“Map of Corruption in Lithuania 2025”: decision-making in Lithuania is increasingly seen as closed, while the influence of interest groups is perceived as significant
According to the data from the “Map of Corruption in Lithuania 2025” sociological study initiated by the Special Investigation Service (STT), the public increasingly perceives decision-making as closed, while civil servants more often report encountering cases where decisions are made in favour of specific interest groups. Residents consider the unfair use of personal and political connections to be the most widespread forms of corruption, while healthcare institutions, the Parliament, courts, municipalities, political parties, and politicians are perceived as the most corrupt institutions. Although the potential to report corruption remains limited, public awareness that corruption is punishable is gradually increasing.
Presentation of the study data
According to the data from the ‘Map of Corruption in Lithuania 2025’ sociological study initiated by the Special Investigation Service (STT), residents are less likely to recognise situations where an unofficial ‘thank-you’ is given after a service has been received: a bribe is more often perceived as a payment made before the service is provided, while a payment made afterwards is more often seen as an expression of gratitude. In the opinion of residents, the most widespread forms of corruption are the unfair use of personal and political connections. Residents perceive healthcare institutions, the Parliament (Seimas), courts, municipalities, political parties and politicians as the most corrupt institutions. A gradually strengthening perception that corruption is punishable is also observed: compared with previous years, the share of residents who say that there is no point in reporting corruption has decreased by 10 percentage points.
“The 16th edition of the ‘Map of Corruption in Lithuania’, initiated by STT, allows us not only to measure changes in the perception of corruption, but also to identify the areas where ‘grey zones’ still remain. By understanding how people assess certain situations and choices, we can better target preventive measures, strengthen anti-corruption education and raise public awareness,” says Linas Pernavas, Director of STT.
The public perceives corruption as widespread, yet optimists outnumber pessimists when assessing the future
According to the survey, 81% of residents and 55% of civil servants agree that corruption is widespread in Lithuania. Meanwhile, 55% of civil servants and 26% of residents agree that Lithuania is successfully addressing corruption-related problems. Looking at future prospects, respondents tend to assess the situation more optimistically than pessimistically: 28% of residents and 61% of civil servants believe that the scale of corruption will decrease over the next three years.
The unfair use of personal and political connections is most often mentioned among the most widespread forms of corruption
Residents and civil servants identify the unfair use of personal connections (69% of residents and 60% of civil servants) and political connections (67% of residents and 67% of civil servants) as the most widespread forms of corruption. Compared with 2023–2024, the share of residents who consider abuse of office to be a very widespread form of corruption increased by 10 percentage points, while the share of civil servants who believe that abuse of authority is widespread in Lithuania decreased by 27 percentage points.
Healthcare institutions, the Parliament, courts, municipalities, political parties and politicians are most often named among the five most corrupt institutions
Residents and civil servants identify healthcare institutions (56% of residents and 59% of civil servants), the Parliament (44% and 50%), courts (29% and 22%), municipalities and their representatives (26% and 50%), and political parties and politicians (17% and 14%) as the most corrupt institutions in Lithuania. The latest data show that residents assess the anti-corruption reputation of courts more favourably: compared with previous years, the share of residents naming courts among the most corrupt institutions decreased by 13 percentage points.
Among areas of public administration, both residents and civil servants assess the justice system, the healthcare system, the management of public funds and use of the budget, the energy sector, and environmental, territorial planning and construction policy as the most corrupt.
When assessing the corruptness of public administration procedures, civil servants most often identify the issuance of construction permits (41%), the provision of healthcare services (36%) and the issuance of environmental permits (29%) as highly corrupt.
The risk of being pressured to pay a bribe remains in the healthcare sector, although the long-term trend shows improvement
Experience of corruption is significantly lower than perceived prevalence: 11% of residents state that they gave a bribe over the past 12 months (9% in 2023–2024). The share of residents who have given a bribe has not changed significantly since 2020. The main form of bribery is money. Bribe-giving becomes more frequent from the age of 30 and reaches its peak in the 50–59 age group. The experience of giving bribes may be linked to a period in a person’s life when they more frequently deal with public institutions. Telšiai and Tauragė counties stand out from other counties in terms of bribe-giving, with the share of residents who have given a bribe exceeding the national average.
