KIIS survey: Corruption is almost on par with war in the list of top concerns for Ukrainians

KIIS poll shows that corruption has reached the level of war for Ukrainians, photo: RBC-Ukraine

92% of Ukrainians consider corruption to be one of the most serious problems — almost as many as called war (95%).

According to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), in 2024 the number of those who consider corruption to be very widespread increased to 63%, compared to 43% in 2022-2023. Almost half of respondents — 49% — believe that corruption in Ukraine has increased over the past year. Only 5% have noticed a decrease in its level.

According to sociologists, the growing anxiety about corruption is not due to personal experience (only 15% have encountered it directly), but to information from the media, including social media. Arrests and investigations, instead of building trust in the system, create the impression of growing corruption.

The KIIS also reported that 48% of Ukrainians consider corruption to be a greater threat to Ukraine than Russia's military aggression (chosen by 36%).

Sociologists warn of an alarming trend: 50% of respondents believe that corrupt politicians and officials should be punished as soon as possible, even if it is in violation of the law. This reflects low trust in the courts and prosecutors and a strong need for justice, especially in times of war.

KIIS conducted the survey on 14 February — 4 March 2025 among 2029 respondents by telephone interviews. Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.3) did not exceed 2.9% for indicators close to 50%, 2.5% for indicators close to 25%, 1.7% for indicators close to 10%, and 1.3% for indicators close to 5%.

It should also be recalled that according to another KIIS poll, Ukrainians stated that they were mostly disappointed with the current government.