GSS Report: 68.3% of Bribery Cases in Ghana Involve Men, Urban Areas Most Affected – GhArticles.com

A new report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that men are significantly more likely than women to engage in bribery when dealing with public officials in Ghana. The findings are part of the Governance Series Wave 1 report, aimed at tracking progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 16.5.1, which monitors corruption in public institutions.

According to the 2024 data, 55.7% of Ghanaians had interactions with public officials, and nearly one in six individuals (18.4%) admitted to offering gifts or bribes in exchange for services. Notably, 68.3% of those involved in bribery were men, more than double the rate of women, who accounted for just 31.7%.

The study, conducted via phone interviews with 7,248 respondents across all 16 regions of Ghana, also revealed that bribery is more common in urban areas (64.3%) than in rural communities (35.7%).

The Greater Accra and Ashanti regions topped the list of regions with the highest incidences of bribery, while the Savannah and North East regions recorded the lowest. The report also raised equity concerns, noting that vulnerable groups, particularly persons with physical and visual impairments, were disproportionately exposed to bribery in their attempts to access public services.

Cash remains the dominant form of bribe, representing 85.2% of all unofficial payments. Other forms of bribes included food, drinks, or animals (9.0%), exchange of services (4.4%), and valuables (1.4%).