Continued low trust environments not only damage social cohesion and political participation, but also limit governments’ ability to function effectively and respond to complex domestic and global challenges. Public trust is a pillar of democracy, fostering debate and participation, encouraging compliance with the law, and facilitating reforms. In the face of major environmental, demographic, fiscal and technological challenges, governments need to step up their efforts to strengthen trust, govern effectively and secure democratic resilience.
Trust in government
Countries face a crisis of trust which becomes increasingly concerning amid economic downturns, health emergencies and other crises. Since democracies require citizen trust in government to function effectively, the OECD Trust Survey provides governments with the data, tools and solutions necessary to assess trust in public institutions, understand long-term trends and enable them to take direct policy action, targeted at the root causes of low trust.
Key links
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Key messages
For a thriving democracy and the well-being of citizens, it is imperative that we strengthen public trust in our public institutions. To do so, governments must ensure that effective public services respond to the needs of a diverse population, policy decisions are transparent and made in the best interest, checks and balance among institutions are in place, and people can meaningfully participate in decisions. Taking action on these fronts can pave the way for a more responsive, reliable and credible governance that can better meet the expectations and needs of the people it serves.
Carried out every two years, the OECD Trust Survey measures the level of people’s confidence in their governments and public institutions, with a unique focus on the factors that drive public trust — government responsiveness, reliability, capacity to tackle complex and global challenges, integrity, fairness and openness — to better address society's most pressing challenges. This enables countries to adopt a comprehensive strategy for building trust that encompasses both the day-to-day interactions between government and population and complex policy issues.
Context
Multiple crises can further undermine trust in public institutions
Only about four in ten respondents (41.4%), on average across countries, trust their national government. Of course, this average conceals wide variation. The share of people who trust their government reaches over 60% of the population in places like Finland and Norway, but rates are below 30% in about a quarter of countries. While fewer than half of respondents trust their national government, on average, it is worth noting that this does not mean a majority distrusts their government. In fact the share that trust and that do not trust are practically evenly split: 41.1%, on average, report that they do not trust their government.
Over one-third find it likely that a public employee would accept a bribe
When asked about the likelihood that a generic public employee would accept or refuse a bribe, about 40% of respondents say that a civil servant in their country would refuse a bribe, on average across countries. Public sector integrity is a key element of democratic governance and fundamental for a system that has the ambition to work in the same way for everyone. Public sector integrity and trust in government are closely linked; corruption and mismanagement in the public sector are cited among the most important sources of distrust, while ethical behaviour and the absence of corruption is associated with greater trust.
Related publications
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meetoecd1.zoom.us10 July 2024
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