Nearly one-third – 31.67 per cent of the people – in Bangladesh experienced bribery while obtaining public services last year.
Among them, the highest number of service recipients reported paying bribes in the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) sector at 63.29 per cent, to law enforcement agencies at 57.96 per cent, and at passport offices at 57.45 per cent.
This information has emerged in the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Citizen’s Perception Survey (CPS) 2025. BBS recently published this report based on interviews with a total of 84,807 adult individuals from all districts of the country in February this year.
According to the survey report, among those who reported facing bribery to obtain public services in 2024, 38.62 per cent were male respondents and 22.71 per cent were female respondents.
Despite having experiences related to bribery, most people expressed satisfaction with public services. Among them, 81.56 per cent of people expressed satisfaction with primary education and 78.20 per cent with secondary education.
Regarding healthcare, 72.69 per cent of service recipients reported satisfaction.
Additionally, 27.24 per cent of citizens believe they can freely express their opinions on any national issue regarding the government’s role. Among them, only 23.02 per cent are women and 31.86 per cent are men.
The rate of being able to freely express opinions about the government is nearly equal between urban and rural people. In rural areas, 26.94 per cent, and in urban areas, 27.87 per cent of people consider themselves politically empowered.
Furthermore, 21.99 per cent of citizens believe they can influence political matters. Significant gender disparity has also been found among them, with the rate being 26.55 per cent for men and only 17.81 per cent for women.
The report also shows that 24.62 per cent of citizens believe that decision-making processes in the country are inclusive and responsive. In most cases, urban residents compared to rural residents, and men compared to women, have expressed greater confidence.
