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 generally representative of their respective adult populations; and representative of the adult population in urban areas in Mexico. In Mexico, the data collection took place in September and October.
OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2024 Results - Country Notes: Mexico
Trust in public institutions
In 2023, 54% of Mexicans reported high or moderately high trust in the federal government, above the OECD average of 39%.
Figure 1. Trust in national/federal government, 2023
Share of population who indicate different levels of trust in their national/federal 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/federal government?”; neutral to option 5 and “low or no” to response options 0-4.
As in most OECD countries, Mexicans place more trust in the police (58%) and other people (56%) than in federal government (54%), but the difference is much smaller than that observed in most countries. A large majority of Mexicans trust international organisations (60%), a share that is the second highest among OECD countries. Around half of Mexicans report high or moderately high trust in the federal civil service (55%), courts and the judicial system (53%) and news media (50%). Although above OECD averages, national parliament (43%) and political parties (33%) are the least trusted institutions in Mexico.
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. In Mexico, the questions about the national civil service and government concerned trust in the federal civil service and government, respectively.
Mexicans who feel that the current political system does not let people like them have a say tend to trust the federal 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 Mexico on average are more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the federal government (57%) than women do (51%), almost equal to the 7 percentage point average gender trust gap across OECD countries.
The trust gaps in Mexico between people with lower and higher educational attainment, between older and younger people, and between those with and without financial concerns are below the OECD average. Mexico and the United Kingdom are the only countries where on average people with lower education tend to trust the federal government more than people with higher education.
Figure 3. Share of population with high or moderately high trust in the national/federal 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/federal government?”; neutral to option 5 and “low or no” to response options 0-4.
Perceptions of the public governance drivers of trust
Perceptions of day-to-day interactions with public institution
For most of the considered measures, Mexicans’ satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with public institutions is similar to or above the OECD average.
A majority of Mexicans (64%) with recent experience with the education system are satisfied with it, compared to 57% on average across the OECD. Moreover, 67% are satisfied with the administrative services they used, an important driver of trust in the civil service, compared to a 66% OECD average.
Mexicans find it more likely than the OECD average that public services are improved after complaints: 48% of people in Mexico find this likely, compared to the OECD average of 39%.
Perceptions of integrity of public employees are low in most countries: Only 27% of Mexicans expect that public employees would refuse a bribe to speed up service access, lower than the OECD average of 36%.
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 Mexico, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Mexico 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
Mexico performs better than the OECD average in almost all measures of decision making on complex policy issues. And unlike in the majority of OECD countries, the share of people in Mexico with positive perceptions regarding complex decision-making is often similar than those regarding day-to-day interactions with government.
A large majority of Mexicans (63%) are confident that government balances interests of current and future generations, compared to 37% on average across OECD countries.
Less than half of people in Mexico (45%) believe that the political system allows people like them to have a say in what government does. This important driver of trust in the national government is 15 percentage points higher than on average across OECD countries (30%).
Perceptions of government integrity are low in most countries: Only 27% of people in Mexico find it likely that politicians refuse to provide a political favour in return for a well-paid job in the private sector, lower than the average across OECD countries (31%).
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 Mexico, 2023
Note: The figure presents the unweighted OECD averages and values for Mexico 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.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.