One in four people in Malta knows someone who took or accepted a bribe, according to a Eurobarometer survey showing that a quarter of the population also thinks “everyone knows about these cases and no one reports them”.

According to the survey, the main reason why people in Malta do not report corruption is the belief “it would be pointless” as those reported would not get into trouble.

The Eurobarometer data shows that, overall, 10% of Europeans personally know someone who accepted bribes. The highest percentage was recorded in Greece (32%), followed by Malta (26%), Lithuania (23%) and Latvia (22%).

The lowest percentages were in Ireland (4%), Italy (5%) and Romania (6%).  

Malta saw the highest shift in this case, with an increase of nine percentage points since 2023.

Malta also had the highest percentage of people who said they feared getting into trouble if they reported a case of corruption: with 35% followed by Lithuania (33%), Greece (26%), and Cyprus (26%).

Data showed that 79% believe that high-level corruption cases are not pursued sufficiently. Asked who they would trust most to deal with a report of corruption, the majority – 59% - named the police, followed by the national ombudsman (21%), and journalists (14%)

Reasons given why the Maltese would not report corruption. Source: Eurobarometer survey

The survey results were published in a report called Citizens’ Attitudes Towards Corruption in the EU in 2024, which looked at the general perceptions of corruption across 27 EU countries.

The fieldwork was carried out between February and March this year among 26,000 participants.

The findings painted a grim picture of a Europe, where the majority of citizens - 68% - believe corruption is prevalent in their country.

The picture was even darker for Malta where figures continued to rise with 95% of Maltese believing there is widespread corruption - up from 92% last year.

While 70% believe the level of corruption increased in the past three years, 23% said it stayed the same. 

According to the Maltese, bribes are most prevalent in political parties (73%) followed by the official issuing of building permits (67%), and national/local politicians (63%). The least corruption was perceived in the education sector (20%), banks and financial institutions (26%) and private companies (27%).

How people in Malta experience corruption. Source: Eurobarometer survey

Half of the Maltese - 56% - think corruption impacts their daily life compared to the 27% EU average.

The bulk believe it is never acceptable to do a favour, give a gift (82%) or give money (84%) to get what you want.

The majority – 88% - also believe that too-close links between business and politics lead to corruption, with 80% thinking that favouritism and corruption hamper business competition.

About half – 54% - said that the only way to succeed in business is to have political connections.

Perceived corruption across 27 EU countries. Source: Eurobarometer survey