98% of Greeks believe corruption widespread in country: Survey

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – About 98% of Greeks believe that corruption is widespread in the country, a survey by the Eurostat revealed on Wednesday.

While in 23 EU countries, majority of the respondents believe that corruption is widespread in their countries, in seven countries nine out of 10 citizens agree with this view, with Greeks having the highest percentage, according to the survey.

Greece is followed by Portugal with 96%, Slovenia and Malta, both with 95%, Croatia with 92%, Greek Cypriot administration with 91% and Spain with 90%.

More peculiarly, 53% of Greeks think corruption has worsened, 38% feel the situation has remained unchanged, and only 5% believe it has improved in the country.

The survey shows a significant portion of Greeks do not trust institutions in the country.

Accordingly, 71% of Greeks perceive corruption within political parties, compared to 53% elsewhere in Europe.

Similarly, 59% believe supervisory authorities are corrupt, as opposed to 27% in other European countries.

Moreover, 89% of Greek citizens consider health system as highly corrupt, compared to 27% average across Europe.​​​​​​​