B Mirror Report: Bangladesh’s Passport Office is the most corruption-prone public service institution in the country, followed by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), according to the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) National Household Survey 2025.
The findings were unveiled at a press conference held at TIB’s office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, on Thursday.
According to the report, 84.4 percent of passport service users experienced corruption, while 76.6 percent reported paying bribes. At BRTA, 79.3 percent of service recipients faced corruption and 63.5 percent said they had to pay bribes.
The survey found that corruption and bribery in passport services were more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas. Among rural respondents, 79.1 percent reported paying bribes and 87 percent experienced corruption, compared with 71.8 percent and 79.4 percent, respectively, in urban areas.
In BRTA services, 61.5 percent of rural users and 66.3 percent of urban users reported paying bribes. Corruption was experienced by 80.4 percent of rural respondents and 77.7 percent of urban respondents.
The report also identified other sectors with high levels of bribery, including law enforcement and agriculture (49.3 percent each), land services (47.6 percent), judicial services (39.6 percent), education (34.8 percent), public healthcare (29.7 percent), local government institutions (27.7 percent), National Identity (NID) services (21.9 percent), climate and disaster assistance (12.5 percent), electricity (6.8 percent), gas (6 percent), tax and customs (2.8 percent), insurance (2.7 percent), and banking and NGO services (1.4 percent each).
In terms of overall corruption experiences, passport and BRTA services were followed by judicial services (71.3 percent), law enforcement agencies (69.4 percent), land services (66.3 percent), public healthcare and agriculture (64.4 percent each), education (52.5 percent), NID services (47.4 percent), local government institutions (46 percent), climate and disaster assistance (41.3 percent), electricity (36.1 percent), insurance (25.6 percent), gas (25.4 percent), banking (16.3 percent), NGOs (13.1 percent), and tax and customs (11.2 percent).
The survey further found that 63.6 percent of Bangladeshis had paid bribes in at least one public service sector, while 81.6 percent had experienced corruption in at least one service area. TIB described the situation in passport services as particularly alarming.
TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman was present at the press conference where the survey findings were released.
