Which has higher public sector corruption index, Germany or United Kingdom?

United Kingdom, at 0.018 against 0.013 in Germany as of 2025.

What is the difference in public sector corruption index between Germany and United Kingdom?

0.005, with United Kingdom ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and United Kingdom?

191 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Germany vs United Kingdom: Public Sector Corruption Index

Germany

0.013

in 2025

United Kingdom

0.018

in 2025

Germany rank

169th

United Kingdom rank

168th

Public Sector Corruption Index over time

Germany
United Kingdom

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 0.018 against 0.013 in Germany, a difference of 0.005.

That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.4 times Germany's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 191 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United Kingdom ahead.

Germany ranks 169th and United Kingdom ranks 168th of 176 countries.

Across the 21 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 8 and United Kingdom in 13.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Germany	United Kingdom	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1790s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1800s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1810s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1820s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1830s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1840s	0.065	0.445	0.38	United Kingdom
1850s	0.065	0.1912	0.1262	United Kingdom
1860s	0.065	0.163	0.098	United Kingdom
1870s	0.065	0.014	0.051	Germany
1880s	0.065	0.014	0.051	Germany
1890s	0.065	0.014	0.051	Germany
1900s	0.065	0.014	0.051	Germany
1910s	0.0728	0.0122	0.0606	Germany
1920s	0.065	0.008	0.057	Germany
1930s	0.1982	0.008	0.1902	Germany
1940s	0.261	0.008	0.253	Germany
1990s	0.007	0.019	0.012	United Kingdom
2000s	0.007	0.019	0.012	United Kingdom
2010s	0.0084	0.0172	0.0088	United Kingdom
2020s	0.013	0.018	0.005	United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public sector corruption index, Germany or United Kingdom?: United Kingdom, at 0.018 against 0.013 in Germany as of 2025.
What is the difference in public sector corruption index between Germany and United Kingdom?: 0.005, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and United Kingdom?: 191 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Germany and United Kingdom rank globally for public sector corruption index?: Germany ranks 169th and United Kingdom ranks 168th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Public Sector Corruption Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 25,541 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which public sector employees engage in bribery and theft. The index ranges from 0 to 1 (highly corrupt).