Corruption has increased in Armenia
The most corrupt sphere in Armenia is education and it surpasses the judicial, police and healthcare systems. Today Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center released the indicators of corruption not only in Armenia, but around the world in 2010 on the International Day of the Fight against Corruption.
In the period between June 1 and September 30, 91,000 citizens of 86 countries, including Armenia, were asked about their perceptions of corruption.
Based on the results, corruption has grown around the world and it is especially seen in developed countries, that is, North America and EU countries. Whereas education has been perceived as the most corrupt sphere in Armenia, political parties have been considered the most corrupt around the world.
According to Transparency International experts, the indicators are not as surprising in Armenia as they are in Georgia. According to the corruption perception barometer, Georgia has set a world record with its optimism-78% of Georgians believe that corruption has decreased in the country. However, exactly half of RA citizens say corruption has grown in the past 3 years and only 15% are sure that there is progress.
53% of Armenian citizens are sure that corruption exists in the country due to the government's inefficient efforts. The only positive indicator in the studies is that the number of people giving bribes has decreased from 43 to 22 percent compared to last year.
According to Head of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center Sona Ayvazyan, it is impossible to lead a systematic fight against corruption when there is an atmosphere of impunity in the country. "Unfortunately, that is the case in Armenia. The political and economic monopolies are making power absolute, which can't survive without corruption."
According to her, the society should not tolerate injustice and illegal actions; otherwise there will be no progress in the fight against corruption. "There are people who have either come to grips with the thought that, say, the healthcare system is corrupt and they shouldn't complain about it or simply don't believe that there can be any progress in the fight," says Sona Ayvazyan.
