There was a quite similar thread not so long ago, however it was about empirial rank progression. As I was working on exactly this, I payed extra attention and can confirm that everything works as intended at least with the Empire (progression increases fast for me, as I am currently at a very low rank). I don't think, the federal ranking is any different.
Have you ranked up recently? Rank progression slows down considerably with every new rank and maybe your perceptual rank increase is a victim of rounding?