County Budget Transparency Survey 2025

The findings of CBTS 2025 come at a time of growing public demand for improved service delivery and increasing mistrust between citizens and the state. The widespread protests witnessed in 2024 and 2025 were largely driven by frustrations over the rising cost of living, even as public budgets expanded and taxation levels increased. This context has heightened public demand for greater accountability, transparency, and value for money in the use of public resources. As a result, the public finance management space is under greater scrutiny, pushing counties to improve how they present information on the raising, allocation, and utilization of public funds. It is therefore critical that county governments ensure these processes are anchored in transparency, equity, and meaningful public participation.

As counties approach their fourth five-year development cycle, this report should serve as both a reflection and a challenge to county governments on the extent to which they are transparent, accountable, and responsive to citizens. The findings of this survey should further strengthen and guide these efforts toward deeper transparency, stronger public accountability, and ultimately better service delivery outcomes for citizens. Some of the key findings from CBTS 2025 include:

1. For the first time since the inception of the survey, no county scored below 20 points on the overall transparency index, signaling progress in county budget transparency across the country.
2. The overall average transparency score in CBTS 2025 stands at 65 out of 100 points, reflecting a one-point improvement from CBTS 2024 and a substantial 30-point increase from the average score of 35 recorded in CBTS 2021.
3. Over the last three survey cycles, the highest performance category (81–100 points) has seen a steadily growing number of counties, signaling continued improvement in budget transparency practices across the country.
4. Timeliness in publishing budget information emerged as the weakest aspect of budget transparency in CBTS 2025.
5. Citizen Budgets remain critical for meaningful public participation and public understanding of county finances.
6. Counties recorded notable progress in disclosing information related to public participation, although overall performance in this area remains relatively weak.