Summary: Corruption is rampant and has become more entrenched in all areas of like in Afghanistan, and the Afghan government is under increased pressure to address the issue. Demands for action from within Afghan society, as well as from the international community, have reached an unprecedented level. The concerns expressed by voices within Afghanistan may slightly differ from those of the international community. However, both are based on the assumption that corruption derails the fundamental gains of Afghanistan achieved since the end of 2001. corruption threatens the legitimacy of state-building, badly affects state-society relations, feeds frustration and the support for the insurgency, leads to increasing inequality (which spurs social conflict), violates standards, hinders access to basic public services, which impacts the poor most severely, and has a major negative effect on economic development—(p. 9).

Contents: Executive summary— Introduction—General trends— Access and corruption in public services— Corruption in selected sectors— Fighting corruption— Conclusion— App. 1 Estimation of the amounts paid in bribes annually— App. 2 Provincial integrity index— App. 3 References— App. 4 Methodology— App. 5 The questionnaire.