The most recent surveys conducted by Istat, the National Institute of Statistics, indicate that at least one member of 5.4% of families has received requests for money, favors, gifts, or other items in order to obtain benefits or services. Additionally, 8.3% of individuals are aware of someone who is involved. However, the phenomenon is decreasing in all sectors except welfare, where the figure of those who have attempted corruption remains stable at 1.4% (approximately 33 thousand families). However, the perception of corruption is increasing among entrepreneurs and self-employed workers, with 38.5% (up from 32.4% in the previous survey) believing they are sometimes forced to pay to obtain licenses, concessions, contracts, permits, to facilitate tax practices, or to expedite judicial procedures. One of the obstacles to fighting corruption is the low percentage of complaints: in fact, only 2% of families who were asked for money, gifts, or other things reported the incident, despite the fact that 95.7% of people have a positive opinion of those who denounce them, calling them "honest", "courageous", "responsible", or "upright".
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