With the presidential election in the United States nearing at a fast pace, more House Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to bow out of the race. Considering the increasing political divisiveness in the U.S. and recent bitter races, there has been an increased distrust of institutions nationwide. Despite this, public trust in the federal government has actually increased modestly since 2023, according to Pew Research, with 22% of Americans saying they trust the government to do what is right as of April.

While trust in government may have increased somewhat, the combined trust of Americans in different institutions has declined, according to global communications firm Edelman, which conducted surveys from Nov. 3 to Nov. 22, 2023. The firm asked people in 28 countries about their trust of their country’s government, business, media, and non-governmental organizations, and more.

To find the least trusted country in the world by its own citizens, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer. Countries are ranked by the overall Trust Index, which is the average percent trust in non-governmental organizations, business, government, and media in the general population. We broke ties by the change in score from 2023. Index scores lower than 50 denote distrust, scores up to 60 are neutral, and scores 60 and above denote trust.

For each country we also added its the income group it belongs to from the World Bank, the level of democracy from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)’s Democracy Report 2024, and the type of government from the CIA’s World Factbook.

U.K. citizens have the world’s lowest trust in their country’s institutions, with an index score of just 39 out of 100 — and that is likely not surprising considering the near constant changes in the government’s top ranks and other recent tumultuous events. In 2022 alone, there was a new monarch and three prime ministers (along with changes in top ministerial ranks). By the end of 2023, the British economy fell into recession, and in the recent election, voters ousted the Conservative Party, which held power for 14 years, and elected the Labour Party. In the U.K., only 30% trust the government.

The U.S. fairs somewhat better than the U.K., but Americans still distrust institutions, with a score of 46 out of 100, down from 48 last year. While just 53% of Americans trust business, a considerably lower 40% trust the government and only 39% trust the media.

Overall, it seems that citizens of less democratic countries tend to have trust in their country’s institutions, particularly, governments more. In fact, China has the highest trust of its citizens, at 79 out of 100 with trust in the government sitting at 85%. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia score 74 and 72 respectively, with their governments trusted by 84% and 86% of their citizens. The three are the least democratic countries on the list.

Why are we covering this

Trust in institutions, public and otherwise, can drive economic growth as it can bolster investment, innovation, and trade, among others. Globally, trust increased from 55% to 56%, but unfortunately, very few liberal democracies command trust, with most of them being distrusted by their own citizens. So far elections in 2024 have caused shock waves in several countries, and the upcoming ones will likely also bring surprises, It is interesting to see how the public’s trust, or rather distrust, has affected and will affect results.

28. China

• Trust index score, 2024: 79 out of 100 (-4 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Government at 85%
• Least trusted institution: NGOs at 72%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Closed autocracy (communist party-led state)

27. India

• Trust index score, 2024: 76 out of 100 (+3 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 82%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 67%
• Income group: Lower-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral autocracy (federal parliamentary republic)

26. United Arab Emirates

• Trust index score, 2024: 74 out of 100 (no change from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Government at 84%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 63%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Closed autocracy (federation of monarchies)

25. Indonesia

• Trust index score, 2024: 73 out of 100 (-2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 80%
• Least trusted institution: NGOs at 69%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (presidential republic)

24. Saudi Arabia

• Trust index score, 2024: 72 out of 100 (+1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Government at 86%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 61%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Closed autocracy (absolute monarchy)

23. Thailand

• Trust index score, 2024: 70 out of 100 (+4 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 75%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 64%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral autocracy (constitutional monarchy)

22. Malaysia

• Trust index score, 2024: 68 out of 100 (+6 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 75%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 60%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

21. Singapore

• Trust index score, 2024: 67 out of 100 (+1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Government at 77%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 60%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral autocracy (parliamentary republic)

20. Kenya

• Trust index score, 2024: 64 out of 100 (+1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: NGOs at 76%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 42%
• Income group: Lower-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (presidential republic)

19. Nigeria

• Trust index score, 2024: 61 out of 100 (+5 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: NGOs at 74%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 42%
• Income group: Lower-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral autocracy (federal presidential republic)

18. Mexico

• Trust index score, 2024: 59 out of 100 (-2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 70%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 47%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (federal presidential republic)

17. Netherlands

• Trust index score, 2024: 56 out of 100 (+2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 65%
• Least trusted institution: NGOs at 49%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

16. Canada

• Trust index score, 2024: 53 out of 100 (+1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 57%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 49%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy)

15. Brazil

• Trust index score, 2024: 53 out of 100 (no change from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 66%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 42%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (federal presidential republic)

14. Australia

• Trust index score, 2024: 52 out of 100 (+4 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 58%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 40%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy)

13. Italy

• Trust index score, 2024: 50 out of 100 (no change from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 57%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 42%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary republic)

12. South Africa

• Trust index score, 2024: 49 out of 100 (+2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 62%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 29%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (parliamentary republic)

11. Sweden

• Trust index score, 2024: 49 out of 100 (no change from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 58%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 40%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

10. France

• Trust index score, 2024: 47 out of 100 (no change from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: NGOs at 56%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 39%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (semi-presidential republic)

9. Ireland

• Trust index score, 2024: 47 out of 100 (-1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 52%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 37%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary republic)

8. Colombia

• Trust index score, 2024: 47 out of 100 (-4 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 64%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 31%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (parliamentary republic)

7. Spain

• Trust index score, 2024: 46 out of 100 (+2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 56%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 36%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

6. United States

• Trust index score, 2024: 46 out of 100 (-2 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 53%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 39%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (constitutional federal republic)

5. Germany

• Trust index score, 2024: 45 out of 100 (-1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 50%
• Least trusted institution: NGOs at 42%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (federal parliamentary republic)

4. South Korea

• Trust index score, 2024: 43 out of 100 (+7 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: NGOs at 49%
• Least trusted institution: Media at 37%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (presidential republic)

3. Japan

• Trust index score, 2024: 39 out of 100 (+1 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 50%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 32%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

2. Argentina

• Trust index score, 2024: 39 out of 100 (-3 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 51%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 21%
• Income group: Upper-middle income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Electoral democracy (presidential republic)

1. United Kingdom

• Trust index score, 2024: 39 out of 100 (-4 points from 2023 score)
• Most trusted institution: Business at 48%
• Least trusted institution: Government at 30%
• Income group: High income economy
• Level of democracy (and type of govt): Liberal democracy (parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

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