National Integrity Assessment (Bhutan)

The National Integrity Assessment (NIA) is a comprehensive survey instrument designed and administered by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bhutan. Its purpose is to measure the integrity of public institutions and the quality of public service delivery as perceived by citizens, service providers, and elected representatives. Conducted periodically since the mid-2010s, the NIA provides empirical data that informs anti-corruption policy, institutional reform, and public accountability. Alongside Bhutan's performance in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the NIA constitutes a central pillar of the kingdom's integrity monitoring infrastructure.^[1]

Bhutan's commitment to combating corruption is rooted in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan (2008), which established the ACC as an independent constitutional body mandated to prevent and combat corruption in both the public and private sectors. The NIA operationalises this mandate by generating quantitative benchmarks against which the integrity of government agencies can be compared over time. For the NIA 2022, the most recent published edition, 76 agencies and 193 public services were assessed, yielding a national integrity score of 8.01 out of 10, classified as a "good level" of integrity.^[2]

Methodology

The NIA employs a multi-stakeholder survey methodology, collecting responses from four categories of respondents: service users (citizens who have directly used a public service), service providers (civil servants delivering public services), parliamentarians, and constituents or voters. Questionnaires probe experiences with and perceptions of bribery, favouritism, nepotism, procedural fairness, transparency, and overall trust in public institutions. The survey is administered across all 20 dzongkhags to ensure geographic representativeness.^[2]

Agencies are scored on composite indices that combine measures of corruption experience (whether respondents have directly encountered corrupt acts), corruption perception (whether respondents believe corruption is prevalent), and integrity culture (whether internal systems discourage corruption). The scores allow the ACC to identify agencies that perform well, flag those requiring targeted intervention, and track trends across survey rounds. Supplementing the NIA, the ACC also conducts a National Corruption Barometer Survey (NCBS), which focuses specifically on public attitudes toward corruption and the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures.^[1]

Key Findings of NIA 2022

The NIA 2022 revealed a mixed picture. While the overall national integrity score of 8.01 indicated broadly functional institutions, the survey found that a majority of respondents considered corruption "quite serious" in Bhutan and believed it had increased over the preceding five years. The NCBS 2023 corroborated this finding, with 38.7 per cent of respondents describing corruption as serious. Public sector corrupt exchanges scored 0.77 out of 4, indicating the presence of corruption within government. Of 138 individuals implicated in corruption cases during the financial year 2023–2024, 88 (63.77 per cent) were from the public sector.^[2]

The survey also highlighted awareness gaps: 15.2 per cent of service users, 6.6 per cent of service providers, 4.3 per cent of parliamentarians, and 13.2 per cent of constituents were unaware of the ACC's efforts in combating corruption. The ACC has acknowledged these findings and committed to strengthening advocacy, complaint management, and targeted interventions in high-risk agencies.^[1]

Transparency International CPI Performance

Bhutan's standing in the TI Corruption Perceptions Index has risen significantly in recent years. In the CPI 2024, released in February 2025, Bhutan achieved a score of 72 out of 100, climbing from 26th to 18th place globally—a historic leap of eight positions and four points. This placed Bhutan fifth in the Asia-Pacific region, surpassing the regional average of 44 and the European Union average of 62, and maintaining its status as the top-performing country in South Asia.^[3]

The CPI score is derived from four external data sources for Bhutan: the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), Global Insight Country Risk Ratings, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. In the CPI 2025, Bhutan's score dipped marginally to 71, attributed primarily to a decline in the V-Dem democracy score from 66 to 64, though the country retained its 18th-place ranking. The ACC has described this as a signal to prioritise integrity outcomes, proactive prevention, and risk-based interventions over broad policy expansion.^[4]

Policy Significance

The NIA and CPI together serve as complementary accountability mechanisms. While the CPI reflects international expert assessments and cross-country comparisons, the NIA captures granular domestic realities across individual agencies and services. Both instruments inform the ACC's strategic planning, the Gross National Happiness Commission's governance indicators, and the government's broader reform agenda. The Bhutan Transparency Initiative, the national chapter of Transparency International, also conducts National Integrity System Assessments (NISA) that evaluate the broader institutional ecosystem supporting integrity.^[5]

As Bhutan pursues ambitious economic transformation goals, including its aspiration to achieve high-income status by 2034, maintaining and strengthening integrity in public governance will be critical to attracting investment, ensuring equitable development, and sustaining public trust in democratic institutions.^[6]

References

1. Anti-Corruption Commission of Bhutan — Official Website
2. National Integrity Assessment 2022 — Anti-Corruption Commission of Bhutan (PDF)
3. "Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2024." ACC Bhutan.
4. "Bhutan Maintains Strong Standing in TI CPI 2025." ACC Bhutan.
5. Bhutan Transparency Initiative — Scope of Activities
6. Bhutan Country Profile — Transparency International