The World Bank’s Kenya Economic Update, Edition No. 34, released in November 2026, used Transparency International data to rank institutions where Kenyans most frequently pay bribes.

The police service scored 84.0 on the bribery index for the 2025 round, roughly double the next highest score, making it the most corrupt institution according to the survey.

Land services ranked second with a score of 45.0, up from 32.2 in 2019, while motor‑vehicle licensing rose sharply to 43.7, up from 21.3 over the same period.

The judiciary placed fourth at 40.8, the only institution to improve its score since 2017, when it recorded 44.0.

Other public services such as civil registration, health, business licensing, education, tax services and Huduma Centres completed the ranking, with Huduma Centres showing the steepest increase since 2017 (+15.7 points).

The report warns that corruption costs Kenya billions in lost revenue and depresses earnings for informal workers, who make up over 80 % of the workforce.

Afrobarometer data show that respondents in the poorest quartile are 14 percentage points more likely to pay a police bribe than those in the least poor quartile.

Among boda‑boda riders, bribes represent 5 % to 20 % of daily earnings, with annual payments to traffic police estimated at about KSh 88 billion.

For businesses, 39 % of surveyed firms in 2025 said corruption is a major constraint, up from 25 % in 2013, and firms experiencing bribery are over 30 % less likely to innovate and see 2‑4 percentage‑point lower sales growth.

The World Bank estimates that corruption adds 2 percentage points of GDP to the fiscal deficit and weakens tax compliance, while moderate anti‑corruption reforms could raise GDP by 8.7 % by 2035, and deeper reforms by 22.3 %, potentially creating 7.7 million jobs.