Trust plays a vital role in building strong communities, effective institutions, and thriving economies. A new survey ranking 90 countries reveals the nations where adults feel most confident that “most people can be trusted,” offering insight into global patterns of social cohesion based on 2022 data released in 2024.
According to visualcapitalist.com, the data for this visualization comes from Integrated Values Surveys, accessed via Our World in Data.
Ranked: Most and Least Trusting Countries
Denmark leads with 74% of respondents saying that most people can be trusted, followed closely by Norway (72%) and Finland (68%).
Long-standing welfare systems, low corruption, and transparent governments foster consistent high trust across the Nordic region.
Middling Trust in the Anglosphere and Western Europe
English-speaking nations occupy the middle of the pack. New Zealand (57%) and Australia (49%) perform better than Canada (47%), the UK (43%), and the U.S. (37%).
Western European countries show similar dispersion: Switzerland (59%) and the Netherlands (57%) outpace Germany (42%), France (26%), and Italy (27%).
Differences in income inequality and political polarization help explain these gaps.
Low-Trust Soceities
Several Latin American nations—Peru (4%), Nicaragua (4%), Colombia (5%), and Ecuador (6%)—rank near the bottom.
Chronic political instability, high crime rates, and economic volatility contribute to scarce interpersonal trust.
In the Middle East, Iraq (11%), Lebanon (10%), and Egypt (7%) also report very low levels, reflecting decades of conflict and governance challenges.
