Ghana’s fight against corruption produced mixed results in the second half of 2025, with more citizens reporting that public officials demanded unofficial payments even as the overall share of people who actually paid bribes declined over the course of the year.
New findings released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) under its Governance Series Wave 3 show that over 69.4% of citizens who dealt with public officials between July and December 2025 detected requests for extra payments or gifts, up sharply from 50.9% in the first half of the year.
Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu described the trend as evidence that the pressure originates from public officials rather than citizens.
“The pressure sits at the counter. The problem now is less what citizens offer and more of what officials ask,” he said during the launch of the report.
The survey, based on interviews with the same nationally representative panel of households drawn from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, tracks citizens’ actual experiences with public institutions rather than their perceptions.
Despite the increase in demands for unofficial payments, the report presents a more nuanced picture of corruption across the year.
The proportion of adults who paid a bribe rose from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18.0% in the second half. However, on an annual basis, bribery incidence declined to 16.8% in 2025 from 18.4% in 2024, suggesting reforms introduced over the year may have had a positive overall effect.
Iddrisu said both trends could exist simultaneously.
“The most recent six months have been harder compared to the previous six months. Secondly, the full year got better compared to 2024. Both of these stories are true.”
The report also found encouraging signs that repeated bribery is becoming less common.
The proportion of citizens who reported paying bribes five or more times dropped dramatically from 24% in the first half of 2025 to just 3.7% in the second half.
At the same time, more citizens refused to make unofficial payments, with the refusal rate increasing from 3.0% to 4.9%.
“More Ghanaians are finding the courage to say no,” Iddrisu said. “More citizens are looking across that counter and saying, ‘I will not pay for what is already mine.'”
Deputy Government Statistician Omar Seidu said the government must now ensure citizens are protected when they reject demands for bribes.
“Refusal must be made safe. Saying no should never cost a citizen their service, their licence or their time. Reports must lead to visible action because confidence only grows when a complaint is investigated.”
Cash remained the dominant form of bribery, accounting for most unofficial payments, with about 84% of payments worth GH¢500 or less, highlighting the burden corruption places on ordinary households.
“Small here does not mean painless,” Seidu said. “These are sums that ordinary households feel immediately. Money that was meant for food, transport or school.”
The Ghana Police Service continued to record the highest incidence of reported bribery among public institutions.
More than half of citizens dealing with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) reported giving money or gifts. Nevertheless, GSS said performance has improved over the longer term, with MTTD bribery falling from 61% in 2024 to 53.6% in 2025.
Other institutions, including the Criminal Investigations Department, Passport Office, Immigration Service and city authorities, also recorded lower bribery rates compared with the previous year.
