The research also reveals that corruption continues to pose a major threat to the normal functioning of public administration. It hinders the reduction of public service costs and limits decision-making in conditions of conflict of interest. The 2025 SMC data for Albania show that the percentage of citizens reporting having paid a bribe, directly or indirectly, to obtain services from public officials remains high (59% of respondents).
“Corruption is hindering Albania’s faster progress towards membership in the European Union.” Thus begins a report on Albania on the level of this phenomenon in our country, conducted by the “SELDI” center. This is a Regional network of civil society organizations that works to fight corruption and improve good governance in the countries of Southeast Europe. (Full report)
The study cites recent reports from the European Commission that highlight that corruption remains a major concern for Albanian citizens and one of the main obstacles to the European integration process. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Albania among the most affected countries in the Region, while the Regional Cooperation Council’s Western Balkans Barometer shows that Albanian citizens’ perception of the prevalence of corruption is the highest in the Western Balkans. These findings not only highlight the scale of the phenomenon, but also underline its role as a factor influencing public trust and the way citizens perceive a functioning democracy. Although the reforms undertaken, such as the Justice Reform and the creation of new institutions such as SPAK and the National Bureau of Investigation, have created high expectations, their concrete effects on public perception are still limited.
Many citizens continue to believe that corruption is widespread at the highest levels of politics and public administration, fostering a sense of a “culture of impunity.” This situation makes it essential to systematically and impartially monitor the phenomenon, as well as to develop evidence-based policies and accurate measurements that can help break this cycle.
The report states that the 2025 Corruption Monitoring System (CMS) shows that corruption remains a serious obstacle to Albania’s progress towards the EU. The research also reveals that corruption continues to pose a major threat to the normal functioning of public administration. It hinders the reduction of public service costs and limits decision-making in conditions of conflict of interest. The 2025 CMS data for Albania show that the percentage of citizens who report having paid a bribe, directly or indirectly, to obtain services from public officials remains high (59% of respondents). This represents an increase of around 19 percentage points compared to 2023, signaling a deterioration in the situation.
The pressure indicator follows the same upward trend: 53.9% of respondents stated that they had been asked for a bribe at a higher level than in 2021. These findings suggest that citizens’ exposure to corrupt pressure from the administration remains generally high.
Meanwhile, it is a positive sign that the share of citizens reporting that they have paid bribes in cash, gifts or favors only after being directly requested by public officials has decreased significantly compared to CMS 2023 (26.5% in 2025 versus 44% in 2023). The 2025 data show that citizens display high levels of pessimism: 77% believe that the current corruption situation will remain unchanged, while only 22% hope for a future with lower levels of corruption. This trend is consistent with the findings of previous years and highlights a clear gap between individual attitudes and institutional developments.