Do You Trust Your Neighbors? Do You Think They Trust Each Other?

When researchers ask "Do you trust other people?" they usually measure your personal willingness to trust. But this study asked something different: "How many people in your country trust one another?"

It is about your impression of society as a whole, not just your own feelings. Using survey responses from over 200,000 adults across 22 countries, the study reveals some surprising patterns. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong topped the list — about half of respondents there said most or all people in their country trust one another. Meanwhile, the United States, Brazil, and South Africa sat at the very bottom.

Only about 10% of Americans felt that most people in the U. S. trust each other. This is striking because on older surveys that ask about personal trust, the U. S.

has traditionally ranked much higher, while Indonesia and the Philippines ranked much lower. The researchers suggest that what people see on the news, experience through political polarization, or carry from historical divisions like slavery and apartheid may color their sense of whether society as a whole is trustworthy — even if they personally still trust the people around them. The study also looked at who tends to perceive more trust. Older adults (ages 60–79) and retired people tended to see more trust in society. Men reported slightly higher perceived trust than women. People who attended religious services more often also perceived higher levels of trust. Interestingly, education level made no overall difference — unlike older studies — though in wealthier Western countries, more education tended to line up with more perceived trust, while in several developing countries the pattern went the other way. Taken together, the findings suggest that perceived social trust captures something personal trust alone does not: a shared sense of whether society is holding together.