Corruption

Rooting out corruption.

Corruption measures a country's bureaucratic morality throughout the ranks. A country with high corruption suffers widely from embezzlement and loss of the leader's authority, while a country with no corruption is free to prosper. Unlike inflation, corruption does not directly affect monetary costs, instead affecting other areas of the state (though it may indirectly affect income due to raising the local autonomy floor of provinces).

Effects

Every point of corruption gives the following:

	−0.25%	Foreign spy detection
	−0.5%	Spy network construction
	+1%	All power costs
	+0.5	Minimum autonomy
	−0.2	National unrest

Eliminating corruption enables beneficial Corruption events, while increasing corruption enables increasingly bad events.

Increased by

• +0.005% per year for every point of Overextension, +0.5% per year at 100% overextension.
• +0.001% per year for every point of religious unity below 100%, +0.1% per year at 0% religious unity.
• +0.5% max per year for unbalanced research. $\left(tech_\mathrm{highest} - tech_\mathrm{lowest}\right) \times 0.1$
• +0.1 per year for not having an active debate in Parliament.
• +2% immediately by “Debasing Currency” (only with Rights of Man).
• +0.02% per territory over max number of states (capped at +0.8%).

Decreased by

• -0.02% per point of stability per year
• Maximum of -1% per year for “rooting out corruption”, which is controlled with a maintenance slider on the economy tab. Reducing corruption costs 0.05 ducats per month per total effective development (which is modified by autonomy) for maximum effect. (This can be lowered if the player chooses, although reducing expenditure will decrease the corruption reduction proportionally.)
• -0.05% per year for being ahead of time in diplomatic technology.
• -0.05% per year for being ahead of time in administrative technology.
• Various ideas, traditions, and policies:

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
−0.1 yearly	—	Espionage idea 7: Audit Checks Ajami idea 6: Reform the Diwan Russian idea 5: Abolish the Mestnichestvo Sindhi idea 5: End Judicial Corruption Timurid idea 7: Reform the Diwan	—	Defensive-Administrative: The Spy Discovery Act Espionage-Defensive: The Privy Council Establishment Act