The geography of interpersonal trust – Australia ranks 7th in trust of other people among 30 countries

Among the 30 countries, interpersonal trust is highest in China and India, where 56% say most people can be trusted, and lowest in Brazil, Malaysia, and Turkey, where fewer than 15% say so.

Globally, the propensity to trust others is greater among those who are business decision-makers, holders of a higher education degree, married, older, male, and affluent.  In addition, interpersonal trust and consumer confidence and happiness are highly correlated.

The survey was conducted among 22,534 adults under the age of 75 conducted between February 18 and March 4 on Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.

Key Australian findings

• In Australia, males are more trusting of people than females, at 45% and 37% respectively compared to 32% and 27% globally.
• Older people are more trusting than younger people, with 50% of those aged between 50 and 74 saying people can be trusted, compared to 38% of those aged under 35 years, and 33% of those aged 35-49 years.
• Those with high incomes were more trusting (49%) than those on middle and low incomes (41% and 39% respectively).
• People with a higher education (43%) were a little more trusting that those with medium (39%) or low levels of education (39%).
• Married Australians (44%) display higher levels of trust than those who are not (38%).
• Senior executives, decision makers and company leaders were slightly more trusting than those who were not, at 60% and 55% respectively.

Ipsos Australia Director, David Elliott, said: “While we rank 7^th overall on our level of trust in others, it was interesting to see that older Australians were among the most trusting in the world.  In our Australian sample, those aged 50-74 years, at 50%, ranked third behind only India, at 56%, and China, at 60%.  Additionally, we were one of the countries with the largest gap between this older age group and those under 35.  In our case the difference between the two was 12%, with only Ireland at 17%, Spain at 16%, and South Korea at 15%, having a bigger gap between these generations.”

The Demographics of Social Trust

Business Decision-Making Power

Both at a global level and in most countries, the managerial class tends to be significantly more trusting of others. On average, the percentage of those who say most people can be trusted is 11 points higher among self-identified senior executives, decision-makers, or leaders in their company and others.

• It is highest in France, India, Russia, the United States, and the Netherlands where the difference is 15 points or higher.
• The only countries showing the opposite pattern are Turkey and Sweden.

Education

People with a tertiary education tend to be more trusting than those without. On average, 35% of adults with a higher education degree say most people can be trusted vs. 28% of those with a medium level and 26% of those with a lower level.

• The Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, Canada, France, Italy, and Germany all show a difference of more than 10 points between the percentages of those with a higher education and those with a medium level of education who say that most people can be trusted.
• Russia is the only country where people with a higher education level are less likely to be trusting of others.

Marriage

In most countries, married adults are more likely to be trusting of other people than those who are not married (33% vs. 27% on average across the 30 countries).

• The difference is especially sharp in China, the United States, Ireland, Spain, and India where the percentage of those who say “most people can be trusted” is at least 10 points higher among those who are married than among those who are not.
• The two notable exceptions are Hungary and Saudi Arabia.

Age

Globally, interpersonal trust tends to be more prevalent among older adults. On average, 33% of those aged 50-74 say most people can be trusted vs. 29% of those aged 35-49 and 28% of those under 35.

• Age-based differences in interpersonal trust are most acute in Ireland, Spain, South Korea, Australia, China, Colombia, Mexico, and Turkey – all countries where the percentage of those who say “most people can be trusted” is at least 10 points higher among those aged 50-74 than it is among those under the age of 35.

Gender

In most countries, males tend to be more trusting of other people than are females as on average, 32% of men say most people can be trusted vs. 27% of women – a 5-point difference.

• This is most especially the case in Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Great Britain.
• The only country where women are significantly more likely than men to say most people can be trusted is Mexico.

Income

Within most countries, the prevalence of interpersonal trust increases with people’s household income. On average, 32% of those who fall in their country’s upper-income group tend to trust others vs. 30% with a medium income and 26% of those with a lower income.

• The Netherlands and Peru both show a difference of more than 15 points between the percentages of those with a higher income and those with a medium income who say that most people can be trusted.
• Both countries as well as the United States, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, and Great Britain show a difference of more than 12 points between higher-income earners lower-income earners.

Interpersonal Trust, Consumer Sentiment, and Personal Happiness

Interpersonal trust is highly correlated with both consumer confidence and personal happiness.

Ipsos compared the percentage saying most adults can be trusted in 23 countries with Ipsos’s Consumer Confidence Index for each of these countries—a composite metric indicative of consumers’ perceptions about their current and prospective financial situation, purchasing comfort, and economic, jobs, and investment environment. We found that these two metrics are very highly correlated[1].

• Among the 23 countries, the four with the highest level of interpersonal trust (China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden) are also the four with the highest consumer confidence index.

Ipsos also compared the percentage saying most adults can be trusted in 28 countries with the percentage saying they are very or somewhat happy in these same countries. Here too, Ipsos found a strong relationship[2]: in most countries, the prevalence of personal happiness reflects the prevalence of personal trust.

• However, there are a few outliers: France and to a lesser extent Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, and Poland show higher levels of personal happiness than one might expect based on their relatively low levels of personal trust.

Link: https://www.ipsos.com/en-au/geography-interpersonal-trust-australia-ranks-7th-trust-other-people-among-30-countries?fbclid=IwAR0gU_GzSKXCrq4rGiyg63PGhi4LnO1aYPzua-lf9g05V9XPDo1qAJietx4