Corruption in Austria describes the prevention and occurrence ofcorruption inAustria. Austria has a well-developed institutional andlegal system, and most corruption cases under investigation by aparliamentary committee end withjudicial trials and effective judgments. However, there are several significant Austrian corruption cases which have taken place during the past decade involving land andregional officials, high-level public officials, the central government and, in one instance, the formerChancellor.[1]
OnTransparency International's 2024Corruption Perceptions Index, Austria scored 67 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), a four-point drop from its 2023 score and a ten-point drop from its highest score of 77 in 2019. When ranked by score, Austria ranked 25th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[2] For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Western European andEuropean Union countries[Note 1] was 90, the average score was 64 and the worst score was 41.[3] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).[4]
In most cases, corrupt practices were related to conflicts of interest,abuse of office, moneylaundering and influence peddling. The corruptionscandals have put into doubt the ethical standards of the political elite.[1] This doubt is reflected in the findings ofEurobarometer 2012, where two-thirds of respondents perceive nationalpoliticians to be corrupt and also the most corrupt institution in Austria.[5]
According to several sources, corruption is not considered a problem for doing business in Austria. According toInvestment Climate Report 2013 by the US Department of State 2013, corruption is not considered as a serious problem impeding business in Austria.
A study over the years 2013 to 2019 found that Austria had the highest rate of corruption in healthcare of all EU countries, with one in nine Austrian patients being asked to pay bribes.[6][7]
The following corruption complexes caused a great public and media stir in Austria's recent history, mainly due to the involvement of political functionaries:
