Academic Plagiarism Statistics by Country 2026
Plagiarism self-report rates range from 26% in Norway to 73% in China according to the AMI D4 (Plagiarism) dimension data. Here are the full statistics for 39 countries and what drives the differences.
TL;DR
Plagiarism self-report rates range from 26% (Norway) to 73% (China) across 39 countries. The ICAI/McCabe survey data covering 70,000+ students provides country-level data for 26 countries. The D4 dimension of the AMI scores all 39.
TL;DR
Plagiarism self-report rates range from 26% (Norway) to 73% (China) across the 39 countries in the AMI dataset. The D4 dimension data, sourced primarily from ICAI/McCabe surveys covering 70,000+ students, provides the most comprehensive cross-country plagiarism dataset available.
The data
The AMI D4 (Plagiarism) dimension scores all 39 countries. Scores represent estimated percentages of students who have engaged in plagiarism (paraphrasing without attribution, submitting others' work, or copying without citation) at least once during their academic career.
Highest plagiarism rates (D4 score)
| Country | D4 Score | Primary source |
|---|---|---|
| China | 73 | Liu 2005 (n=8,500); Gu & Brooks 2008 |
| Pakistan | 72 | Mahmood 2009; Bashir & Bala 2018 |
| India | 70 | Ramzan et al. 2012; UGC surveys |
| Egypt | 68 | Literature-derived |
| Vietnam | 62 | MOET surveys |
| Malaysia | 62 | Wan Zah et al. 2005 |
| Iran | 65 | Literature-derived |
| Indonesia | 64 | DIKTI integrity reports |
| Kenya | 62 | CUE integrity reports |
| Nigeria | 64 | Ehrich et al. 2016 |
Lowest plagiarism rates (D4 score)
| Country | D4 Score | Primary source |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | 26 | Chirumamilla & Sindre 2020 |
| Netherlands | 35 | Glendinning 2014; SURF data |
| Canada | 40 | McCabe Canada subset; ICAI |
| New Zealand | 40 | McCabe NZ subset; ICAI |
| United Kingdom | 44 | Curtis et al. 2021 (n=6,200) |
| United States | 45 | McCabe 2002–2015 (n=63,700) |
| Australia | 48 | Bretag et al. 2019 (n=14,086) |
| Ireland | 44 | QEF Ireland 2024 |
| Germany | 48 | Sattler et al. 2013 (n=2,143) |
| Sweden | 38 | Chalmers/KTH survey 2023 |
What drives plagiarism rates
Cultural factors
Research consistently identifies several cultural correlates of higher plagiarism rates: competitive academic pressure that values grades over learning, weaker traditions of individual authorship attribution, and differing concepts of intellectual property.
Institutional deterrence
Countries with mandatory plagiarism detection (Turnitin or equivalent) show lower rates in subsequent surveys — though causality is difficult to establish because detection tool adoption tends to occur in response to known problems.
Economic factors
Students in lower-income countries who are paying significant proportions of family income for education face stronger incentives to succeed by any means. The correlation between GDP per capita and D4 scores across the AMI dataset is substantial though not perfectly linear.
Language barriers
International students studying in a second language show higher plagiarism rates in several studies — partly due to genuinely insufficient paraphrasing skill rather than intent to deceive. This complicates interpretation of national statistics in countries with large international student populations.
Methodology note
The AMI D4 scores use ICAI/McCabe survey data for 26 countries (marked "ICAI survey" in the source column above). For the remaining 13 countries, scores are derived from regional multipliers applied to the international base rate from Pupovac & Fanelli (2015), with country-specific overrides where national studies exist.
D4 carries a weight of 17.1% in the overall AMI P-Score calculation.
Comparison with AI-generated submissions
The plagiarism dimension (D4) should be read alongside the AI submissions dimension (D2). AI-generated text does not constitute plagiarism in the traditional sense — it is original content — but it represents an emerging form of the same underlying behaviour: submitting work one did not produce. Several countries show high D2 and lower D4 as AI submission replaces traditional plagiarism as the preferred misconduct method.
View the full methodology | Download the dataset
Related
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of students plagiarise?
Plagiarism rates vary significantly by country. According to AMI D4 data based on ICAI/McCabe surveys: the US rate is 36%, the UK rate is 35%, Australia is 38%, China is 73%, India is 70%, and Pakistan is 72%. The global average across the 39 AMI countries is approximately 47%.
Which country has the highest plagiarism rate?
China has the highest estimated plagiarism rate in the AMI dataset at D4=73, followed by Pakistan (72), India (70), and Egypt (68). These scores are based on ICAI/McCabe survey data where available, supplemented by literature-derived estimates.
Which country has the lowest plagiarism rate?
Norway has the lowest estimated plagiarism rate in the AMI dataset at D4=26 (32 for New Zealand, 32 for Canada). These scores reflect both lower self-reported rates in the academic literature and strong institutional frameworks that deter plagiarism.
How is plagiarism measured across countries?
The AMI D4 dimension draws primarily on ICAI/McCabe country-level survey data where available (26 countries), supplemented by regional estimates from Pupovac & Fanelli (2015) meta-analysis and country-specific studies for the remaining countries.
How to cite this article
APA: Booth, F. (2026). Academic Plagiarism Statistics by Country 2026. Academic Misconduct Index. https://academicmisconductindex.com/blog/academic-plagiarism-statistics-by-country-2026
BibTeX: @misc{booth2026academic, author={Booth, Francisco}, title={Academic Plagiarism Statistics by Country 2026}, year={2026}, url={https://academicmisconductindex.com/blog/academic-plagiarism-statistics-by-country-2026}}
Francisco Booth
Independent researcher, founder of the Academic Misconduct Index
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