Press Release
Dhaka, 25 June 2026: At the national level, 81.6 percent of households experienced corruption in at least one service sector while accessing public services, and 63.6 percent were compelled to pay bribes. Compared to 2023, the proportion of households affected by corruption and bribery at the national level increased by 15.1 percent and 25.2 percent respectively. In 2025, the estimated total value of bribe transactions nationwide amounted to BDT 12,633.2 crore, representing a 15.9 percent increase compared to 2023. This enormous amount is equivalent to 1.58 percent of the revised national budget for FY 2024–25 and 0.23 percent of the country's GDP. As in the previous survey, passport services and BRTA services agencies ranked as the sectors where citizens experienced the highest levels of corruption and bribery. These findings were revealed in the results of the “Corruption in Service Sectors: National Household Survey 2025,” released today at a press conference held at the Dhaka office of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The program was attended by TIB’s officials - Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director; Professor Dr. Sumaiya Khair, Adviser, Executive Management; and Muhammad Badiuzzaman, Director, Research & Policy. The survey findings were presented by Shahzada M. Akram, Senior Research Fellow; and Md. Nuruzzaman Farhad, Research Associate; while Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, Director, Outreach & Communication, moderated the session. A group of nationally and internationally renowned experts who were associated with the survey to ensure its scientific standards and methodological excellence were also present. They are - Professor Sekander Hayat Khan, Professor Pk. Motiur Rahman, Professor Mohammad Shuaib, Professor Syed Shahadat Hossain, and Professor A. K. Enamul Haque.
The survey findings indicate that, despite the partial implementation of digitalization in certain service sectors, the persistently high rates of corruption and bribery suggest that the existing system remains conducive to corrupt practices. Due to the complexity of hybrid service delivery mechanisms and reliance on intermediaries, 98.1 percent of households were compelled to pay bribes, while in 91.2 percent of cases, officials and employees of the concerned institutions were directly involved in collecting those bribes. As the primary reason for paying bribes, 81.5 percent of households reported that “services cannot be obtained without paying a bribe,” clearly indicating the institutionalization of corruption.
The survey also reveals a severe lack of effective measures and awareness initiatives aimed at preventing corruption. More than half of the households (53.3 percent) are unaware of the procedures for lodging complaints regarding corruption. Only 1.4 percent of households know about the government's Grievance Redress System (GRS). Among households that experienced corruption in various service sectors during the survey period, only 10.3 percent filed complaints. However, 21.6 percent of those complaints were not accepted, while no action was taken in 51 percent of the cases. Among households that did not file complaints, 61.3 percent stated that they considered corruption to be an inherent part of the service delivery system and therefore saw no point in complaining. Meanwhile, 48.9 percent did not know where or how to file a complaint. In addition, 32.3 percent refrained from filing complaints due to fear of harassment or complications. Survey participants identified impunity (74.8 percent), lack of public awareness (60.8 percent), failure to disclose the assets of public officials (15.3 percent), and rewarding corrupt individuals (14.1 percent), among other factors, as key causes of corruption.
At the press conference, TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, “Corruption is harmful to everyone, but at the same time, it is discriminatory. While those who abuse power benefit from corruption, its negative impacts fall on poor and low-income people. The survey has also found that people in rural areas have been more vulnerable to corruption, and the burden of corruption on low-income households is nearly three times higher compared to higher-income households. In addition, in several service sectors, women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged groups are comparatively more affected by corruption and are being deprived of services rightfully due to them. Therefore, alongside its overall socio-economic costs, it is imperative to prevent and remedy this disease in order to address the discriminatory impacts of corruption.”
