OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 Results

Annex B. Overview of the OECD Trust Survey in LAC Methodology

The OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean is the first regional exercise under the Global Trust Survey Project. This annex provides a short overview of the data collection. More details can be found in the report’s online annex.

Data collection for nine of the ten participating countries was carried out online by polling companies and coordinated by the OECD Secretariat. In Mexico, data were collected via in-person interviews implemented by the National Statistical Office (INEGI).

Following the methodology from previous waves of the OECD Trust Survey, the exercise in all countries but Mexico relied on a non-probability sampling approach. It consisted of ex ante country-level quotas on the distribution of age, gender, education and regions of residency (hard quotas), and income (soft quota). In contrast to the OECD Trust Survey methodology employed in the majority of countries that participated in the 2021 and 2023 survey, the educational quotas, however, only distinguished between respondents with and without tertiary education or above.

The target population covered by the survey is the respective country's adult population. The country-specific quotas on the distribution of age, gender, and region, together with the ex-post weighting, ensure national representativeness of the survey data for these characteristics. The quotas were derived from different national and OECD sources (Table A B.1.). In six countries, the online surveys were conducted by the survey provider TGM, and in the three OECD-LAC countries by IPSOS, as part of the 2023 OECD Trust Survey. The samples were based on TGM’s, Ipsos' and partners’ online panels, comprised of individuals in each country who willingly signed up to be engaged in market research surveys. In Mexico, where the data collection was managed by the INEGI, the sampling deviated from the approach followed in the other nine countries: only urban households were selected for face-to-face survey interviews based on a three-stage probability-based sampling procedure.

Except for a few additional questions, the questions asked in the 2023 OECD Trust Survey and the 2025 OECD Trust Survey in LAC were identical. Additional questions are listed in Table A B.3..

Table A B.1. Overview on hard and soft sampling quotas

	Categories	Source
Age	Six groups: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+	Latest population census, National household survey
Gender	Two groups: female and male (non-binary group as response option)	Latest population census. National household survey
Education	Two groups: low (<tertiary education), high (tertiary education)	Latest population census, National household survey, OECD Education GPS 2025: Group classification based on ISCED-2011 definition
Large Region	Varying by country: 3-32 regions	Latest population census. National household survey
Income	Three groups: bottom 20%, middle 60%, top 20%.	Latest population census. National household survey

Note: The table shows the groups used in the four hard quotas (age, gender, education and large region) and the soft quota (income) to ensure national representative survey data based on these characteristics.

The 2023 OECD Trust Survey was fielded between the 20^th of September and 12^th of December 2023, resulting in 8059 valid and retained responses across four LAC countries. The 2025 OECD Trust Survey in LAC was implemented between the 21^st of May and 24^th of June 2025, leading to 10 500 responses that were valid and that were retained for the analysis1 among the adult population across six LAC countries (Table A B.2.).

Table A B.2. Data collection overview

Country	Sample Size	Language	Fieldwork dates	Survey Provider	Survey mode
Brazil	2000	Portuguese	21.5-9.6.2025	TGM	Online
Chile	2,008	Spanish	25.10– 27.11.2023	IPSOS	Online
Colombia	2,067	Spanish	16.10 – 25.11.2023	IPSOS	Online
Costa Rica	2,019	Spanish	25.10 – 28.11.2023	IPSOS	Online
Dominican Republic	1500	Spanish	21.5-19.6.2025	TGM	Online
Ecuador	2,000	Spanish	21.5-17.6.2025	TGM	Online
Guatemala	1,500	Spanish	23.5-24.6.2025	TGM	Online
Paraguay	1,500	Spanish	21.5-19.6.2025	TGM	Online
Peru	2000	Spanish	22.5-24.6.2025	TGM	Online
Mexico	1,965	Spanish	25.09 – 4.10.2023	INEGI	Face-to-face

Table A B.3. Additional questions in the 2025 OECD Trust Survey in LAC

This table lists the additional questions implemented as part of the 2025 OECD Trust Survey in LAC compared to the 2023 OECD Trust Survey

Category	Question
Levels of Trust	On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust each of the following institutions? The following options were added to the question: The electoral system Civil society organisations Armed forces Please note: The questions about trust in the electoral system and the civil society organisations were asked in Chile during the 2023 OECD Trust Survey.
Drivers of Trust in Institutions (Integrity)	If a court is about to make a decision that could negatively impact on the government’s image, how likely or unlikely do you think it is that the court would make the decision free from political influence? [Very unlikely – Very likely – 97. Don’t know] [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] Please note: This question was already asked during the 2021 OECD Trust Survey.
Evaluation of Government Action on Long-Term Policies & Global Challenges	On a scale of 0-10, how important do you think it is that each of the following goals are prioritised in [COUNTRY]? The following options were added to the question: Combating crime and insecurity Improving healthcare Improving education
	On a scale of 0 to 10, how confident are you in the national government’s ability to cooperate with other national stakeholders, such as private sector organisations and trade unions to better tackle long-term challenges (such as ageing population, the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy, etc.)? [Very unlikely – Very likely – 97.Don’t know] [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10]. Please note: This question was asked in Chile during the 2023 OECD Trust Survey.
Background	Thinking about your current economic situation and future prospects, do you think you will do better, worse, or about the same as your parents have? I think I will do much better than my parents I think I will do a little better than my parents I think I will do a little worse than my parents I think I will do a lot worse than my parents I think I will fare about the same as my parents Don’t know Please note: This question was asked in Chile during the 2023 OECD Trust Survey.
	How often, if at all, do you worry about becoming a victim of a violent crime in [COUNTRY]? Always Frequently Occasionally Never Don’t know Prefer not to answer Please note: This question was asked in Chile during the 2023 OECD Trust Survey.
	What do you think are the three most important issues facing [COUNTRY]? The following options were added to the question: The availability, quality or affordability of essential services (healthcare, education etc.) The availability, quality or affordability of housing
	In the last 12 months, was your household affected by any of the following issues? (You can select more than one option) Loss of job of a household member Bankruptcy of the family business Serious illness, death or accident of a household member Abandonment of the head of household Criminal offence (robbery, assault, etc.) Natural disasters (drought, storm, plague, flood, etc.) Victim of acts of corruption None of the above

Note

← 1.  In several countries, the survey provider TGM collected more responses than initially planned in order to better match the agreed-upon demographic quotas. To select the final sample, TGM prioritised responses based on key criteria starting with age, followed by region, and then education level to closely align with the target composition. Any additional responses that would have caused deviations from the intended quotas were then excluded from the final dataset used for analysis. Due to the specific methodology used by TGM, the total number of responses precisely matches the agreed-upon quotas.