MONROVIA, LIBERIA – A new report by the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia paints a mixed picture of Liberia’s fight against corruption, showing a decline in citizens’ overall perception of corruption while exposing worsening corruption risks in key public institutions, particularly the police, healthcare system, courts, and education sector.
Released on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, the fifth edition of the State of Corruption Report (SCORE 2025) found that although fewer Liberians now perceive corruption as overwhelmingly high, corruption continues to dominate critical public services that directly affect citizens’ daily lives.
According to the report, 59 percent of respondents rated corruption as high in 2025, representing a 24-percentage-point decline from 83 percent in 2024. The figure is also significantly lower than the 90 percent recorded in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Meanwhile, 35 percent of respondents described corruption as moderate, while only 6 percent believed corruption was low.
The SCORE 2025 report was produced under CENTAL’s National Integrity Building and Anti-Corruption Program (NIBA), funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The study combined surveys, desk reviews, key informant interviews, media monitoring, and field research conducted between November 2025 and March 2026, covering 772 respondents across nine counties.
Despite the improved national perception, the report reveals that bribery and corruption remain deeply entrenched in institutions responsible for law enforcement and essential public services.
Police services were again identified as Liberia’s most corruption-prone public institution, with 75 percent of respondents naming the police, an increase from 71 percent in 2024.
Medical services ranked second, rising sharply from 46 percent in 2024 to 57 percent in 2025, suggesting increasing public concern over corruption within the healthcare system.
The report also recorded notable increases in perceived corruption within the judiciary, education, and transportation sectors. Court services rose from 26 percent to 36 percent, educational services increased from 24 percent to 35 percent, while transportation services recorded the largest proportional increase, jumping from 13 percent in 2024 to 22 percent in 2025.
The findings indicate that while overall public perception of corruption may be improving, citizens continue to experience or observe corruption in institutions responsible for justice, healthcare, education, and public safety.
CENTAL’s report also found a modest improvement in public confidence regarding the government’s commitment to fighting corruption.
According to the survey, 27 percent of respondents rated the government’s anti-corruption commitment as high, compared to 20 percent in 2024 and 12 percent in 2023. At the same time, those rating government commitment as low declined significantly from 48 percent to 25 percent, while 37 percent described the government’s commitment as moderate.
Among respondents expressing confidence in the government’s efforts, 33 percent cited visible anti-corruption actions, 22 percent pointed to investigations involving public officials, and 14 percent credited President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s public statements against corruption.
However, the report also exposes a significant erosion of confidence in Liberia’s public institutions.
The media remained the country’s most trusted institution, but confidence declined from 50 percent in 2024 to 42 percent in 2025.
Confidence in civil society organizations remained relatively stable at 37 percent, while trust in religious institutions experienced one of the sharpest declines, falling from 53 percent to 33 percent.
Among the three branches of government, the Executive retained the highest confidence level at 31 percent, though this represented a four-percentage-point decline from the previous year.
The Judiciary experienced one of the most dramatic declines, dropping from 33 percent in 2024 to 16 percent in 2025, while confidence in the Legislature fell from 22 percent to just 12 percent, making it the least trusted branch of government.
Public integrity institutions also continued their downward trajectory, declining from 45 percent in 2024 to 28 percent in 2025.
The report concludes that while citizens appear to recognize increased government attention toward corruption, confidence in the institutions responsible for enforcing accountability continues to weaken.
To address these challenges, CENTAL recommends strengthening anti-corruption prosecutions, improving judicial accountability, increasing deterrence against corrupt practices, and implementing reforms aimed at building a more transparent, accountable, and effective governance system.
The findings underscore a central challenge confronting Liberia’s anti-corruption agenda: while perceptions of corruption may be improving, sustained public confidence will ultimately depend on whether state institutions can consistently investigate, prosecute, and punish corruption without fear, favor, or political interference.
