New Opinion Poll Finds Danes to be Strongly Against Corruption Overseas

But the richer they are the less they care

An opinion poll published today by TI-Denmark and Gallup shows strong public rejection towards Danish companies bribing civil servants abroad. 73% of respondents find it unacceptable if Danish businesspeople bribe public servants in developing countries to obtain orders, and 56% say that Danish development aid to countries with a corruption problem should be stopped or decreased while only 25% say there should be no change in aid. And Danes seem to care even stronger about preventing corruption in Central and Eastern Europe: 75% find it unacceptable to do corrupt business there.

The poll was made public by TI-Denmark, the Danish National Chapter of Transparency International, an international anti-corruption organisation headquartered in Berlin. It was conducted among a sample of 764 people

The poll is all the more interesting against the background of the newly launched TI Corruption Perceptions Index which shows Denmark to be perceived as the least corrupt country worldwide. The chairman of TI, Prof. Dr. Peter Eigen said that "this poll shows very clearly that rejection of corruption is deeply rooted in Danish society."

While there is strong condemnation of bribery in Denmark, wide differences between individual groups persist. Whereas 82% of the women asked find it unacceptable for a Danish company to obtain its orders in developing countries through bribery, only 64% of men share that notion. And though 79% of the people in the lowest income group think that bribes paid abroad should not be tax-deductible, only 10% of those in the highest income bracket hold the same opinion.

The poll also runs counter to the commonly held belief of a deterioration of values among young people. Although young people in Denmark are less likely than older people to think of corruption as a big problem, they are more strict about the practical consequences: Of those between 15 and 24 of age, 84% find it unacceptable to use bribery to win contracts abroad - compared to only 68% in the 40 to 59 years-age group.

If you have any further questions, please contact Mr Torben Ishoy, (Chairman) of the Danish chapter of TI at Phone/Fax: +45-44 44 05 07, or the TI-headquarters at Tel. +49-30-343 8200, Fax. +49-30-3470 3912 or [email protected].

The full text of the survey is also available from TI-Denmark.

For any press enquiries please contact

Mr Torben Ishoy, (Chairman) of the Danish chapter of TI
Phone/Fax: +45-44 44 05 07

or the TI-headquarters
Tel. +49-30-343 8200, Fax. +49-30-3470 3912
[email protected]