More Ghanaians resisted paying bribes in 2025 even as demands for illicit payments by public officials increased, according to the latest Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Governance Series survey.
The report shows that while interactions between citizens and public institutions rose sharply during the year, a smaller proportion of people ultimately paid bribes compared with 2024.
Presenting the findings in Accra, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said the survey covered July to December 2025 and tracked changes in governance indicators using the same panel of respondents selected from the 2021 Population and Housing Census.
According to the report, the proportion of citizens who refused to pay bribes increased from three per cent in the second wave to 4.9 per cent in the third wave, indicating a modest improvement in resistance to corruption.
The survey found that 72 per cent of citizens interacted with public officials in 2025, up from 56 per cent in 2024, representing approximately 1.6 million additional people accessing public services.
Despite the increase in interactions, the proportion of citizens who paid bribes declined from 18.4 per cent in 2024 to 16.8 per cent in 2025.
The report also found that large bribe payments became less common, with payments exceeding GH¢1,000 falling from 14.7 per cent to 7.6 per cent.
However, the frequency of bribe requests increased significantly. During the second half of 2025, 69 per cent of respondents who encountered bribery situations reported being asked for a bribe, up from 51 per cent in the previous survey wave.
Dr Iddrisu said the survey did not specifically investigate why more people refused to pay bribes, but suggested that increased engagement with public institutions following earlier survey findings may have contributed to the improvement.
He said the Office of the Chief of Staff had engaged the Ghana Statistical Service after the release of the second-wave results, leading to discussions with institutions that recorded high levels of bribery.
According to him, several institutions adopted reforms, including the digitisation of services, to reduce opportunities for corruption.
“This exchange of experience contributed meaningfully to the year-on-year gains,” Dr Iddrisu said.
He urged public institutions to sustain anti-corruption reforms and expand digital service delivery to reduce direct contact between officials and citizens, which he said often creates opportunities for bribery.
The report also called for stronger protection for citizens who refuse to pay bribes and greater transparency in government decision-making processes.
Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, welcomed the increase in citizens refusing to pay bribes and attributed the trend partly to sustained public awareness campaigns.
She nevertheless expressed concern about the rising frequency of bribe demands, particularly in frontline public institutions such as health facilities and schools, where corruption disproportionately affects vulnerable citizens.
Mrs Narteh also warned that the exclusion of young people, older persons and persons with disabilities from governance processes could undermine public trust and civic participation in the long term.
