Bribes paid by businesses to the public administration have increased significantly during 2025, according to the latest data from the RCC’s Balkan Barometer, which shows a deterioration in the perception of businesses in Albania regarding irregular payments, even though most services are being transferred online, Monitor reported on Monday.

In 2024, about 41% of Albanian businesses stated that they “tend to agree” or “strongly agree” with the statement that it is common to pay additional payments or gifts to get things done with officials. In 2025, this percentage rises to 50%, with a 9 percentage point increase in just one year in businesses that consider bribery as a common practice.

In 2024, a larger proportion of businesses openly expressed “disagree” with this statement, while in 2025, the share of those who “strongly disagree” or “tend to disagree” drops, indicating that resistance to the normalization of bribery is weakening.

The 2025 Barometer survey shows that the perceived climate of corruption in business-administration relations in Albania has worsened, as more and more businesses see bribery as a normal part of the functioning of the system.

Compared to the region, Albania shows a more pronounced deterioration in bribery from 2024 to 2025. At the regional level, the percentage of businesses that “tend to agree” or “strongly agree” that bribery is common increases from around 41% in 2024 to 47% in 2025, an increase of approximately 6 percentage points. In Albania, this increase is stronger at 9 percentage points.

Bosnia leads the Region with 67% of businesses that perceive bribery as a mechanism in dealing with the administration, followed by Montenegro with 59% and Albania with 50%. The lowest level is perceived in Serbia with 30%.

Unlike the region, where the increase in the perception of bribery is accompanied by a more balanced distribution of attitudes, a stronger shift towards acceptance of this practice is observed in Albania.

The sharp rise in perceptions of bribery in Albania is also being driven by administrative burdens and regulatory uncertainty. Lengthy procedures, frequent legal changes, and non-unified interpretation of rules create space for informal bargaining, where irregular payments are seen as a way to expedite or secure solutions.

Businesses that operate formally often feel more exposed to inspections and fines, while informality is selectively tolerated.