On February 21, Caucasus Research Resource Center – Armenia (CRRC - Armenia) presented the outcomes of the 2019 Public Opinion Household Survey on Corruption in Armenia.

The survey conducted by CRRC-Armenia was commissioned by Transparency International Anticorruption Center (TIAC) in the framework of the USAID-funded Engaged Citizenry for Responsible Governance Project․

Data collected from 1500 adults taking part in the survey referred to the general perception of corruption, its forms and distribution in various sectors, corrupt individual behavior, awareness of anticorruption efforts by the government and NGO’s, etc.

In her opening remarks to the event, TIAC Executive Director, Sona Ayvazyan said that such a survey was las conducted in 2010 and again by CRRC-Armenia, thus during the last 9 years no such research was carried out. “Initiating this research our objective was to understand to what extent people’s perceptions, behavior and their willingness to fight corruption have changed especially after the revolution. We have also tried to establish a basis so that the Armenian Government will be able to understand the progress with anticorruption policy in Armenia through the commissioning of such surveys,” Ayvazyan highlighted.

Mission Director of US Agency for International Development, Deborah Grieser also delivered welcoming remarks. “I was very happy to see Armenia make great progress in the 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. It’s indeed a testament to the steps that Armenia has taken to increase intolerance towards corruption and to advance its anti-corruption agenda as outlined in the 2019-2020 Anti-corruption Strategy and Implementation Plan. The United States is encouraged by the Armenian Government’s efforts to root out corruption and to promote transparency. This will help level the playing field in Armenia and signal to the international community that Armenia is a country that respects the rule of law and is open for business. Nevertheless, despite the progress we recognize that there is work still to be done, and the US government is committed to supporting the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts in areas where we be most effective and have the greatest impact,” Deborah Grieser stated.

In his opening remarks, advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, Arsen Manukyan pointed out the importance of such surveys. “They are important in the sense that they give us the opportunity to understand and evaluate the impact of government’s measures and initiatives in the fight against corruption and also how ordinary citizens perceive the impact of said initiatives on themselves and what is the general attitude towards the steps carried out by the government,” Mr. Manukyan added.

Executive Director of CRRC-Armenia, Sona Balasanyan expressed hope that the survey would be of interest to stakeholders.

Following the opening remarks, Heghine Manasyan, CRRC-Armenia Director of Research and Development and Narine Melikyan, analyst, Director of Corporate Governance Center, presented the results of the survey, towards the end of which Heghine Manasyan, Narine Melikyan and TIAC Executive Director Sona Ayvazyan took questions from the audience.

The full report of the survey is available on the websites of TIAC and CRRC-Armenia. The full video of the presentation is also available on the TIAC Facebook page.