Dr. Zaman further said, “As a specialized institution, the responsibility of the Anti-Corruption Commission is to prevent and control corruption. Through the survey, we have found that the overwhelming majority of respondents believe that corruption is not remedied; rather, its prevalence is increasing. The institution tasked with remedying and controlling corruption must be made independent and effective. Although 29.5 percent of the survey respondents were aware of the institution, only 0.3 percent had lodged complaints with the ACC. This indicates a deficit of public trust in the Commission, which is a highly significant finding. The institution’s capacity and credibility must be strengthened, and public confidence in it must be enhanced. At present, an environment has emerged in which the institution is effectively paralyzed despite its existence, with commissioner positions remaining vacant for nearly four months. The government should take responsibility for this situation and, through the Search Committee that has recently been formed, appoint leadership capable of overcoming the crisis of confidence in the institution reflected in this survey. Given Bangladesh’s political context, and particularly past experiences with such appointments following elections, it does not appear likely that the government will be able to rise above partisan considerations in appointments to the ACC, although the adverse effects of an ACC held hostage to partisan influence are borne not only by ordinary citizens but also by leaders and activists of the ruling party at various levels. Nevertheless, individuals appointed to the ACC must possess the necessary expertise and experience in the relevant fields, as well as the integrity and courage to stand up against corruption and work to control it. They must be able to discharge their responsibilities from a position where all individuals are equal before the law, regardless of their political or other identities and status. This is our expectation from the government.”
According to the survey findings, a comparative analysis shows that the average amount of bribes paid per household was BDT 5,680 in 2023, which decreased to BDT 5,124 in 2025. However, the incidence of bribe payments or irregular monetary transactions in services such as obtaining tickets for healthcare services and accessing fertilizer in the agricultural sector increased by two to nearly five times. These sectors witnessed a substantial rise in low-value but high-frequency bribery transactions. In the education sector, the primary reason for the increase in corruption was a significant rise in irregular monetary transactions, the prevalence of which increased from nearly 15 percent to 35 percent. In addition, although the incidence of bribery did not increase significantly, the growth of other irregularities contributed to an overall increase in corruption in the NGO sector. In particular, negligence of duty rose from 22.7 percent to 36.5 percent, while misconduct and rude behavior increased from 15.2 percent to 23.2 percent, resulting in the overall corruption rate rising from 6.5 percent to 13.1 percent.
The survey highlights the burden of bribery and corruption by noting that, on average, a household spent 1.7 percent of its annual income on bribes. However, in the five most corruption-prone sectors, this burden amounted to 5.1 percent of annual income for households living below the poverty line, compared to 3.2 percent for households above the poverty line. In 13 households, the amount paid in bribes exceeded their annual income, reaching as much as five to six times their yearly earnings in some cases. For households living below the poverty line, the total cost of obtaining passport services amounted to 78 percent of their monthly income, of which 37 percent was spent solely on bribes. Similarly, such households had to spend, on average, 34 percent of their monthly income on bribes to access services from law enforcement agencies; in some cases, this expenditure was as high as four and a half times the household’s monthly income.
At the press conference, TIB put forward a ten-point set of recommendations to ensure good governance in service delivery through corruption prevention. Key recommendations include formulating an integrated anti-corruption strategy based on the government's 31-point state reform framework, election manifesto commitments, and the July National Charter, while making good governance mandatory across all programmes and initiatives. Other recommendations include taking strict legal action against corruption; fully digitalizing public services to reduce direct contact between service providers and recipients; introducing codes of conduct in every institution and incorporating citizens’ feedback into annual performance evaluations; strengthening complaint resolution mechanisms and the Anti-Corruption Commission’s hotline (106); proactively disclosing information in accordance with the Right to Information Act; addressing shortages of human resources and logistics in key public service sectors; making annual asset declarations mandatory for government officials and employees; and strengthening social movements against corruption at the local level.
It is noteworthy that this household survey is the 11th edition of the study series that has been conducted continuously since 1997. Following the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics’ (BBS) Integrated Multi-Purpose Sampling (IMPS) framework, the survey was conducted using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling method covering both rural and urban areas across all eight divisions of the country. The survey was based on the direct experiences of 15,715 households. The reference period for collecting information on corruption in service sectors was from November 2024 to October 2025, while field-level data collection was carried out between 12 November and 20 December 2025.
Media Contact:
Mohammad Tauhidul Islam
Director, Outreach and Communication
Phone: +8801713107868
Email: tauhidul@ti-bangladesh.org
