Trust in other people
Whether adults report that other people can generally be trusted (Source: Authors' analysis of General Social Survey)
Why did we include this measure?
We cannot have positive relations with each other, or in society as a whole, if we do not trust each other. This requires believing that others are generally honest—they are not trying to manipulate or deceive us—and that people follow broadly accepted social norms and values and can be counted on to come through and do the right thing. (We also include measures of trust in institutions in the Trust section.)
How does the US rank globally?
- Specific Measure: (same as above). (Source: Authors’ analysis of the World Values Survey)
- Percentage of countries the US outperforms: 73% (out of 30 countries)
- International Rank Trend: Stable
National Trend Worsening
What do the data show?
Trust in other people has been declining steadily since 1990, although this has been a global phenomenon, which explains why our international ranking has been steady. We also remain above almost three-quarters of other high-income countries on this measure. China leads the world on this measure, while Germany, Great Britain, and Canada are ranked just above us.
What might explain these patterns?
Decline in trust may reflect a combination of increased social isolation, cynicism about our collective ability to solve persistent social problems, social and mass media that emphasize negative messages about people’s actions, and the increasingly impersonal nature of key institutions. We also note that trust is among the many subjective measures, based on surveys of Americans, that show a steady decline.
The decline in trust may be related to our long-term decline in volunteerism; people might choose not to volunteer because they do not trust that their efforts will contribute to the good they hope to achieve.
For more information about data sources and treatments, download the Data Notes.