The OECD Trust Survey explores people’s perceptions of different public institutions in their country and the degree to which they trust their government. These perceptions range from day-to-day interactions with public institutions to decision making on complex policy issues. Initiated in 2021, the Trust Survey was carried out in 30 OECD countries in October and November 2023, with results representative of their respective adult populations.
OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2024 Results - Country Notes: Czechia
Trust in public institutions
In 2023, 19% of Czech people reported high or moderately high trust in the national government, below the OECD average of 39%.
Figure 1. Trust in national government, 2023
Share of population who indicate different levels of trust in their national government (on a 0-10 scale), 2023
Note: ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust the national government?”; neutral to option 5 and “low or no” to response options 0-4.
In Czechia, levels of trust in the police (60%), courts and the judicial system (50%), and local government (44%) are close to the corresponding OECD averages. Slightly below half of Czech report high or moderately high trust in other people (47%) and 34% in the national civil service. Political parties (14%), national government (19%) and national parliament (20%) are the least trusted institutions.
Figure 2. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in different public institutions, other people and media, 2023
Note: ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust [institution]?”; neutral to option 5 and “low or no” to response options 0-4.
Czechs who feel that the current political system doesn’t let people like them have a say tend to trust the national government 36 percentage points less than those who feel they have political voice. This trust gap is smaller than the 47 percentage points gap on average across OECD countries.
Men in Czechia on average are more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the national government (22%) than women do (15%), a gender trust gap equal to the one on average across OECD countries.
The Czech trust gap between those with and without financial concerns is above the OECD average; while the trust gaps by age and education are below the OECD averages.
Figure 3. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in the national government by population group, 2023
Note: ‘High or moderately high’ corresponds to the aggregation of response options 6-10 to the question “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, how much do you trust the national government?”; neutral to option 5 and “low or no” to response options 0-4.The share with high or moderately high trust in government among people who are 50 or older is identical to the share among people who are between 18-29 years old, and does therefore not appear in the figure.
Perceptions of the public governance drivers of trust
Perceptions of day-to-day interactions with public institutions
For most of the considered measures, Czechs’ satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with public institutions is below the OECD average.
A majority of Czechs (59%) with recent experience with the healthcare system are satisfied with it, compared to 52% on average across the OECD. Moreover, 62% are satisfied with the administrative services they used, an important driver of trust in the civil service, compared to a 66% OECD average.
Czechs find it more likely than the OECD average that they have opportunities to voice opinions on local matters: 44% of people in Czechia find this likely, compared to the OECD average of 41%.
Perceptions of integrity of public employees are low in most countries: Only 20% of Czechs expect that public employees would refuse bribes to speed up service access, lower than the OECD average of 36%.
Less than one in four (24%) think that public services would improve following complaints, compared to 39% on average across OECD countries.
Figure 4. Perceptions of day-to-day interactions between the population and public institutions
Share of population who are satisfied with public services or find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Czechia, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Czechia of the share of respondents who choose a response of 6-10 on the 0-10 scale for the above questions. Satisfaction with public services is restricted to recent service users.
Perceptions on decision making on complex policy issues
Czechia performs worse than the OECD average in all measures of decision-making on complex policy issues. Moreover, in Czechia and across the OECD, a lower share of people have positive perceptions regarding complex decision-making than regarding day-to-day interactions with public institutions.
A large proportion of Czechs (42%) find it likely that government is ready to protect lives in an emergency, although below the 53% average across OECD countries.
Perceptions of government integrity are low in most countries: Less than a third of Czechs (29%) expect government to refuse requests from corporations that harm public interest, a value in line with the average across OECD countries (30%).
Less than one in four people in Czechia (24%) find it likely that parliament holds government accountable and 23% find it likely that parliament balances diverse interests, lower than the averages across OECD countries (38% and 36%).
Only 17% of people in Czechia find it likely that government uses inputs from citizens’ consultation, lower than the average across OECD countries (32%).
Figure 5. Perceptions of government decision making on complex policy issues
Share of population who are confident in or find a positive action in the respective situation likely, OECD and Czechia, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Czechia of the share of respondents who choose a response of 6-10 on the 0-10 scale for the above questions.
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This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
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