Trust in others, legal system and politics; European comparison
| Personal characteristics | Countries | Periods | Evaluation of trust in European Parliament (score) | Percentage of people with trust in European Parliament (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Belgium | 2018* | 4.9 | 42 |
| Total | Bulgaria | 2018* | 3.3 | 21 |
| Total | Cyprus | 2018* | 4.7 | 35 |
| Total | Denmark | 2018* | 5.2 | 48 |
| Total | Germany | 2018* | 4.6 | 36 |
| Total | Estonia | 2018* | 4.6 | 36 |
| Total | Finland | 2018* | 5.4 | 53 |
| Total | France | 2018* | 4.0 | 27 |
| Total | Greece | 2018* | ||
| Total | Hungary | 2018* | 5.1 | 46 |
| Total | Ireland | 2018* | 5.0 | 46 |
| Total | Iceland | 2018* | 5.7 | 59 |
| Total | Israel | 2018* | ||
| Total | Italy | 2018* | 4.3 | 36 |
| Total | Kosovo | 2018* | ||
| Total | Croatia | 2018* | 3.8 | 24 |
| Total | Latvia | 2018* | 4.4 | 35 |
| Total | Lithuania | 2018* | 5.1 | 44 |
| Total | Montenegro | 2018* | 4.8 | 40 |
| Total | The Netherlands | 2018* | 5.3 | 54 |
| Total | Norway | 2018* | 5.5 | 51 |
| Total | Ukraine | 2018* | ||
| Total | Austria | 2018* | 4.4 | 32 |
| Total | Poland | 2018* | 4.6 | 35 |
| Total | Portugal | 2018* | 4.6 | 40 |
| Total | Russian Federation | 2018* | ||
| Total | Serbia | 2018* | 3.1 | 18 |
| Total | Slovenia | 2018* | 3.8 | 28 |
| Total | Slovakia | 2018* | 4.5 | 37 |
| Total | Spain | 2018* | 4.5 | 35 |
| Total | Czech Republic | 2018* | 4.2 | 33 |
| Total | United Kingdom | 2018* | 3.5 | 22 |
| Total | Sweden | 2018* | 5.1 | 46 |
| Total | Switzerland | 2018* | 4.8 | 40 |
| Sex: men | Belgium | 2018* | 4.7 | 41 |
| Sex: men | Bulgaria | 2018* | 3.3 | 22 |
| Sex: men | Cyprus | 2018* | 4.8 | 41 |
| Sex: men | Denmark | 2018* | 5.0 | 44 |
| Sex: men | Germany | 2018* | 4.5 | 35 |
| Sex: men | Estonia | 2018* | 4.5 | 35 |
| Sex: men | Finland | 2018* | 5.2 | 52 |
| Sex: men | France | 2018* | 4.0 | 28 |
| Sex: men | Greece | 2018* | ||
| Sex: men | Hungary | 2018* | 5.1 | 47 |
| Sex: men | Ireland | 2018* | 5.0 | 46 |
| Sex: men | Iceland | 2018* | 5.5 | 53 |
| Sex: men | Israel | 2018* | ||
| Sex: men | Italy | 2018* | 4.3 | 35 |
| Sex: men | Kosovo | 2018* | ||
| Sex: men | Croatia | 2018* | 4.0 | 27 |
| Sex: men | Latvia | 2018* | 4.3 | 34 |
| Sex: men | Lithuania | 2018* | 4.8 | 39 |
| Sex: men | Montenegro | 2018* | 4.6 | 40 |
| Sex: men | The Netherlands | 2018* | 5.1 | 50 |
| Sex: men | Norway | 2018* | 5.3 | 49 |
| Sex: men | Ukraine | 2018* | ||
| Sex: men | Austria | 2018* | 4.3 | 31 |
| Sex: men | Poland | 2018* | 4.6 | 33 |
| Sex: men | Portugal | 2018* | 4.5 | 38 |
| Sex: men | Russian Federation | 2018* | ||
| Sex: men | Serbia | 2018* | 2.9 | 18 |
| Sex: men | Slovenia | 2018* | 3.8 | 27 |
| Sex: men | Slovakia | 2018* | 4.5 | 37 |
| Sex: men | Spain | 2018* | 4.5 | 35 |
| Sex: men | Czech Republic | 2018* | 4.2 | 35 |
| Sex: men | United Kingdom | 2018* | 3.4 | 22 |
| Sex: men | Sweden | 2018* | 5.0 | 47 |
| Sex: men | Switzerland | 2018* | 4.4 | 35 |
| Sex: women | Belgium | 2018* | 5.0 | 43 |
| Sex: women | Bulgaria | 2018* | 3.3 | 20 |
| Sex: women | Cyprus | 2018* | 4.6 | 30 |
| Sex: women | Denmark | 2018* | 5.4 | 51 |
| Sex: women | Germany | 2018* | 4.7 | 36 |
| Sex: women | Estonia | 2018* | 4.8 | 37 |
| Sex: women | Finland | 2018* | 5.6 | 55 |
| Sex: women | France | 2018* | 4.0 | 26 |
| Sex: women | Greece | 2018* | ||
| Sex: women | Hungary | 2018* | 5.1 | 45 |
| Sex: women | Ireland | 2018* | 4.9 | 45 |
