KEY POINTS
- Transparency International Pakistan’s survey shows a decline in corruption perception and improved transparency.
- 60% of Pakistanis believe the economy stabilised after the IMF agreement and exit from the FATF grey list.
- Public perception improved for police, education, land and property, local government, and taxation services.
ISLAMABAD: Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) on Monday released the National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS) 2025, reporting a significant decline in corruption perception and an improvement in public confidence in several government services of the South Asian country.
Transparency International, in its report, stated that the latest survey shows increased transparency and a reduction in perceived corruption across various sectors.
According to the report, the perception of corruption has significantly decreased, while transparency has markedly improved. These results indicate major progress in governance, transparency, and accountability, reflecting an overall rise in public confidence.
The organisation stated that the survey measures public perception and does not reflect the actual quantum of corruption in Pakistan.
TIP conducted the NCPS 2025 from 22 to 29 September 2025. A total of 4,000 respondents from 20 districts participated in the survey, compared with 1,600 respondents in 2023.
Participants included 55% men, 43% women and 2% transgender persons. Around 59% were from urban areas, while 41% were from rural districts.
TIP noted that the survey assesses how citizens experience corruption in daily interactions with public services.
It does not investigate corruption cases nor influence Pakistan’s ranking on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which is compiled by Transparency International’s headquarters in Berlin.
Majority did not face bribery situation
The key finding of NCPS 2025 is that 66% of Pakistanis said they did not have to pay a bribe for any government service in the past 12 months, according to the report.
Only 34% reported a bribery-related experience. TIP said this shows that day-to-day pressure to pay bribes is not universal and has reduced compared with previous years.
Economic stabilisation recognised
About 60% of citizens agreed that Pakistan’s economy stabilised after the IMF agreement and the country’s removal from the FATF grey list, the TIP report stated.
The report said Pakistan’s economy is moving from deterioration to stability, and from stability towards growth.
Around 43% of respondents said their purchasing power improved during the year, while 57% reported a decline.
Perception of institutions
The police ranked highest in corruption perception, followed by tenders and procurement, the judiciary, the electricity and energy sector, and the health sector, according to the TIP report.
However, TIP reported a 6% improvement in public perception of police behaviour and service delivery.
The organisation said this improvement is significant, given the expanded sample size of 4,000 respondents.
Public perception also improved in education, land and property services, local government, and taxation, the report added.
Public expectations for reform
Respondents, according to the report, identified lack of transparency, limited access to information, and delays in corruption case decisions as major causes of corruption. A clear majority favoured strong institutional reforms.
Key public priorities, the report stated, include strengthened accountability mechanisms, limited discretionary powers, stronger right-to-information laws, and digitisation of public services.
Around 78% of respondents want anti-corruption bodies, such as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to be subject to their own oversight, the report stated.
TIP said this indicates a strong public demand for transparent and accountable watchdog institutions.
Clean governance and transparency
More than half of the respondents (51%) said that tax-exempt NGOs, hospitals, laboratories, educational institutions and charitable organisations should not charge any fees to the public, the TIP report added.
Another 53% want tax-exempt NGOs and health facilities to publicly disclose the names of their donors and donation details on their websites.
Around 83% of respondents want business-funded political financing to be banned or placed under strict regulation.
The TIP report stated that this reflects a clear demand for clean money and fair competition in politics.
Whistleblower protection
The survey reported that 42% of citizens would be willing to report corruption if Pakistan had strong whistleblower protection laws.
Yet 70% of respondents said they were unaware of any existing government corruption-reporting system. TIP said this demonstrates the need for stronger legal protections and public awareness.
TIP reiterated that the NCPS is a domestic survey conducted by Transparency International Pakistan and has no impact on the global CPI published by Transparency International headquarters.
The organisation emphasised that NCPS captures public sentiment and daily experiences rather than certifying actual corruption levels.
