Perceptions of government corruption in the United States are at their highest level in 20 years.

Transformational leadership styles and norm messaging are the most effective anti-corruption measures.

Leader behavior profoundly affects whether followers rationalize or normalize corruption.

Gallup polls report that as of September 2026, perceptions of government corruption in the United States are at their highest level in 20 years, with 89 percent of U.S. adults saying it is widespread. That figure is up from 79 percent in 2025. These high numbers indicate that despite polarization on many issues, concern about corruption exists across political parties.

Gallup questions 132 countries about corruption annually, grouping the United States with the 38 member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). In the past 20 years, perceptions of corruption in the United States have risen from 72 percent to 89 percent, while the median level of perceived corruption among OECD countries has fallen from 69 percent to below 60 percent by 2025.

This puts the United States at the highest perceived corruption in OECD rankings for the first time. Since 2023, only four countries out of the 132 in which Gallup annually poses this question have scored 89-92 percent: Lebanon, Ghana, and Nigeria in 2024, and Peru in 2025.

From Earliest to Latest

In a May 2026 publication, The Political Economy of Legal and Governance Reform in Central Asia, psychologists Yurtbakan and Aktas from Medipol University in Istanbul, Turkey examine corruption from a socio-psychological perspective. They consider the role of leadership and social norms, and their study is both descriptive (what people do) and injunctive (what people approve or disapprove).

Their research in Asia and former Soviet bloc countries mirrors psychological findings on corrupt behavior worldwide. They explain that when unethical behavior becomes widespread and........

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