Hong Kong is a clean society with an ingrained integrity culture
With nearly 50 years of earnest efforts, Hong Kong has shifted from a corruption-ridden city to one of the cleanest places in the world.
Corruption Statistics
Corruption in both the public and private sectors of Hong Kong has been kept effectively in check. Our robust anti-corruption regime helps maintain a clean public service, create a level playing field for businesses and nurture an anti-corruption culture in the community that strongly detests corruption.
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Corruption trend as reflected by the report statistics remains steady. In recent years, around 2,000 corruption reports were received each year. In 2022, 1,835 corruption complaints were received.
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In the early years of the ICAC, corruption reports against government departments substantially outnumbered those concerning the private sector. Starting from the mid-1980s, due to ICAC's successful crackdown on public sector corruption, complaints concerning that sector began to subside and were subsequently surpassed by those on the private sector due to the thriving economy and increased business activities. In recent years, about two-thirds of corruption complaints target at the private sector and one-third at the public sector.
Note: The breakdown is based on complaints against different departments / public bodies / industries. As a corruption report may have multiple complaints in respect of the above, the total number of complaints may be larger than the total number of corruption reports.
Integrity Culture in Figures
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Corruption is uncommon in Hong Kong. According to the ICAC Annual Survey findings, 98.9% of the people polled said they had not personally come across corruption in the past 12 months.
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The community is well aware that an integrity environment is paramount to sustainable development of Hong Kong. According to the same survey, 97.9% of respondents held this view.
