Trust is on the rise for many professions; influencers and politicians seen as least trusted

Key findings

• Doctors, scientists and teachers are the most trusted professions.
• Politicians are the least trusted, though ratings are not quite as bad as in 2018.
• Trust is rising for many professions, including lawyers, bankers and journalists.
• In new professions added to this year's survey, social media influencers not seen as trustworthy, but waiters are.
• Four in ten think ordinary people are trustworthy.

Which professions are most trusted?

In the 2024 edition of the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index, doctors are the most trusted profession. Over half say doctors are trustworthy (58% on average across 32 countries), scientists (56%) and teachers (54%). Generally front-line public service workers (including members of the armed forces and the police) tend to be more trusted than not.

Forty-three per cent say they trust members of the armed forces, with New Zealand and France the countries most likely to see the military as trustworthy (59% and 57% respectively). Thailand and Chile are the countries with the highest proportion saying the army is untrustworthy (41% and 40%).

While at a global level people are more likely to say police are trustworthy than not (38% to 30%), in 11 countries the police are more distrusted than trusted. In South Africa and Peru, a majority say the police are untrustworthy (56% and 53%).

Newly added in this year's survey, 44% say they find serving staff at a restaurant trustworthy, the fourth most trusted profession. In no country are people more likely to find waiters and waitresses untrustworthy than trusted.

The same cannot be said for taxi drivers, another new addition to this year's survey. People are split over whether taxi drivers should be trusted, with as many saying they are trustworthy as untrustworthy (both 28% on average across 32 countries).

Which professions are the least trusted?

Once again in the Index politicians rank bottom, with only 15% across 32 countries saying they trust them. In all but two countries (India and Singapore) are people more likely to see politicians as untrustworthy. In Argentina only 6% say politicians should be trusted, the lowest in the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index.

Generally, on a global level, trust in government is low. Government ministers are also in the bottom five least trusted (only 20% say they are trustworthy), and only 28% trust civil servants. However, trust in politicians and ministers has been gradually rising from its 2018 low, with both up 6pp since then.

In this year's survey, politicians have a rival for least trustworthy. Only 15% say they trust social media influencers, the same proportion who trust politicians. Although influencers have a better net trustworthy score to politicians (-41% to -43%). Trust in influencers differs across generations with younger people more likely to trust social media personalities. Twenty per cent of Gen Z trust influencers compared to only 9% of baby boomers.

About the Survey

These are the results of a 32-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform and, in India, on its IndiaBus platform, between Friday, May 24 and Friday, June 7, 2024. For this survey, Ipsos interviewed a total of 23,530 adults aged 18 years and older in India, 18-74 in Canada, Republic of Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Türkiye, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries.

The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.

Samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be considered representative of their general adult populations under the age of 75. Samples in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Türkiye are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more "connected" segment of their population.

India's sample represents a large subset of its urban population - social economic classes A, B and C in metros and tier 1-3 town classes across all four zones.

The data is weighted so that the composition of each country's sample best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data. "The Global Country Average" reflects the average result for all the countries and markets in which the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result.

When percentages do not sum up to 100 or the 'difference' appears to be +/-1 percentage point more/less than the actual result, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of "don't know" or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll where N=1,000 being accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of where N=500 being accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on Ipsos' use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.