Corruption in Latin America – statistics & facts
The disparity of wealth in Latin America and the Caribbean is among the largest in the world. In at least six countries, the richest twenty percent of the population held over half of the country's income. Corruption plays a significant role in perpetuating economic inequality across the region at both a geopolitical and local level. From everyday encounters with the police and civil servants to large-scale governmental scandals – with the Odebrecht laundromat case being one of the most infamous in the past years – corruption is considered one of the most pressing issues in Latin America by a wide share of the public and the press.
Between 2013 and 2023, Venezuela's corruption perception score significantly worsened, correlating with the escalation of the humanitarian crisis. Though abuse of power is a major cause of the country's political turmoil and economic havoc, comparatively few respondents in Venezuela cited corruption as the nation's main issue. In recent years, the Venezuelan population has faced staggering poverty rates, severe shortages of medication, and disrupted access to basic utilities.
In a public opinion survey, the police was named as the main social and political group involved in corruption in Venezuela, only second to the President and his staff. In the rest of Latin America, the president and his or her staff, as well as members of Congress were most widely considered the central figures of corruption. Even so, involvement in corruption cases also extends to local officials and law enforcement, with roughly two out of ten Latin American respondents reporting that they had been asked or forced to pay a bribe in the previous 12 months in 2023.
How serious is corruption in Latin America?
Within the region, Peru had the largest share of respondents who thought corruption was one of their country's main problems in 2024. For the Peruvian society, the situation has been rough in the last couple of decades, from 2016 to 2024, the country had six different presidents in charge. Corruption and political instability play an important role in the everyday of residents. At around 31 percent of adult respondents, Colombia followed in a distant second place. According to the corruption perception index, however, both Colombia and Peru ranked fairly near the regional median, while Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti were rated as the Latin American or Caribbean states where corruption is perceived as most rampant.Between 2013 and 2023, Venezuela's corruption perception score significantly worsened, correlating with the escalation of the humanitarian crisis. Though abuse of power is a major cause of the country's political turmoil and economic havoc, comparatively few respondents in Venezuela cited corruption as the nation's main issue. In recent years, the Venezuelan population has faced staggering poverty rates, severe shortages of medication, and disrupted access to basic utilities.
In a public opinion survey, the police was named as the main social and political group involved in corruption in Venezuela, only second to the President and his staff. In the rest of Latin America, the president and his or her staff, as well as members of Congress were most widely considered the central figures of corruption. Even so, involvement in corruption cases also extends to local officials and law enforcement, with roughly two out of ten Latin American respondents reporting that they had been asked or forced to pay a bribe in the previous 12 months in 2023.
