The most significant changes in 2021 are found in the number of competition staff, dawn raids, leniency applications, settlements and commitments, cartel and abuse of dominance decisions, fines imposed, market studies, and merger activity.
Competition staff - The average number of competition staff in the CompStats jurisdictions grew by 4.9% in 2021, with 57% of the jurisdictions increasing their headcount. However, this growth in the number of staff was uneven across geographic regions, with the Americas and Asia-Pacific driving the increase, while Europe and MEA staying relatively stable. When considering the number of competition staff per million inhabitants, the trend remains the same, with one exception: the growth in Europe exceeded the other regions.
Dawn raids - The number of dawn raids conducted by competition authorities recovered in all regions in 2021 after a significant decrease in 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic. However, the pace of recovery varied among jurisdictions and geographic regions. Non-OECD jurisdictions seemed to bounce back faster, with the number of dawn raids in 2021 already exceeding 2019, while in OECD jurisdictions the increase was slower, with the number of dawn raids remaining below the number pre‑pandemic.
Leniency applications - Between 2015‑20, leniency applications declined significantly across regions and jurisdictions. This overall decline continued in all regions in 2021, except in Europe where applications increased by 32% in 2021 (although they remained below the number of applications in 2019 and previous years).
Settlements and commitments - In 2021, the percentage of cartel and abuse cases that were closed with a settlement or commitment generally increased. The increase in cartel settlements, which are more common than cartel commitments, predominantly came from OECD jurisdictions, where on average 44% of the cases ended with a settlement (compared to 29% in 2020). The percentage of abuse of dominance cases with a settlement or commitment also increased significantly outside Europe. The percentage of cases increased in all regions except in Europe, where it decreased from 38.5% in 2020 to 20% in 2021.
Cartel and abuse of dominance decisions - On average, CompStats jurisdictions took around eight cartel decisions in 2021, which was 9% more than in 2020. This growth was in all regions except the Americas, where the average number of decisions decreased from seven to five. As for the average abuse of dominance decisions, they remained stable, at around three per jurisdiction. Regional differences exist as the average decreased in Americas and MEA, while it increased in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Fines - Total (and average) fines imposed in cartel and abuse of dominance cases increased by 52.5% in 2021. Total fines grew in all regions. The highest growth was in Asia-Pacific, with an increase of 183%. While cartel fines still account for the majority (68%) of total fines, there was a significant increase in the share of abuse of dominance fines from 17% in 2020 to 32% in 2021.
Market studies - In 2021, market studies decreased by 4.6%, with a total of 166 market studies across 64 CompStats jurisdictions. However, this varied by region, with an increase in Europe, and a decline in the other regions, with the most significant decline in MEA.
Merger activity and intervention - Merger notifications and decisions significantly increased in 2021, while the intervention rate – the percentage of merger cases in which competition authorities intervened by either prohibiting a merger or approving it under certain conditions – decreased, on average, from 2.5% in 2020 to 1.6% in 2021. This decrease in intervention rate was mostly driven by the significant increase in merger decisions (the denominator), as this was not matched by equivalent growth in intervention (the numerator). Although there was in fact also a decline in the absolute number of interventions, driven by a decline in the number of mergers approved with remedies, while the number of prohibited mergers increased. Thus, this net decrease in interventions, together with the significant increase in the number of merger decisions, lead to a substantial decrease in the intervention rate.
