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So it’s not just in the US that we have eroding trust in all our institutions – big business, courts, government, etc. According to a newly released study by the World Economic Forum the problem is worldwide – except for Russia (via: Marketing Technology). Some of the main findings from the study include:

• Public trust levels in national governments, the United Nations and global companies are now at their lowest since tracking began in January 2001
• Since 2004, trust in government has declined by statistically significant margins in 12 of the 16 countries for which tracking is available. The Russian government is the only exception, enjoying continuously increasing trust from its citizens since 2001
• The United Nations, while continuing to receive higher trust levels than other institutions, has experienced a significant decline in trust from 2004 levels in 12 of 17 tracking countries, suggesting an impact from the scandal over the Oil for Food Program
• Public trust in companies has also eroded over the last two years. After recovering trust in 2004 to pre-Enron levels, trust has since declined for both large national companies and for global companies. Trust in global companies is now at its lowest level since tracking began
• NGOs remain the leaders in trust, but they also have to contend with decline. In 10 of 17 countries for which data is available, trust in NGOs has fallen since 2004, in some cases sharply (e.g., Brazil, India and South Korea)

The study goes on to says – when it comes to trusting one’s government:

“Trust in government has fallen the most in Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Canada and Spain, followed closely by Argentina and the United States. The case of Nigeria is also noteworthy, where trust in the national government fell by thirteen points while trust in all other institutions rose. Even in countries such as Great Britain and India, where trust remains positive, it has suffered its biggest fall since tracking began in 2001. Only in Italy, Indonesia and France has trust in the national government held steady, although polling was completed prior to the recent riots across France.”

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