A new report by Transparency International shows people believe corruption has increased over the last three years. The political and public sectors were seen as most corrupt.

Corruption appears to be on the rise worldwide, according to the latest report released by Transparency International.

The increase was most evident in Europe, where 73 percent of people polled believed corruption had risen over the last three years. North America wasn’t far behind – 67 percent of people there thought corruption was now more widespread.

The findings are outlined in Transparency International’s (TI) 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, a public opinion survey released by the Berlin-based organization on Thursday to coincide with the United Nations’ International Anti-Corruption Day.

Six out of 10 people surveyed around the world said corruption had increased in the last three years, with one in four people reporting that they had paid bribes in the last year.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmstroem, said in an interview with German daily Die Welt that Europe would increase its efforts to combat corruption.

“The measures taken so far by the EU have not yet led to any conclusive results,” she said.

Globally, the political and public sectors were seen as most corrupt, with nearly 80 percent of respondents believing political parties were affected. Public officials came in second, at 62 percent.

The report showed that in the past year, 25 percent of those surveyed worldwide had paid a bribe to one of nine institutions and services, with the police named as the most common recipient of these bribes.

The report also noted that bribery and corruption continues to disproportionally affect the poor and the young, with lower income earners twice as likely to pay bribes for basic services like utilities, education and medical services.