The American Trust Crisis
Trust in American government peaked in 1964. After Watergate, it never recovered. Today, partisan trust has collapsed to historic lows.
Key Insight
Partisan trust—how warmly Democrats and Republicans feel toward each other—collapsed from 53% in 1978 to just 19% in 2024. This isn't a temporary dip. It's a structural transformation in American political culture.
Against the Tide
Three out of four countries surveyed saw rule of law decline in the last decade. These didn't.
Key Insight
While over 100 countries declined, Moldova led all improvers through anti-corruption reforms and EU integration efforts. Estonia continued its steady climb to become one of the world's strongest rule-of-law states.
More Data Stories
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What We See
Trust fell sharply across much of Europe—the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden all saw significant drops. But Switzerland, Ireland, and Finland held steady through the same period. Why did some governments maintain trust while others lost it?
What Happened
Iran dropped 55 points between 2000 and 2007, with a small recovery since. Indonesia fell steadily from 52% to 5%. Iraq and Egypt declined through years of conflict. The data ends at 2018 for most—we don't know the current state.
The Paradox
In Brazil, only 4% say most people can be trusted—yet 28% trust government. Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus show similar patterns. What creates societies where strangers distrust each other but still trust institutions?
The 2008 Hangover
Australia (12%), USA (10%), UK (14%)—the countries with the best-regulated banking systems have the least trust in banks. China (91%) and Vietnam (94%) lead the world. State-controlled systems with implicit guarantees vs. post-crisis skepticism in democracies.
Three Pillars of Trust
Open data only—no paywalls, no black boxes.
Social
Do people trust each other? The foundation of social cohesion.
WVS, EVS, GSS + regional barometers
Institutional
Do people trust government? And does that trust match reality?
WVS + CPI, WGI, WJP, V-Dem
Media
Do people trust the news? Critical for informed democracy.
Reuters DNR, Eurobarometer, WVS
Supplementary Indicators
Additional indicators tracked separately from core pillars
All source data is freely available. See our full methodology for details.
This project is incomplete.
That's the point.
Trust Atlas is open source and open data. Here's how you can help.