Research is currently conducting a survey on corruption among 450 firms. The results will be announced later this month.
The second type of corruption is "corruption pressure," meaning citizens are "invited" to give a bribe. In October, the chart of professional groups exerting corruption pressure on ordinary people was topped by university lecturers with 16.6 per cent, physicians 16.6 per cent and customs officers 15.3 per cent, followed by police officers 13.9 per cent and lawyers 13.8 per cent. The percentages are very close, almost within the frameworks of a statistical error, so, it cannot be said for sure which of these groups is most corrupt, yet it could definitely be said that there was a corruption problem in each of these groups, Stoyanov said.
The survey reflected public opinion on whether the Government had been addressing corruption efficiently. In January, March and October 2002, there was a considerable drop in the percentage of people believing the Government was doing nothing to combat corruption. Assessment rates have remained stable for a period of several months now, which means Bulgarians do not have a very high opinion of the Government's effectiveness against corruption.
"When we say the situation has not changed for some time now and has occupied low corruption levels for most than a year, this does not mean the problems have been solved. Stability in this context can be said to mean stagnation," Stoyanov said.
