OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2026 Results: Navigating Rising Expectations and New Horizons

OECD

doi:https://doi.org/10.1787/9eb63fec-en

OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2026 Results

Navigating Rising Expectations and New Horizons

Report

29 June 2026

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Introduction

Governments operate in a context of rising public expectations and complex policy challenges, while also facing a critical window of opportunity to adapt and reform institutions and policies to better respond to these needs. In democracies, a healthy level of trust in public institutions will be critical to the implementation of these reforms.

The third OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions provides comparable actionable evidence on levels and key drivers of trust across 33 OECD countries and 5 OECD accession candidate countries in 2025.

Key figures

40%

trust their national government across OECD

2/3

are satisfied with administrative services and more than 1/2 with healthcare and education across OECD

43%

across OECD are confident that government institutions’ use of AI will lead to more tailored services

Overall trust levels in national government have stabilised at around 40%, while trust remains higher in the civil service, police and courts

43% of people across OECD countries have low or no trust in the national government, compared with 40% with high or moderately high trust. As per previous survey waves, there are significant variations across countries and population groups. While there was a small decrease in trust in 2023 compared to 2021, trust levels have since stabilised, and substantially improved in about half of the countries where it had previously declined. In most countries, trust in the police, courts, local government and civil service is higher than in national government.

People who are confident in how governments make decisions on complex issues are more likely to trust the national government

People who believe that governments make decisions based on the best available evidence, are open to input from citizens and stakeholders, and balance the needs of current and future generations, are more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the national government. And encouragingly, perceptions of policymakers’ integrity and responsiveness to the public’s views have improved slightly compared to 2023.

Most believe voting influences policy, yet many still feel unheard

While voting remains widely seen as influential with 68% of people believing it affects government decisions, only 31% feel that the political system allows people like them to have a say. This gap highlights that voting alone is no longer sufficient for citizens to feel heard, pointing to the need for more continuous and inclusive forms of participation.

Views are mixed on the potential use of artificial intelligence by government agencies

Only around four in ten people are confident that government use of AI could lead to more tailored public services and reduce costs, with rates higher among respondents familiar with AI. Confidence is even lower, however, when it comes to whether AI is used with transparency, fairness and the protection of personal information.

What can governments do?

Drivers of trust vary depending on the government institution. For example, improving day‑to‑day service delivery is more strongly associated with trust in the civil service and local government, while improving perceptions about long‑term policymaking is more strongly associated with trust in the national government and the legislatures.

In countries with sizeable changes in trust, shifts have been driven more by views on the competence and fairness of decision making than by day‑to‑day experiences with public services. Governments should invest more in engagement of people and stakeholders, transparency, evidence, and communication for decision-making, and in ensuring the fairness of decisions.

While confidence in government use of personal data is relatively high, with 52% finding it likely their data will be used for legitimate purposes, scepticism remains about the benefits of AI in government and about upholding fairness, transparency and privacy. Governments should invest in communicating on the added value of AI in government and address concerns on risks.

The drivers of trust for national governments and legislatures show growing public expectations for transparency, accountability, and fairness in policymaking. Governments must not only institutionalise engagement mechanisms beyond traditional representative processes, but also ensure that these mechanisms are efficient and effective in driving meaningful results on policy decisions.

Country notes

United Kingdom