Trust in institutions (i81)
- 31/10/2025
- objective
- assessment assessment
In 2023, 35.8% of the population aged 15 and over in Belgium trusted the parliament, the legal system, politicians and the political parties. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, this figure must increase. Between 2004 and 2023, the trend is undetermined (assessment of November 2025).
Trust in institutions - Belgium and international comparison
score at least 6 on 0-10 scale
percentage of population aged 15 and over
| 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | 2023//2004 | 2023//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 33.8 | 35.9 | 31.0 | 30.0 | 36.8 | 35.4 | 36.3 | 37.0 | 36.5 | 35.8 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Germany | 26.2 | 27.8 | 28.9 | 26.8 | 34.1 | 35.5 | 39.6 | 37.2 | 34.7 | 37.8 | 2.0 | -0.7 |
| France | 22.5 | 22.2 | 25.0 | 21.9 | 25.1 | 22.0 | 22.2 | 25.3 | 29.2 | 27.3 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Netherlands | 44.3 | 52.3 | 56.8 | 56.3 | 54.7 | 50.5 | 57.2 | 62.0 | 60.2 | 55.0 | 1.1 | -0.6 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||||||
Source: Calculations FPB based on ESS (2025), Dataset European Social Survey, http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/, last update of data 02/06/2025 (consulted on 01/10/2025)
Trust in institutions by sex - Belgium
score at least 6 on 0-10 scale
percentage of population aged 15 and over
| 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | 2023//2004 | 2023//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| females | 30.6 | 35.0 | 28.8 | 27.6 | 35.0 | 33.8 | 34.9 | 36.1 | 35.8 | 35.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| males | 37.3 | 36.8 | 33.4 | 32.5 | 38.8 | 37.1 | 37.7 | 37.9 | 37.2 | 35.8 | -0.2 | -0.7 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||||||
Source: Calculations FPB based on ESS (2025), Dataset European Social Survey, http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/, last update of data 02/06/2025 (consulted on 01/10/2025)
Trust in institutions by income - Belgium
score at least 6 on 0-10 scale
percentage of population aged 15 and over
| 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | 2023//2010 | 2023//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quintile 1 | 23.1 | 28.9 | 30.6 | 28.7 | 31.5 | 21.2 | 30.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| quintile 2 | 22.3 | 31.3 | 32.7 | 32.3 | 30.3 | 35.1 | 32.1 | 2.8 | -0.1 |
| quintile 3 | 30.4 | 36.3 | 31.5 | 34.9 | 32.6 | 38.7 | 31.3 | 0.2 | -1.5 |
| quintile 4 | 34.4 | 41.9 | 33.8 | 38.6 | 40.9 | 37.7 | 38.6 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| quintile 5 | 37.7 | 45.7 | 42.6 | 42.6 | 48.6 | 39.4 | 39.3 | 0.3 | -1.1 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||||||||
Source: Calculations FPB based on ESS (2025), Dataset European Social Survey, http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/, last update of data 02/06/2025 (consulted on 01/10/2025)
Definition: trust in institutions is the average share of respondents of the European Social Survey (ESS) that gives a score of at least 6 out of 10 on each of the following four questions: “Could you assess your personal trust in each of the following institutions: the Belgian parliament, the judicial system, the politicians and the political parties”. For each institution, the interviewees can answer on a scale of zero (absolutely no confidence) to ten (complete confidence). This question was covered in the eleven biannual ESS surveys. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the survey for 2020 was postponed to 2021. The FPB calculates the indicator using the ESS data. Since these data are based on a survey, a margin of uncertainty must be taken into account. The confidence intervals for these data are available on request.
The following breakdowns are available for this indicator: region and income.
Goal: trust in institutions must increase.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 16.6: “Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels”.
UN indicator: the selected indicator is related to indicator 16.6.2 - Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services. Satisfaction with services is different from trust in institutions, but both are relevant for the target on which they report.
At www.indicators.be the Federal Planning Bureau presents sustainable development indicators.
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