Mexico in Numbers: Corruption, bribes and who Mexicans trust the least

In 2025, 15.6% of people who interacted with government offices experienced corruption in Mexico, according to the National Survey of Governmental Quality and Impact (ENCIG). The survey, conducted in late 2025, revealed that Hidalgo state had the highest rate of corruption incidents, with 21.5% of residents reporting that they were victims in the previous year.

The most common situations where corruption occurred were when interacting with public security authorities (63.5%), applying for property-related permits (32%), making "other payments," submitting bureaucratic paperwork or requests (29.3%), opening a business (23.5%), and submitting paperwork to the Federal or State Attorney General's Office (22.3%). The only situation where corruption declined compared to 2023 was when submitting paperwork to the Federal or State Attorney General's Office.

Regarding corruption in institutions, police forces were perceived as the most corrupt, with 86.5% of respondents believing they engaged in corruption frequently. Political parties were seen as the second most corrupt institution, followed by prosecutor's offices, state governments, and houses of congress. On the other hand, public schools, public autonomous organizations, civil society organizations, and religious institutions were considered the least corrupt.

When it came to corruption among families, neighbors, and work colleagues, the rates were significantly lower. Only 18.7% of respondents believed families engaged in corruption frequently, followed by neighbors (19.1%), and work colleagues (21.8%).