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: Slovak Republic
Trust in public institutions
In 2023, 31% of Slovaks reported high or moderately high trust in the national government, below the OECD average of 39%.
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.
Slovaks place more trust in other people (51%), the police (40%) and the local government (40%) than in the national government. Around a third of the population reports high or moderately high trust in the national civil service (33%), courts and the judicial system (31%) and national parliament (30%). Political parties (19%) and news media (28%) are the least trusted institutions.
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.
Slovaks who feel that the current political system does not let people like them have a say tend to trust the national government 47 percentage points less than those who feel they have political voice, in line with the OECD average trust gap.
Young people in the Slovak Republic on average are much less likely to have high or moderately high trust in the national government (18%) than old people do (41%), above the average 7 percentage point age trust gap across OECD countries.
The Slovak trust gap between men and women, those with and without financial concerns and those with lower and higher educational attainment are below the OECD average.
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
In all the considered measures, Slovaks’ satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with public institutions is below the OECD average.
Around one fourth of Slovaks (26%) are satisfied with the healthcare system they used, compared to 52% on average across OECD countries. 54% are satisfied with the administrative services they used, an important driver of trust in the civil service, compared to a 66% OECD average.
People in the Slovak Republic find it less likely than the OECD average that their application for government benefits would be treated fairly: 36% of people in the Slovak Republic find this likely, compared to the OECD average of 52%.
An almost identical share of people in the Slovak Republic (39%) compared to the OECD average (41%) find it likely that they will have the opportunity to voice their opinion on a decision that affects their local community.
Perceptions of the integrity of public employees are low in most countries: Only 21% of Slovaks expect that public employees would refuse bribes to speed up a service access, lower than the OECD average of 36%.
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 the Slovak Republic, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for the Slovak Republic 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
The Slovak Republic fares below the OECD average in many measures considered of decision-making on complex policy issues. Moreover, in the Slovak Republic and across the OECD, a lower share of people have positive perceptions regarding complex decision-making than regarding day-to-day interactions with public institutions.
Less than half of Slovaks (44%) find it likely that government is ready to protect lives in an emergency, below the 53% on average across OECD countries.
More than a third of Slovaks (35%) expect that government would refuse requests from corporations that harm public interest, a share that is 5 percentage points higher than the average across OECD countries (30%).
One in five Slovaks (20%) 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 10 percentage points lower than on average across OECD countries (30%).
Perceptions of government integrity are low in most countries: Only 28% of people in the Slovak Republic find it likely that government uses inputs from citizens’ consultations, compared to 32% of people on average across the OECD.
Figure 5. Perceptions of government decision making on complex policy issues
Share of population who are confident in or find positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and the Slovak Republic, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for the Slovak Republic 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.
For more information see oe.cd/trust
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