Requests for unofficial payments to access public services in Ghana increased sharply in the second half of 2025, with nearly seven in every 10 citizens who encountered bribery saying public officials demanded extra payments, according to new data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The survey also found that the proportion of Ghanaians who paid a bribe rose from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half—equivalent to about one in six people paying a bribe to a public official during the period.
Presenting the findings at a Governance Series event organised by Three Reports and the GSS on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu said the data points to a worsening bribery situation during the last six months of 2025.
“Over the last six months of 2025, the share who paid a bribe rose from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half of 2025. That is about one in six paid a bribe to a public official,” he said.
He revealed that demands for unofficial payments rose even more dramatically, increasing from 51% in the first half of the year to 69% in the second half.
“The pressure sits at the counter. The problem now is less what citizens offer and more of what officials would ask,” Dr. Iddrisu stated.
Although the survey recorded a deterioration between July and December 2025, Dr. Iddrisu noted that Ghana’s overall governance indicators for the full year still showed improvement compared to 2024.
“The full year, which is 2025, got better compared to 2024. Both of these stories are true, and that’s the beauty of the six-monthly survey that we do—to be able to look at trends within waves and even compare between years,” he explained.
The Ghana Statistical Service said the survey follows the same nationally representative households across all 16 regions, making it possible to track real changes in citizens’ experiences over time. The latest findings are based on interviews conducted in the first quarter of 2026, covering experiences from July to December 2025.
