Trust in politicians and parliament in 2025 at lowest level since 2012
Trust in politicians and the Dutch House of Representatives reached a peak in 2020, the start of the Covid pandemic. Trust in all political institutions has declined since the end of the pandemic, with trust in politicians and parliament falling almost every year. Confidence in civil servants and local government has been on the rise since 2022, meanwhile, and trust in the EU has been rising since 2023.
| X | Local (municipal) authority (% of people aged 15 and over) | European Union (% of people aged 15 and over) | Civil servants (% of people aged 15 and over) | House of Representatives (% of people aged 15 and over) | Politicians (% of people aged 15 and over) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 39.2 | 44.3 | 36.3 | ||
| 2013 | 34.3 | 40.8 | 31.5 | ||
| 2014 | 36.4 | 41.9 | 34.6 | ||
| 2015 | 35.8 | 42.3 | 34.4 | ||
| 2016 | 36.0 | 42.6 | 36.9 | 27.5 | |
| 2017 | 43.1 | 45.5 | 40.8 | 31.6 | |
| 2018 | 45.2 | 46.6 | 42.1 | 32.1 | |
| 2019 | 45.7 | 46.3 | 40.0 | 30.0 | |
| 2020 | 55.1 | 48.1 | 49.7 | 53.2 | 39.7 |
| 2021 | 53.4 | 46.2 | 42.4 | 33.3 | |
| 2022 | 50.7 | 48.7 | 42.5 | 30.4 | 23.8 |
| 2023 | 51.5 | 47.1 | 44.0 | 29.0 | 23.8 |
| 2024 | 53.4 | 49.7 | 47.4 | 31.3 | 25.1 |
| 2025 | 54.5 | 51.5 | 47.1 | 24.6 | 21.2 |
Young people are the most likely to have confidence in political institutions
Of all age groups, those aged 15-24 are the most likely to have confidence in political institutions. Trust is lower among older age groups, and those aged 65 to 74 have the lowest degree of trust in political institutions. Among those aged 75 and over, however, trust is slightly higher.
| Leeftijd | Local (municipal) authority (% of people) | European Union (% of people) | Civil servants (% of people) | House of Representatives (% of people) | Politicians (% of people) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-24 yrs | 66.8 | 70.0 | 55.8 | 34.1 | 32.6 |
| 25-34 yrs | 61.7 | 58.3 | 53.0 | 25.3 | 23.7 |
| 35-44 yrs | 57.0 | 51.7 | 49.5 | 23.6 | 18.8 |
| 45-54 yrs | 52.6 | 46.7 | 47.5 | 22.2 | 19.6 |
| 55-64 yrs | 45.6 | 42.9 | 42.2 | 22.7 | 18.1 |
| 65-74 yrs | 44.9 | 42.9 | 39.2 | 20.7 | 15.3 |
| 75 yrs and older | 52.9 | 46.4 | 40.5 | 23.0 | 19.6 |
The level of trust in politics in general is measured by averaging trust in civil servants, trust in politicians, trust in parliament and trust in the EU. In 2025, 40 percent of those aged 15 and over had confidence in these political institutions combined.