Bribery rate rises to 18% in second half of 2025 – GSS
The incidence of bribery in Ghana increased during the second half of 2025, with 18.0 per cent of household heads who interacted with public officials reporting that they paid money or gave gifts, according to the latest Governance Series released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The figure represents an increase from the 14.3 per cent recorded between January and June 2025, translating into an estimated 1.7 million people paying bribes compared to 1.3 million in the first half of the year.
The findings, contained in the GSS Governance Series – Wave 3 report launched in Accra on Tuesday, however, shows that although bribery became more prevalent over the six-month period, repeat payments reduced significantly, suggesting that many incidents were isolated rather than recurring.
The report also revealed that the number of Ghanaians who had contact with public officials declined from 6.8 million (74.2 per cent) in the first half of 2025 to 6.4 million (69.6 per cent) between July and December 2025.
The GSS defines bribery as the giving, offering or receiving of money, gifts or favours in exchange for influence or action that violates legal, ethical or official duties.
According to the report, requests by public officials for unofficial payments increased sharply from 50.9 per cent in Wave 2 to 69.4 per cent in Wave 3, while the proportion of people who refused to pay also rose from 3.0 per cent to 4.9 per cent.
Most bribes remained relatively small, with more than 84 per cent of payments amounting to GH¢500 or less. However, the share of payments exceeding GH¢1,000 also increased during the period.
The report identified the Police Service, particularly the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), as the institution most frequently associated with requests for unofficial payments.
Comparing the full 2025 calendar year with 2024, the proportion of Ghanaians who paid bribes declined from 18.4 per cent to 16.8 per cent, even though interactions with public institutions increased from 55.7 per cent to 71.9 per cent.
Speaking at the launch, the Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, said good governance was reflected in the everyday experiences of citizens when accessing public services.
He explained that the Governance Series was designed to generate credible evidence on bribery and inclusive governance to support Ghana’s implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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