Foreword 3

Acknowledgements 4

Executive summary 9

1 Overview 15

The integrity advantage 15

Countries continue to invest in integrity, but reforms are not always improving quality and the implementation gap persists 16

High-performing countries move from a rules-based to a risk-based, results-oriented and digital approach 20

Greater uptake of technology and better-quality data can help government "do more with less" 21

National integrity systems can be strengthened to better withstand corruption risks 21

Fraud prevention efforts, integrity controls in public procurement and protecting public bodies from organised crime should be stepped up 22

How to read the 2026 OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 23

Note 25

2 Strategy 27

Introduction 28

More countries are adopting first-generation strategies, but periods of strategic vacuum undermine progress 28

The design and implementation of strategies could generally be strengthened, but have improved for OECD Member countries that did not let their strategies expire 31

Well-designed strategies tend to have better implementation rates, but only 1 in 4 OECD Member countries track implementation in practice 33

Strategic frameworks still rarely target high-risk areas, including the private sector 34

Less than half of countries make use of outcome-level indicators and evaluation to demonstrate the concrete advantages of integrity improvements 36

Note 38

3 Lobbying 41

Introduction 42

Despite wider adoption of regulatory frameworks specific to lobbying, lobbying remains among the least regulated public integrity areas across the OECD and beyond, including due to declining beneficial ownership transparency 42

Lobbying registers and other transparency measures continue to provide only limited effective transparency, reflecting persistent i mplementation challenges 49

Countries with lobbying registers generally have enforcement and compliance mechanisms in place, but stronger monitoring remains essential 53

Note 54

4 Conflict of interest 57

Introduction 58

While conflict-of-interest regulations are generally strong, the implementation gap for conflict of interest persists for OECD Members and is even greater for OECD partner countries 58

Authorities in many countries could improve monitoring of whether officials in at-risk positions are disclosing their interests and/or assets 60

To strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of conflict-of-interest safeguards, countries can take a more risk-based approach for verification of declarations, and more frequently issue recommendations and use sanctions 62

While most countries have rules on revolving door they could be more consistently tracked to better mitigate conflict-of-interests risks 63

5 Political financing 67

Introduction 68

Many countries have strong regulations in place, but a significant implementation gap persists in countries' political financing systems 68

Most countries have strong political financing reporting and transparency requirements, but political parties could better observe them 71

Political financing supervisory bodies could make better use of certified auditors in the oversight of parties' accounts 74

Digitalisation and globalisation are changing and complicating political financing and campaigning faster than regulations are adapting 75

6 Transparency of public information 79

Introduction 80

Government transparency remains consistently high but could still improve, particularly in OECD partner countries 80

Countries’ transparency regulations contain many standard requirements, but for many countries data are still not open by default 82

Data or information related to integrity remain less frequently published 83

Transparency could be further enhanced if supervisory bodies conducted inspections, issued sanctions and reported on their activities 84

Notes 86

7 Integrity of the disciplinary system 89

Introduction 90

While most OECD Member and partner countries have clear regulations on disciplinary procedures for civil servants, they could be better supported through stronger fairness guarantees 90

Implementation of disciplinary procedures could benefit from improved training on disciplinary investigations and use of digital tools 93

8 Integrity of the justice system 95

Introduction 96

The basic safeguards for judicial and prosecutorial integrity are in place in the majority of countries, but stronger procedures for the selection, appointment and promotion of judges and prosecutors are needed in many countries to protect judicial independence and prosecutorial integrity 96

Standards of conduct for judges and prosecutors exist but implementation could be improved, particularly for managing conflicts of interest 101

Whistleblowing mechanisms for reporting cases of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct are generally being implemented, but could be improved through strengthened public awareness of existing reporting procedures, as well as training on handling reports 104

9 Fraud prevention 109

Introduction 110

The funds lost to public sector fraud are substantial, and increasing 112

While governments have basic safeguards in place, most countries lack a strategic framework to address fraud 114

Investments in emerging technologies and AI are key to counter increasingly complex and transnational fraud schemes 117

While governments often rely on traditional enforcement methods, there is an increasing understanding that investing in fraud prevention is more cost-effective than dealing with the consequences once fraud has occurred 121

Notes 122

10 Integrity in public procurement 125

Introduction 126

Provisions and mechanisms to ensure the integrity of the public procurement system are well established in the related regulatory frameworks 128

Efforts to promote integrity among suppliers could be advanced 129

Developing targeted tools to address risks would contribute to strengthening integrity in public procurement 131

Harnessing digital technologies for proactive integrity risk management in public procurement offers considerable potential, but adoption remains limited 132

Note 134

11 Organised crime and corruption 137

Introduction 138

Organised criminals are increasingly seeking to gain undue advantage by using corruption to infiltrate the legal economy and public services, and fraud to appropriate public funds 138

Countries need coherent strategic frameworks and better cross-government and international co-operation to tackle the corruption and integrity threats posed by organised crime 140

Countries could build resilience against organised crime by enhancing the integrity of public institutions 144

References 148

Country abbreviations 155