Building Trust to Reinforce Democracy: Main Findings from the OECD Trust Survey
for
Governance 13 July 2022
Elsa Pilichowski Director
Public
http://oe.cd/trust
An even split between those who trust and those who distrust
Just over four in ten people indicate high or moderately high trust in their national government
Share of respondents who indicate different levels of trust in their national government (on a 0-10 scale), 2021
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Source: OECD Trust Survey 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% http://oe.cd/trust
Most people feel their government is delivering public services
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
3 61.7% 11.3% 24.8% 2.1% Satisfied Neutral Not satisfied Don't know 57.6% 12.6% 24.1% 5.8% Satisfied Neutral Not satisfied Don't know Satisfaction with healthcare system Satisfaction with educational system Satisfaction with administrative services 63.0% 13.6% 17.4% 6.0% Satisfied Neutral Not satisfied Don't know
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Governments
seen as reliable, even during COVID-19
Governments viewed as prepared for future health crises
Nearly half say their government would be prepared for a future pandemic
Share of respondents reporting different levels of perceived likelihood that their government would be prepared to protect people's lives in the event of a new serious contagious illness (on a 0-10 scale), 2021
Source:
http://oe.cd/trust
OECD Trust Survey
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Likely Neutral Unlikely Don't know
But they could do better in acting on citizens’ concerns
% saying government should prioritise reducing their country's contribution to climate change
% confident that country will succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% OECD AUS AUT BEL CAN COL DNK EST FRA GBR IRL ISL JPN KOR LUX LVA NLD NOR NZL PRT SWE
Half think their government should prioritise climate change, but only one- third are confident they will succeed
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Governments seen by many as unresponsive to public feedback
A minority say a public service would be improved if people complained
Share of respondents reporting different levels of perceived likelihood that a poorly performing public service would be improved if many people complained about it (on a 0-10 scale), 2021
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust 6
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Likely Neutral Unlikely Don't know
Few people see opportunities to participate in policy making
Half say the political system does not let them have a say in decision making
Share of respondents reporting different levels of confidence that the political system lets them have a say in government decision making (0-10 scale), 2021
Confident they have a say Neutral
Not confident they have a say Don't know
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
Public perception of government integrity is an issue
Almost half predict that a high-level political official would grant a political favour in exchange for the offer of a well -paid private sector job
Share of respondents who indicate that an elected or appointed official would accept or refuse the offer of a wellpaid private sector job in exchange for a political favour (on a 0-10 scale), 2021
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% %
Likely refuses to grant political favour Neutral
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
Likely accepts granting political favour Don't know
Disadvantaged groups have lower levels of trust in government
Share
Among
Among
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
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People with personal financial concerns are less likely to trust the government
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% % Trust national government
of respondents that trust the government by level of respondents’ personal financial concerns, 2021
respondents with less financial concerns
respondents with more financial concerns
Younger people have lower levels of trust in government
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
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of respondents that trust the government by level of respondents’ personal financial concerns, 2021 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% % Trust in national government
people age 18-29
people age 30-49
people age 50+
Share
Among
Among
Among
Key takeaways for governments
Connect and engage better with citizens in policy design, delivery and reform; enhance political voice; continuously improve public services; ensure the inclusion of vulnerable groups.
Invest in public integrity
Don’t rest on the laurels of reliability: continue improving preparedness for future crises, designing better public services, and enhancing transparency
OECD Trust Survey data can help governments deliver better. This is actionable evidence for countries as they try to strengthen public trust.
The Trust Survey will be a key input to the Reinforcing Democracy Ministerial (November 2022).
Source: OECD Trust Survey http://oe.cd/trust
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Thank you
OECD Trust Survey: https://www.oecd.org/governance/trust-in-government/
OECD Directorate for Public Governance: www.oecd.org/gov/
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