Trust is defined as a person’s belief that another person or institution will act consistently with their expectations of positive behaviour (OECD, 2017). Institutional trust is the basis upon which the legitimacy of governments is built and is key for ensuring compliance with regulations and the tax system; it is of essence for implementing reforms and ensuring governments’ capacity to govern without resorting to force.
The Gallup World Poll survey is the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable data on trust in governance. According to the 2019 edition, citizens in the Western Balkan region tend to have less confidence in their national governments than their counterparts in the OECD and OECD-EU countries. Since 2007, trust in government has eroded on average by 4 p.p. across the region. However, trust in Albania and Serbia has actually increased, from 30% to 34% and from 34% to 48% respectively. Serbians have the highest level of trust in Western Balkans as 48% of the citizens reported that they have confidence in their national government. On the contrary, people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have the least confidence in their national government (23%). Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia lost most confidence in their national government since 2007 (15 and 13 p.p). In turn, confidence in OECD and OECD-EU governments has remained stable at about 44% and 45% respectively since 2007.
The Gallup World Poll 2019 survey shows that on average trust in national governments in the Western Balkans is higher for the older than for the younger cohorts. Citizens aged 50 and above tend to have the highest level of confidence in the national government (37%) compared to those aged 15-29 and 30-49 (31% and 32% respectively). Citizens aged 15 to 29 have the least confidence in their governments in the region (31%), unlike in the OECD-EU and OECD countries where citizens aged 30-49 have the lowest levels of confidence in the national government (42% and 43%) across the three age groups. Serbian citizens aged 50 and above had the highest level of trust in national governments (61%). On the contrary, young people (ages 15-29) in Bosnia and Herzegovina reported the lowest levels of confidence in the government as only 23% stated that they have confidence in the government.
There is a strong negative relationship between perceived corruption and confidence in government. OECD countries with high levels of trust in government, such as Denmark, Finland and New Zealand report low levels of perceived corruption. Conversely, countries and economies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have significantly lower levels of confidence in national government and correspondingly substantially higher levels of perceived corruption. As much as 88% of Bosnians believed that corruption was widespread throughout the government in 2019.