Although residents more often associate the risk of being pressured to pay a bribe with the healthcare system, the long-term trend shows improvement. Comparing data from 2016 and 2025, the share of respondents who encountered demands for bribes in national hospitals and clinics decreased from 40% to 7%, while in city and district hospitals it decreased from 36% to 8%. Demands for bribes and bribe-giving are most often associated with receiving personal healthcare and treatment services (surgical procedures – 16%, disability assessment – 12%, nursing care in hospital – 11%) and with decision-making in municipalities (procedures related to construction – 11%, and changes in land-use designation – 11%).
Residents do not perceive all unofficial forms of payment as bribes
Twenty-one percent of residents state that, while dealing with matters over the past three years, they additionally and unofficially rewarded employees with a gift, service or money without considering such a reward to be a bribe. This is more common among residents of Vilnius and among those with lower incomes. Assessing the recognition of corruption-related situations shows that residents are less likely to recognise situations where an unofficial ‘thank-you’ is given after a service has been received. This indicates that a bribe is more often perceived as a payment made before the service is provided, while a payment made afterwards is more often perceived as an expression of gratitude.
Personal connections are perceived by society as important for obtaining public services and pursuing career changes
Sixteen percent of residents state that, over the past three years, they have had to use personal connections in order to obtain public services faster or of better quality. Among those who used connections in relation to a specific institution or procedure, residents most often reported using such connections to obtain employment in the civil service (26%), while dealing with matters at the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate (16%), and while participating in decisions related to infrastructure and environmental maintenance in municipalities (15%). Residents of Vilnius stand out as more likely to have used personal connections to obtain faster or better-quality public services.
Compared with residents, civil servants view personal connections as less important. Around one in ten civil servants state that, over the past 12 months, they encountered a situation in their workplace where another person used personal connections to obtain employment or a promotion, seek a favourable decision, or receive public services faster or of better quality.
Decision-making in Lithuania is perceived by residents and civil servants as closed and susceptible to influence
A larger share of residents (52%) and civil servants (39%) believe that decision-making in Lithuania is closed or very closed. Compared with 2023–2024, this share increased in both groups: by 10 percentage points among residents and by 15 percentage points among civil servants.
Every second civil servant (50%) says they have heard of cases where individuals or organisations sought to influence decision-making or law-making. Of them, 52% indicate that influence was exerted through both legal and illegal means. In the opinion of civil servants, the strongest efforts to influence decision-making are concentrated in the fields of construction (76%), energy (72%), healthcare (62%), pharmaceuticals (60%) and environmental protection (53%). Registered lobbyists (65%), associations (49%) and companies (42%) are most often identified as the actors exerting influence, while the most frequently mentioned methods of influence are informal meetings (81%), use of personal connections (75%) and support for political parties or election campaigns (70%).
Almost half of civil servants say they have personally encountered corruption-related situations in the public sector
Although the vast majority of civil servants state that various measures for creating an anti-corruption environment exist in their workplace, one fifth believe that corruption is partly or very widespread in their workplace. Almost half (41%) of civil servants say they have personally encountered corruption-related situations in the public sector. The situations most often mentioned were cases where politicians or civil servants made decisions to benefit specific interest groups (29%), where former public officials obtained positions in the private sector in exchange for decisions they had made (14%), and where politicians favoured party members (22%) or other persons (15%) in recruitment. Compared with previous years, there has been an increase in the share of those saying they encountered decision-making benefiting specific interest groups and favouritism of party members in recruitment. Civil servants working in local government more often than employees of national-level institutions report encountering corruption in their workplace or in the public sector.
Public perception that corruption is punishable is strengthening
More than half of residents (57%) and the majority of civil servants (95%) know how to report corruption. A smaller share – 19% of residents and 63% of civil servants – stated that they would report corruption to the responsible authorities if they encountered it. An even smaller share – 6% of residents and 17% of civil servants who said they had encountered a potentially corrupt situation over the past 12 months – reported it to the responsible authorities. The main reasons for not reporting are fear of negative consequences and the belief that there is no point because no one will be punished.
At the same time, a gradually strengthening perception that corruption is punishable is observed. Compared with 2011, the share of residents who say they did not give a bribe because doing so would violate the law increased by 16 percentage points, and the share of civil servants saying the same increased by 36 percentage points. In addition, compared with 2023–2024, the share of residents who say that there is no point in reporting corruption because those responsible will not be convicted decreased by 10 percentage points.
