Anti-corruption struggle tops ranking of expectations from authorities, though majority of Ukrainians have not encountered it since 2022 – social study
Absolute majority of Ukrainians (90.5%) consider corruption one of Ukraine's main problems, and real anti-corruption struggle is primary expectation from authorities for 34.4% of respondents, according to "Corruption in Ukraine: Threat or Opportunity?" sociological study by Think Ukraine presented at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
Fighting corruption ranks higher in public expectations than economic development, signing peace agreement, or returning lost territories. Other expectations include return of prisoners of war (33.9%), development of military-industrial complex (31.9%), and economic growth (28.5%).
High-level official corruption is viewed as greatest threat to society by 50.7%, followed by drug trafficking (33.1%), corruption in army (31.7%), and murders (27.5%). Despite perceptions of pervasive corruption, 59.4% of Ukrainians have not personally encountered it since February 24, 2022.
Among those who faced corruption personally, healthcare system leads (36.7%), followed by territorial recruitment and social support centers (30.2%), local authorities (27.8%), and police (25.2%). Only 9.8% personally encountered corruption in central authorities, though top officials and national politicians are perceived as most corrupt by 30.0%. Similar gap between personal experience (12.8%) and perceived corruption (22.0%) exists in judiciary.
One-third of respondents (32.3%) would not report corruption in their workplace, with 47.3% believing guilty will not be punished and 33.7% fearing retaliation or dismissal. Primary measures supported to combat corruption include inevitability of punishment (43.0%), public control over officials (28.4%), and legislative changes (27.7%).
Attitude toward mandatory nationwide income declaration is mixed: 49.1% in favor and 40.4% against, even with amnesty for first filing. Situations where bribes were deemed acceptable include medical treatment or surgery without waiting (28.4%), avoiding imprisonment for crime not committed (14.1%), and accelerating resolution of issues (11.2%).
Ukrainians identified main source of corruption as illegal activities of officials at all levels (31.4%), followed by Ukrainian mentality (22.1%) and illegal activities of politicians (19.0%). Total majority (85.1%) are no longer willing to vote for politicians they consider effective if corruption involvement is revealed.
Study was conducted April 4-14, 2026, across Ukraine except temporarily occupied territories, polling 1,202 respondents via CATI method with 2.83% margin of error.
