ISLAMABAD: As many as 87 per cent Pakistanis believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, said the latest survey conducted by research company IPSOS Pakistan.
Almost 1,100 people participated in the survey which was conducted in November 2021.
According to IPSOS’s fourth quarterly report on Consumer Confidence Index, 43 per cent of Pakistanis consider inflation as the biggest problem of the country.
Fourteen percent of the respondents declared unemployment to be Pakistan’s top-most and most troubling issue, whereas 12 per cent referred to poverty as the most important matter.
Forty-six per cent of the survey’s respondents termed Pakistan’s economic condition as weak and only 5 per cent declared it as correct.
As per the IPSOS, in the last survey, 26 per cent of Pakistanis had declared inflation as the biggest issue of the country. According to the survey, the percentage of respondents who declared coronavirus the most important issue reduced from 18 per cent to 8 per cent.
As far as other issues are concerned, 5 per cent of the respondents termed the tax burden, 4 per cent rupee devaluation, 3 per cent power tariff hikes, 2 per cent corruption, bribery and nepotism the biggest issues facing the country. About 2 per cent viewed load-shedding, 1 per cent interference of departments in each other’s affairs, while 1 per cent called discrimination in the enforcement of law the most serious issue.
The survey revealed that people listed inflation and economic problems on top of all issues. It also noted that rising prices and unemployment are the issues that concern most people.
The percentage of Pakistanis who said the country is headed in the wrong direction, is the highest in 27 months. On Pakistan’s current economic condition, 49 per cent respondents of the survey said it was so-so, but 46 per cent were clear in their answer and said it was weak. Only 5 per cent said the country’s economic condition is strong.
When asked about improvement in the economic situation in the next six months, 64 per cent they don’t see that, while 12 per cent were hopeful that the economy would improve. Twenty-four percent were neither hopeful nor disappointed.
When asked about their personal financial situation, 47 per cent of the respondents said it is weak and unstable, while 5 per cent answered it was strong. However, 48 per cent said their personal financial condition was neither weak nor strong.
According to IPSOS, there was an increase of 20 per cent in the people who observed the financial condition as weak after June 2021. About the improvement in the personal financial condition in the next six months, 63 per cent feared it will remain weak. However, 13 per cent were hopeful it would get better while 24 per cent were unsure in their answer.
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