Citizens had to pay higher bribes and faced more systemic irregularities and abuse of power to access essential services in 2025 than two years before, a new survey revealed on Thursday.
The survey conducted by non-government organisation Transparency International Bangladesh also found that transaction of bribery increased by more than 15 per cent during the interim government’s tenure.
- Passport services most corruption-prone, followed by BRTA, judiciary, law enforcement agencies, land
- 63.6pc households paid bribes
- Tk 12,633.2cr transacted in bribes Corrupt practices sustained by a culture of impunity
At least 81.6 per cent of households experienced corruption in at least one service sector in 2025, up from 70.9 per cent in 2023, according to the findings revealed in a press conference at the TIB office in the Dhaka city.
‘Many people, who paid bribes, reported that services could not be obtained without making unofficial payments…Bribery has been normalised and turned into a reality,’ TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman told the press conference on the household survey titled ‘Corruption in Service Sectors: National Household Survey 2025’.
He said that the burden of corruption on rural people was much greater than on urban residents.
The survey identified the passport office as the most corruption-prone public service sector, with 84.4 per cent of households reporting corruption while obtaining passport-related services.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority ranked second, with 79.3 per cent of service recipients reporting corruption experiences.
The judiciary ranked third at 71.3 per cent, followed by law enforcement agencies at 69.4 per cent and the land sector at 66.3 per cent.
Each of health and agriculture services recorded corruption prevalence of 64.4 per cent, while education stood at 52.5 per cent.
‘In several service sectors, women are more vulnerable to corruption. Indigenous communities and disadvantaged groups are also disproportionately affected,’ the survey report said.
The findings suggested that despite a major political transition and repeated commitments to curb graft, the dishonest practices remain deeply entrenched in public service delivery.
Former adviser to the interim government Ali Imam Majumder said that corruption was increasing due to the absence of visible punishment for corrupt individuals.
‘A strong social movement against corruption must be built, while visible punishment for corrupt practices has to be ensured to effectively combat corruption in the country,’ he told New Age.
In 2025, as many as 63.6 per cent of households reported paying bribes to obtain services in at least one sector, compared with 50.8 per cent in 2023.
The TIB survey found corruption rates of 47.8 per cent in National Identity Card services, 46 per cent in local government institutions and 41.3 per cent in climate change and disaster assistance programmes.
Even utility and financial sectors were not immune. Corruption prevalence stood at 36.1 per cent in the power sector, 25.6 per cent in insurance services, 25.4 per cent in gas services and 16.3 per cent in banking.
Tax and VAT services reported a lower corruption rate of 11.2 per cent, while NGOs recorded the lowest level at 13.1 per cent.
The financial scale of corruption has also expanded significantly.
According to the survey, bribe transactions across 17 service sectors amounted to Tk 12,633.2 crore in 2025, up from Tk 10,902.3 crore in 2023.
The land sector accounted for the highest volume of bribe transactions at Tk 3,081.2 crore, followed by the judiciary at Tk 2,012.8 crore, law enforcement agencies at Tk 1,599 crore and passport services at Tk 1,083.2 crore.
The findings indicate that the sectors directly linked to property rights, justice, public security and passport services remain among the most vulnerable to corruption.
Expressing concern over the rise in corruption, civil society organisation Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said that corruption had spread like cancer in the country.
‘Drastic measures, including strengthening the Anti-Corruption Commission, ensuring punishment for corrupt individuals and establishing the rule of law, must be taken to curb corruption,’ he told New Age.
Referring to Singapore and South Korea, he said that those countries had achieved remarkable progress through the establishment of good governance and the rule of law.
‘After the July uprising, we hoped corruption would decline, but that has not happened. We now hope that the new government will take effective measures to combat graft,’ he added.
The survey also found that 98.1 per cent of households that paid bribes did so under compulsion, while officials and employees were directly involved in collecting bribes in 91.2 per cent of cases.
About 81.5 per cent of respondents said services could not be obtained without paying bribes, indicating the institutionalisation of corruption, while 61.3 per cent viewed corruption as an inherent part of the service delivery system and saw little value in lodging complaints, said the report.
Referring to the inequality created by corruption, Iftekharuzzaman said that service sector corruption had become discriminatory.
‘Those who can exercise influence or power benefit, while those without power are deprived,’ he said.
He said that bribery transactions in service sectors amounted to about Tk 12,363 crore, equivalent to around 1.58 per cent of the national budget.
‘This represents not only a significant economic loss but also has a more severe negative impact on poor, rural and marginalised communities,’ he said.
The TIB executive director also questioned the effectiveness of the Anti-Corruption Commission in containing the corruption.
TIB, Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based graft watchdog, conducted the survey on 15,715 households from November 12, 2024 to October 2025 across the country.
Only about 26 per cent of survey respondents said they were aware of or familiar with the ACC.
