Ministry of Home Affairs: 11% of citizens report frustration with public officials in administrative procedures

The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the 2025 results of SIPAS (Citizens’ Satisfaction Index with the services of state administrative agencies). The 2025 measurement was conducted nationwide using 36,000 questionnaires across 720 communes/wards in 34 provinces and cities, producing 35,649 valid responses (99.03%), ensuring representativeness and reliability.

The SIPAS index is built on 37 indicators on citizens’ perceptions and assessments, 51 indicators on satisfaction levels, and 10 indicators on citizens’ needs and expectations, providing a comprehensive view of service quality delivered by state administrative agencies.

2025 SIPAS results: overall satisfaction declines

In 2025, overall satisfaction (OS) with state administrative services reached 83.09%, down 0.78 percentage points from 2024. Compared with 2023, the figure remains higher by 0.43 percentage points.

Satisfaction by two measured pillars

• Policy development and implementation: 83.08%, down 0.68 percentage points from 2024.
  • Accountability: 83.31%, down 0.01%
  • Opportunity to participate in policy development and implementation: 82.83%, down 0.30%
  • Quality of policy implementation: 83.11%, down 0.63%
  • Outcomes and impact of policy: 83.05%, down 0.95%
• Provision of administrative services: 83.11%, down 0.91% from 2024.
  • Access to services: 83.65%, down 0.56%
  • Administrative procedures: 83.17%, down 0.99%
  • Civil servants: 83.25%, down 0.98%
  • Service outcomes: 84.27%, down 1.06%
  • Reception and handling of feedback and petitions: 82.49%, down 0.92%

Regional variation and service friction

Across 34 provinces and cities, overall citizen satisfaction ranged from 77.92% to 91.12%, with a 13.20 percentage-point gap between the highest and lowest localities. Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, and Dong Nai ranked highest, while Lai Chau, Lang Son, and Cao Bang were the lowest.

In 2025, 11% of people reported friction with public officials when carrying out administrative procedures. Satisfaction with specific content also varied across provinces.

Key bottlenecks highlighted by the data

• Limited participation and feedback mechanisms: Satisfaction with participation in policy development and implementation was 82.83%, down 0.30% from 2024. Satisfaction with the reception and processing of feedback at public service centers was 82.49%, down 0.92% from 2024. This remains the lowest satisfaction area and shows no clear year-on-year improvement.
• Gap between awareness and action: Interest in nine policies ranged from 77.27% to 82.16%, but the share of citizens providing feedback through participatory channels remains below 50%. Direct feedback at resident meetings was 46.83%, while online forms were around 10%.
• Traditional information channels still dominate: The most commonly used channels for accessing policy information, providing policy input, and using administrative services are direct channels. Online channels account for 39.11% for policy information, 21.18% for policy input, and 29.87% for public service usage (fully online or partially online), suggesting digital transformation in information provision and services has not fully taken root among citizens.
• Ongoing nuisances and costs beyond regulations: 11.05% of citizens reported that some officials caused nuisance, and 8.88% reported being asked to pay extra beyond regulatory requirements. While not widespread, these issues occur across all localities and appear to have increased slightly year-on-year.

Citizens’ needs and expectations for 2025

Citizens’ expectations for improvements in service quality in 2025 ranged from 86.22% to 88.65%. Top priorities include increasing the capacity of civil servants, improving the quality of receiving and handling feedback, and strengthening facilities and equipment to serve the public. Expectations are relatively consistent across localities, ranging from 79.38% to 92.91%, indicating nationwide demand to improve service quality.

Implications for public administration reform

The SIPAS 2025 results indicate that public administration reform needs to adapt promptly to maintain and improve public service quality and better meet citizens’ growing needs and expectations. The reform focus highlighted in the results includes: strengthening capability and accountability at the local level; narrowing service quality gaps across localities; accelerating digital transformation toward a people-centered model; and establishing effective two-way feedback mechanisms between the administration and citizens to enhance service quality and participation in governance.