The OECD Trust Survey explores people’s perceptions of different public institutions in their country and the degree to which they trust their government. These perceptions range from day-to-day interactions with public institutions to decision making on complex policy issues. Initiated in 2021, the Trust Survey was carried out in 30 OECD countries in in October and November 2023, with results representative of their respective adult populations.
OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2024 Results - Country Notes: Germany
Trust in public institutions
In 2023, 36% of Germans reported high or moderately high trust in the federal government, below the OECD average of 39%.
Figure 1. Trust in national/federal government, 2023
Share of population who indicate different levels of trust in their national government (on a 0-10 scale), 2023
Note: ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust the national government?”; neutral to option 5 and ‘low or no’ to response options 0-4. Corresponds to ‘federal government’ in federal countries, such as Germany (‘Bundesregierung’).
As in most OECD countries, Germans place more trust in the police (64%), courts and the judicial system (58%) and other people (54%) than in the federal government (36%). Around half of the population reports high or moderately high trust in the federal and regional civil service (50%). Political parties (26%), news media (34%) and national parliament (35%) are the least trusted institutions in Germany.
Figure 2. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in different public institutions, other people and media, 2023
Note: : ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust [institution]?”; neutral to option 5 and ‘low or no’ to response options 0-4. In Germany, national government corresponds to ‘Bundesregierung’, national civil service to ‘Der öffentliche Dienst auf Bundesebene (inkl. Sozialversicherungsträger)’, regional civil service to ‘Der öffentliche Dienst auf Landes- und Kommunalebene‘ and regional government to ‘Die Landesregierung‘.
Germans who feel that the current political system does not let people like them have a say tend to trust the national government 54 percentage points less than those who feel they have political voice. This trust gap is larger than the average 47 percentage points gap across OECD countries.
Men in Germany on average are more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the national government (41%) than women do (32%), a gap above the 7 percentage point average gender trust gap across OECD countries.
The German trust gaps between younger and older people and between people with and without financial concerns are below the OECD average, while the trust gap between those with lower and higher educational attainment is above the OECD average.
Figure 3. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in the national/federal government by population group, 2023
Note: ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust the national government?”; neutral to option 5 and ‘low or no’ to response options 0-4. ‘The share with high or moderately high trust in government among people who are 50 or older is similar to the share among people who are younger, and is therefore partly hidden.
Perceptions of the public governance drivers of trust
Perceptions of day-to-day interactions with public institutions
For most of the considered measures, Germans’ satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with public institutions is either similar to or below the OECD average.
A majority of Germans (53%) with recent experience with the healthcare system are satisfied with it, compared to 52% on average across the OECD. Moreover, 51% are satisfied with the administrative services they used, an important driver of trust in the civil service, compared to 66% on average across OECD.
Germans find it more likely than the OECD average that they have the opportunity to voice opinions on local matters: 43% of people in Germany find this likely, compared to the OECD average of 41%.
In contrast, only 32% of Germans expect that public services are improved after complaints, below the OECD average of 39%.
Figure 4. Perceptions of day-to-day interactions between the population and public institutions
Share of population who are satisfied with public services/find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Germany, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Germany of the share of respondents who choose a response of 6-10 on the 0-10 scale for the above questions. Satisfaction with public services is restricted to recent service users.
Perceptions on decision making on complex policy issues
In almost all measures of decision-making on complex policy issues, Germany performs similar or worse than the OECD average. Moreover, in Germany and across the OECD, a lower share of people in Germany have positive perceptions regarding complex decision-making than regarding day-to-day interactions with public institutions.
A majority of Germans (54%) find it likely that government is ready to protects lives in an emergency, compared to 53% on average across OECD countries.
Thirty-nine percent of Germans (39%) expect that government uses the best available evidence for decision-making, below the average across OECD countries (41%).
Perceptions of government integrity are low in most countries: Only a quarter of people in Germany (26%) find it likely that politicians would refuse to grant a political favour in return for a well-paid private sector job, lower than the average across OECD countries (31%).
Twenty-nine percent of Germans believe that the political system allows people like them to have a say in what government does. This important driver of trust in the national government is similar to the average across OECD countries (30%).
Figure 5. Perceptions of government decision making on complex policy issues
Share of population who are confident in or find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Germany, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Germany of the share of respondents who choose a response of 6-10 on the 0-10 scale for the above questions.
For more information see oe.cd/trust
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.