1 in 6 Ghanaians Paid Bribes in Late 2025, Says GSS

Accra: The proportion of Ghanaians who paid a bribe to access a public service increased from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half, while requests for unofficial payments by public officials surged from 51% to 69%. These figures were revealed in new governance data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). According to Ghana Web, the findings show that approximately one in six Ghanaians paid a bribe during the latter half of 2025. Nearly seven in 10 citizens who encountered bribery situations reported that public officials demanded additional payments. The data was presented at a Governance Series event organized by Three Reports and the GSS, where Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu highlighted the worsening experiences with bribery between July and December 2025, despite an overall improvement in Ghana's governance performance compared to 2024. Dr. Iddrisu noted that the most recent six months of 2025 were more challenging compared to the first half of the year. "Over the last six months of 2025, the share who paid a bribe rose from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half of 2025. That is about one in six paid a bribe to a public official," he explained. The increase in demands for unofficial payments by public officials was even more pronounced, as Dr. Iddrisu pointed out that the issue was more about what officials would ask rather than what citizens would offer. According to the survey, the proportion of citizens reporting that public officials demanded unofficial payments increased significantly, from 51% in the first half of 2025 to 69% in the second half. Despite the negative bribery indicators during this period, Dr. Iddrisu emphasized the broader positive trend over the full year. He stated, "The full year, which is 2025, got better compared to 2024. Both of these stories are true, and that's the beauty of the six-monthly survey that we do, to be able to look at trends within waves and even compare between years." The GSS governance survey, whic h tracks nationally representative households across all 16 regions, ensures that changes in governance indicators reflect actual changes in citizens' experiences rather than differences in survey samples. The latest findings cover citizens' experiences between July and December 2025 and are based on interviews conducted with household heads during the first quarter of 2026.