Corruption in Algeria and China

Algeria vs. China

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI), is the most globally accepted measurement for corruption. It ranks countries in terms of the degree of which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials (Transparency International 2013), with a ranking of 1 and a score of 100 being the most corrupt free. Although the CPI does not provide an absolute measure of corruption, there is a positive correlation between the CPI and the presence of black-market trading, bribery and a flawed judicial and political system. When comparing Algeria and China’s CPI, it is important to note that they only differ marginally. Algeria was ranked 94th/177 countries with a score of 36/100, whilst China was ranked 80th/177 with a score of 40/100. Nevertheless, historical data shows Algeria’s making greater progress than China in attempting to eradicate corruption, with a 7-point jump from 2011-2013 compared to China’s 4-point jump.

Drivers of these differences and consequences

Algeria and China are two vastly different countries. Algeria is located in North Africa with a total land area of 2,381,741 square km and a population of 38,813,722 (The World Factbook 2014). In comparison, China is located in East Asia, with a total land area of 9,596,960 square km and a population of 1,355,692,576 (The World Factbook 2014). These geographic and demographic differences are important as they reflect the different socio-cultural and religious dispositions of each country. Algeria has systemic corruption, which stems from their entrenched bureaucracy problems. This is evident as 66.6% of Algerian firms (World Bank 2007) are expected to give gifts to public officials in order “to get things done”, in comparison to China’s 10.7% (World Bank 2012). Moreover, unlike China, Algeria’s economy relies on its oil and gas sector, constituting 97% of all exports. This itself poses major corruption problems, as rising oil prices drives wealthy individuals to bypass the administrative...