Nearly one-third of citizens subjected to bribery in 2024

Nearly one-third of citizens experienced bribery while seeking government services in 2024, according to the Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) 2025 released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

According to the survey findings, 31.67% of respondents reported facing bribery in the past 12 months while accessing government services. Men were more affected than women, with 38.62% of male respondents reporting bribery compared to 22.71% of female respondents.

The nationwide survey, conducted in February 2025, interviewed 84,807 people aged 18 and above from 45,888 households across all 64 districts.

The CPS assesses citizens‍‍` experiences and perceptions regarding personal safety, access to justice, corruption and the quality of public services, and also contributes to monitoring progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.

The survey identified several sectors where corruption was particularly prevalent. The highest incidence of bribery was reported at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), where 63.29% of service seekers said they had to pay bribes. This was followed by law enforcement agencies at 57.96% and passport offices at 57.45%.

The findings also show that a significant portion of the population continues to depend on public services. Over the past year, 47.12% of respondents received healthcare services from public facilities, while 40.93% reported having at least one child enrolled in a government school. In addition, 73.77% of citizens sought access to other public services, including national identification cards, birth registration and similar civil services.

Despite concerns over bribery, overall satisfaction with public services remained relatively high. Among service users, 72.69% expressed satisfaction with public healthcare services. Satisfaction levels were higher in education, standing at 81.56% for primary education and 78.20% for secondary education.

Satisfaction with other public services was comparatively lower at 66.91%, indicating scope for improvement in service delivery and governance, the survey noted.