Key Takeaways
- Trust is deteriorating across institutions. Global business, national companies, national governments, science/academia, NGOs, and the UN have all experienced notable declines in trust from 2024 to 2025, revealing a broader societal crisis of confidence.
- Global companies remain among the least trusted. Although trust has declined across the board, global companies remain among the lowest‑rated institutions, reinforcing ongoing public skepticism about corporate commitments and societal impact.
- Institutions rooted in direct societal benefit still lead. Science/academia and NGOs continue to outperform business and government despite declines in trust ratings, highlighting stronger public confidence in institutions perceived as beingpurpose‑driven and publicly accountable.
At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, trust dominated conversations as leaders grappled with rising public skepticism, political turbulence, and ongoing questions about accountability. GlobeScan’s long‑running public opinion tracking reveals that public trust is indeed eroding across major institutions, with global companies and other types of institutions facing declines. Trust in national governments is approaching a historic low after peaking briefly during the pandemic. Other institutions such as science/academia, NGOs, and the UN have all seen net trust (trust minus distrust) fall, in some cases quite sharply.
The research shows that global companies remain among the least-trusted institutions, with net trust dropping close to zero across an average of 16 countries. This year’s findings also highlight that business is part of a wider trust recession, one that is shaping political behavior, policy debates, and public expectations around the world.
Recent developments in the UK, where questions around political conduct and transparency have dominated headlines, reflect how the decline in trust in one area can spill into broader public sentiment. People are increasingly alert to issues of accountability, integrity, and alignment between words and actions, and institutions that fall short quickly risk losing legitimacy and visibility.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
These findings point to a structural credibility challenge that cuts across institutions. In many markets, particularly in Europe and North America, more people distrust than trust most large institutions. In this environment, organizations must work harder than ever to demonstrate consistency, transparency, and societal benefit. At Davos, leaders consistently cited a lack of trust as one of the biggest risks facing global progress, from AI governance to sustainability action and geopolitical stability, with broad recognition that building trust is central to navigating the complexities and rapid pace of change we are facing in our current context.
Building Thick Trust, a deep, resilient form of trust rooted in values, transparency, and alignment between purpose and performance, is becoming essential not only for companies but for institutions more broadly. As public expectations increase and scrutiny intensifies, those that investin genuine engagement, openness, and long‑term accountability will be better positioned to withstand uncertainty and earn lasting legitimacy.
Learn more about how companies can cultivate Thick Trust to build a robust social license to operate in GlobeScan’s recent whitepaper From Fragility to Thick Trust: Building Societal Reputation in a Low-trust Era.
Survey Question: Please indicate how much you trust each of the following institutions to operate in the best interest of our society. Would you say you have a lot of trust, some trust, not much trust, or no trust at all in…?
Countries surveyed: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, UK, and USA.
