This is the 16th edition of the study. In 2025, it surveyed 2,001 adult residents of Lithuania and 500 civil servants.
According to the results, 81% of residents and 55% of civil servants believe that corruption is widespread in Lithuania. At the same time, expectations for the future are relatively optimistic: 28% of residents and 61% of civil servants expect the scale of corruption to decrease over the next three years.
Respondents identified nepotism, the use of political connections, the adoption of legislation benefiting specific interest groups, and abuse of office or authority as key forms of corruption. Among the institutions most often perceived as the most corrupt, residents and civil servants named healthcare institutions, the Seimas, courts, municipalities, political parties, and politicians. At the same time, courts are now less frequently included among the most corrupt institutions: among residents, this indicator decreased by 13 percentage points (pp).
A much smaller share of residents reported personal experience of paying a bribe: over the past 12 months, 11% of respondents said they had given one. STT notes that the highest risk of bribery remains in the healthcare sector, although the long-term trend has improved. For example, the share of respondents who reported being asked for a bribe in national hospitals and clinics fell from 40% in 2016 to 7% in 2025, while in city and district hospitals it decreased from 36% to 8%.
It is important to note, however, that for some respondents the boundary between a bribe and informal “gratitude” remains blurred. For example, 21% of residents said that over the past three years they had given an additional informal gift, service, or payment to employees without considering it a bribe. According to STT, residents are more likely to regard a payment made before receiving a service as a bribe, while informal “gratitude” after a service has been provided is more often seen as an acceptable form of appreciation.
A separate section of the study focuses on the influence of interests on decision-making. Overall, 52% of residents and 39% of civil servants believe that decision-making in Lithuania is closed or very closed. Compared with the previous study, this indicator increased by 10 pp among residents and by 15 pp among civil servants. Half of civil servants said they were aware of cases in which individuals or organizations had attempted to influence decision-making or lawmaking. They identified construction, energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and environmental protection as the sectors most exposed to such influence. The main methods of influence cited were informal meetings, the use of personal connections, and support for political parties or election campaigns.
At the same time, willingness to report corruption offences remains limited. While 57% of residents and 95% of civil servants know where corruption can be reported, only 19% of residents and 63% of civil servants would be prepared to report it if they encountered corruption. Among the main reasons for not reporting, respondents cited fear of negative consequences and doubts that those responsible would be punished.