Wide gap in corruption perception, real situation

Pakistan's corruption problem appears to be bigger in perception compared to the situation on the ground as data has revealed a significant gap between people's opinion and the real experience.

According to Pakistan's first homegrown transparency survey — the Index of Transparency and Accountability in Pakistan (iTAP), 68% of Pakistanis perceive bribery as a common feature, but only 27% have reported actual experience of being asked to pay bribe.

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), in collaboration with Ipsos, on Tuesday officially launched the study at the FPCCI Capital House, Islamabad.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, representatives from the public and private sectors, civil society, academia and media were present on the occasion. Survey results show that the Perception Index score was substantially higher at 67.06 while the Live Experiences Index stood at 15.6. Institution-wise, the traffic police, government hospitals and Federal Board of Revenue (Inland Revenue) ranked high in terms of public perception.

On the experience index, the government hospitals topped the list, followed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and public educational institutions. A majority (67%) of Pakistanis reported having not encountered any malpractices during their interactions with public institutions.

Similarly, 56% perceive patronage/nepotism as widespread, but only 24% have personally faced it. The widest gap exists in illicit enrichment as 59% believe it is common among public officers, yet only 5% personally know an officer who has illicitly enriched themselves.

Building on these findings, the data was aggregated to construct composite index scores. The survey also captured critical data regarding awareness of public institutions and anti-corruption measures.

NADRA holds the highest satisfaction rating among citizens and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is the most recognised anti-corruption agency (37% top-of-mind recall). Yet overall interaction and engagement with anti-corruption bodies remains remarkably low at 8%.

Public knowledge of legal protection is low as only 11% are familiar with the right to information laws and 15% are aware of whistleblower protection laws.

The iTAP initiative was conceived in May 2025 as a strategic effort to develop an indigenous, recurring benchmark for measuring transparency and accountability. The survey aims to provide an objective assessment of public trust in the government and its institutions. The field survey was conducted during December 2025 and January 2026, ensuring contemporary and nationally representative insights.

Overall, the findings establish a credible baseline for reform, demonstrating that despite negative perceptions, a majority of citizen interactions with public institutions are reported to be corruption-free.

Strengthening transparency, addressing awareness gaps and effectively communicating institutional improvements now emerge as the next critical frontier for advancing governance, building public trust and improving Pakistan's investment outlook.

Addressing the audience, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal praised the FPCCI for bringing the critical issue of transparency and accountability to the forefront of national discourse. He emphasised that transparency and accountability form the foundation of good governance and were essential for citizen satisfaction, a business-enabling environment, investor confidence and sustainable national development.

The minister highlighted the gap between public perceptions and actual experience and stressed that negative perceptions, if left unaddressed, could undermine national progress and distort realities. "Bridging this perception-reality gap must, therefore, be a shared priority."

He lauded the public institutions that had earned citizen's trust through improved service delivery and expressed confidence that if iTAP was tracked consistently over time, it could serve as a powerful monitoring and reform tool by reinforcing the principle "what gets measured gets improved".