In an increasingly challenging environment marked by rapid technological developments, heightened geopolitical tensions, increased polarisation, and climate change, trust in public institutions is a critical indicator for sound public governance and an important factor in the implementation of, and compliance with, needed policy reforms. 30 OECD countries, including Slovenia, participated in the second OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions which aims to capture levels and drivers of trust.
Over the past two decades, levels of trust in public institutions in Slovenia have fluctuated greatly, heavily influenced by economic cycles and political upheavals. Although levels of trust have gradually recovered since the global financial crisis, they remain below the EU average. In response to these fluctuations and the need to rebuild trust, Slovenia has explicitly recognised trust as a policy objective in its Development Strategy 2030. Slovenia also decided to participate in the 2023 OECD Trust Survey to compare its data internationally and identify drivers of trust. The government has further commissioned the OECD to carry out this study to contextualise the quantitative results from the OECD Trust Survey and outline key actions to enhance trust in public institutions.
When the OECD Trust Survey was administered in October 2023, the country was still grappling with severe floods and landslides, persistent inflation, and the socio-economic repercussions Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Against this background, the OECD Trust Survey finds that the cost of living (61%), corruption (40%), and poverty/social inequality (39%) are most frequently mentioned by Slovenians as the top three issues facing the country; with a higher share of people mentioning these issues compared to the OECD average.
People in Slovenia demonstrate lower levels of trust in their public institutions compared to the OECD average. Only 28% of Slovenians have high or moderately high trust in their national government, compared to 39% across the OECD. Trust in law-and-order institutions is higher than in political institutions, in line with what is expected in representative democracies, and mirroring OECD trends.
Young Slovenians show significantly less trust in the national government than those over 50, highlighting a larger trust gap between age groups in Slovenia (17 percentage points) than the OECD average (7 percentage points). On the contrary, most socio-economic and demographic trust gaps, such as between people with lower and higher educational attainment and between men and women, are narrower in Slovenia than on average across OECD countries.
The OECD Trust Survey goes beyond measuring trust levels in public institutions. It captures public perceptions of various aspects of governance, focusing on government competence and values in both everyday interactions with public institutions and more complex decision-making processes. This study examines these interactions in Slovenia.
Regarding day-to-day interactions with institutions, Slovenia's public services show promising areas of strength, with satisfaction in education and administrative services matching the OECD average. On the other hand, healthcare satisfaction shows significant room for improvement. Additionally, only a minority in Slovenia believe civil servants would treat service users fairly or refuse bribes, despite external evidence suggesting that petty corruption is rare. Moreover, Slovenians perceive public institutions as less responsive than the OECD average, with only around three in ten believing an innovative idea would improve services and that a service would improve if many people complained. By encouraging public feedback and demonstrating a commitment to acting on citizens' suggestions, Slovenia can enhance the perceived effectiveness of its public institutions and bring them closer to OECD averages.
Relatively high levels of satisfaction with some key public services, and the fact that nearly half the population in Slovenia expresses confidence in their government's emergency preparedness, suggest a relatively high stock of faith in the government's ability to fulfill some of its core functions. This is particularly noteworthy in Slovenia, where the survey was conducted shortly after a natural disaster. However, as is the case on average across the OECD, this trust diminishes when it comes to complex, long-term policy issues such as climate change and artificial intelligence. Several factors contribute to this scepticism, including concerns about the competence, integrity and fairness of high-level political officials and government policies. In Slovenia, only 29% of citizens believe the government uses the best available evidence in decision-making, compared to the OECD average of 41%. Trust in public officials' integrity is also low, with only 31% of Slovenians believing high-level political officials would refuse political favors for personal gain. Moreover, only 15% of Slovenians feel they have a say in government actions.
The report also analyses the complex relationship among information, public communication, and public trust in Slovenia. The findings highlight the importance of the integrity of information in cultivating a healthy, “sceptical trust” in public institutions. In Slovenia, 26% of people have high or moderately high trust in the media, compared to 39% on average across the OECD. In addition, just 7% of Slovenians who choose to avoid political news express high or moderate trust in the government, a stark contrast to the 29% trust level among those who follow the news. Changes in patterns of media consumption and production can further complicate the public's ability to assess the trustworthiness and credibility of information, thereby distorting their perceptions of and trust in public institutions. The analysis further explores how Slovenian institutions shape public perceptions through their communication functions and suggests ways to use government communication to enhance trust in public institutions.
The analysis finds that improving perceptions of evidence-informed decision making and intergenerational fairness are key to enhancing trust in the national government and to a lesser degree in the Slovenian civil service. Drivers related to day-to-day interactions between institutions and the public -- such as satisfaction with administrative services-- significantly influence trust in the local government and the civil service.
The report groups the main areas for improvement and guidelines for action under four broad themes: Trust as a policy objective, day-to-day interaction with public institutions, complex decision-making, and media environment and public communication. Acting based on this guidance could help Slovenia improve public perceptions of governance, and thus reinforce levels of trust and confidence in democracy in the country.