| Sex: women | Iceland | 2018* | 6.0 | 64 |
| Sex: women | Israel | 2018* | ||
| Sex: women | Italy | 2018* | 4.3 | 36 |
| Sex: women | Kosovo | 2018* | ||
| Sex: women | Croatia | 2018* | 3.7 | 23 |
| Sex: women | Latvia | 2018* | 4.5 | 35 |
| Sex: women | Lithuania | 2018* | 5.2 | 46 |
| Sex: women | Montenegro | 2018* | 4.9 | 40 |
| Sex: women | The Netherlands | 2018* | 5.5 | 58 |
| Sex: women | Norway | 2018* | 5.6 | 52 |
| Sex: women | Ukraine | 2018* | ||
| Sex: women | Austria | 2018* | 4.5 | 34 |
| Sex: women | Poland | 2018* | 4.7 | 37 |
| Sex: women | Portugal | 2018* | 4.7 | 41 |
| Sex: women | Russian Federation | 2018* | ||
| Sex: women | Serbia | 2018* | 3.2 | 19 |
| Sex: women | Slovenia | 2018* | 3.9 | 28 |
| Sex: women | Slovakia | 2018* | 4.5 | 37 |
| Sex: women | Spain | 2018* | 4.4 | 34 |
| Sex: women | Czech Republic | 2018* | 4.1 | 31 |
| Sex: women | United Kingdom | 2018* | 3.6 | 22 |
| Source: ESS, Statistics Netherlands | ||||
Dataset is not available.
This table provides information on how much inhabitants of various European countries aged 15 years or older trust other people, the legal system and politics. Figures are from 2002 onwards. The question concerning trust in other people is: Overall, do you think most people can be trusted, or that you can’t be too careful?. Trust in the legal system and politics is determined by asking people how much they trust a number of political and organisational institutions, viz. national parliament, the legal system, the police, politicians, political parties, the European Parliament and the United Nations.
The figures in this table are based on the European Social Survey (ESS). The ESS is conducted every two years commissioned by the European Committee, the European Science Foundation and various national organisations for scientific research.
Data available from: 2002
Status of the figures:
Figures of 2018 are preliminary. Figures of 2002 until 2016 are definite.
Changes as of 30 July 2021.
The preliminary figures of 2016 are corrected and made definite. Figures of 2018 are new.
When will new figures be published?
New figures will be published in 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries postponed their survey..
New figures will be published at the end of 2021. This will be preliminary figures of 2020, with most
countries going into the field one year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description topics
- Evaluation of trust in
- Trust in other people and in a number of political and organisational institutions in terms of a mark from 0 to 10, where 0 equals no trust at all and 10 equals complete trust.
- European Parliament
- Figures show the average score in answer to the question: ‘Can you give a score from 0-10 for how much you personally trust the European Parliament?’ 0 means you do not trust the European Parliament at all, and 10 means you have complete trust.
Source: ESS
- Percentage of people with trust in
- The percentage of people assigning a score of 6 or higher in answer to the questions about trust in other people and a number of political and organisational institutions, where 0 means no trust at all and 10 means complete trust.
- European Parliament
- Figures show the percentage of people assigning a score of 6 or higher in answer to the question: ‘How much do you personally trust the European Parliament?’ 0 means you do not trust an institution at all, and 10 means you have complete trust.
Source: ESS