Corruption in Bangladesh's public service delivery has worsened sharply over the past two years, with more than four out of five households experiencing corruption while accessing at least one government service, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).

The survey found that nearly two-thirds of households were forced to pay bribes to obtain public services, underscoring what the anti-corruption watchdog described as the entrenched nature of graft across key service sectors.

The "Corruption in Service Sectors: National Household Survey 2025" found that 81.6 percent of households encountered corruption in at least one public service sector, while 63.6 percent paid bribes. Compared with 2023, the proportion of households affected by corruption rose by 15.1 percent, while bribery increased by 25.2 percent.

TIB estimated that Bangladeshis paid BDT 12,633.2 crore (about $1.03 billion) in bribes during 2025, a 15.9 percent increase from 2023. The amount is equivalent to 1.58 percent of the revised national budget for fiscal year 2024-25 and 0.23 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Passport services and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) services remained the two most corruption-prone sectors, continuing a trend observed in previous surveys.

Presenting the findings at TIB's Dhaka office, Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said corruption had become institutionalized, disproportionately hurting the poor and marginalized.

"Services cannot be obtained without paying a bribe" was cited by 81.5 percent of respondents as the primary reason for making illicit payments, while 91.2 percent said officials or employees of the concerned institutions directly collected the bribes. 

Among households paying bribes, 98.1 percent did so through intermediaries or within hybrid service delivery systems.

The survey found little public confidence in anti-corruption mechanisms. More than half of households were unaware of complaint procedures, while only 1.4 percent knew about the government's Grievance Redress System. 

Although 10.3 percent of corruption victims lodged complaints, more than half said no action was taken, and over one-fifth reported their complaints were not even accepted.

Among those who did not complain, 61.3 percent said corruption had become an accepted part of public service delivery, while nearly half said they did not know where to complain. Others cited fear of harassment.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also received little public trust. While 29.5 percent of respondents were aware of the agency, only 0.3 percent had ever filed complaints with it.

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman urged the government to appoint credible and independent ACC leadership, warning that prolonged vacancies in the commission had effectively weakened the country's principal anti-graft institution.

The survey also highlighted the unequal burden of corruption. On average, households spent 1.7 percent of their annual income on bribes, but the burden was significantly heavier for poorer families. 

In the five most corruption-prone sectors, households below the poverty line spent 5.1 percent of their annual income on bribes, compared with 3.2 percent for wealthier households. In some extreme cases, households paid bribes amounting to several times their annual income.

Based on interviews with 15,715 households across all eight divisions between November and December 2025, TIB called for a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, full digitalization of public services, mandatory asset declarations for public officials, stronger complaint mechanisms, and legal action against corrupt officials.