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 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: Denmark
Trust in public institutions
In 2023, 44% of Danes reported high or moderately high trust in the national government, above the OECD average of 39%.
This number represents a decrease of 5 percentage points since 2021, compared to a 2.4 percentage points decrease on average among the eighteen OECD countries with available data.
Figure 1. Trust in national 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.
As in most OECD countries, Danes place more trust in courts and the judicial system (75%), other people (75%), and the police (69%) than in the national government (44%). Almost half of Danes report high or moderately high trust in the national parliament (47%), local government (47%) and the national civil service (44%). A majority trust international organisations (57%), a share that has increased by 13 percentage points in the past two years. Trust in political parties and news media has also slightly increased since 2021, although they remain the least trusted institutions in 2023.
Figure 2. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in different public institutions, other people and media, 2021 and 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.
Danes who feel that the current political system does not let people like them have a say tend to trust the national government 58 percentage points less than those who feel people like them have a say. This trust gap is larger than the 47 percentage points gap across OECD countries.
Men in Denmark on average are more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the national government (51%) than women (37%). This gap (14 percentage points) is twice as big as the average gender trust gap across OECD countries (7 percentage points).
In Denmark, having a university degree is associated on average with 23 percentage points higher trust compared to those who did not complete studies beyond lower secondary education. This trust gap is of 13 percentage points on average across OECD countries. In contrast, the trust gaps by age and financial concerns are smaller in Denmark than on average in OECD countries.
Figure 3. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in the national 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.
Perceptions of the public governance drivers of trust
Perceptions of day-to-day interactions with public institutions
For all of the considered measures, Danes’ satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with public institutions is above the OECD average.
A large majority of Danes with recent experience with the education system are satisfied with it (74%) and 65% are satisfied with the healthcare. Moreover, 72% are satisfied with the administrative services they used; this important driver of trust in the civil service is 6 percentage points higher than the OECD average (66%).
Danes are more confident than across the OECD that the government would use their personal data only for legitimate purposes: 64% of Danes find it likely compared to 52% on average across OECD countries.
Perceptions of integrity of public employees are low in most countries. However, Danes find it more likely than on average across OECD countries that public employees would refuse a bribe to speed service access: 52% of people in Denmark find this likely, compared to the OECD average of 36%.
In contrast, only 40% of Danes expect that public services are improved following public complaints, a share similar to the OECD average (39%).
Figure 4. Perceptions of day-to-day interactions between the population and public institutions
Share of population who are satisfied with public services or find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Denmark, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Denmark 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 of decision making on complex policy issues
Denmark performs better than the OECD average in all measures of decision-making on complex policy issues. However, in Denmark and across the OECD, a lower share of people has positive perceptions regarding complex decision-making than about day-to-day interactions with public institutions.
A large majority of Danes (66%) are confident that the government is ready to protect lives in case of a national emergency, compared to 53% on average across OECD countries.
More than half of Danes (57%) expect that parliament holds the government accountable, a share that is 19 percentage points higher than the average across OECD countries (38%).
Perceptions of government integrity are low in most countries: 36% of Danes find it likely that the government would refuse a corporation’s demand that could be harmful to society as a whole, a share that is 5 percentage points higher than the average across OECD countries (31%).
A higher share of Danes (44%) believe that the political system allows people like them to have a say in what government does than on average across OECD (30%). In contrast, only 34% of people in Denmark find it likely that the government uses inputs from citizens’ consultation, similar to the OECD average (32%).
Figure 5. Perceptions of government decision making on complex policy issues
Share of population who are satisfied with public services or find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Denmark, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Denmark of the share of respondents who choose a response of 6-10 on the 0-10 scale for the above questions.
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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.
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