Trust in Parliament at 10-year low

People protesting with banners against Dutch childcare benefits scandal
© ANP / Ramon van Flymen
In the last quarter of 2022, 25 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 years and over had confidence in the lower house of Dutch Parliament, the so-called Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives). This is the lowest level since 2012, when this research was conducted for the first time. At 21 percent, trust in politicians was also considerably lower than in previous years. Confidence in the judiciary, the police and health care was significantly higher at almost 80 percent. This is evident from a survey on social cohesion and well-being, conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

In the first quarter of 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic, a minority of the population over the age of 15 showed trust in politicians (31 percent) and in Parliament (44 percent). At the onset of the pandemic in the second quarter of 2020, these shares rose to 44 and 58 percent respectively. Subsequently, trust levels declined again. In the final quarter of 2022, confidence in Parliament reached a 10-year low and confidence in politicians a 5-year low.

More trust in fellow citizens, most trust in health care

Trust in other people has risen slowly over the past decade: from 58 percent in 2012 to 66 percent in 2022. People have the most trust in health care (78 percent). A majority also report they trust official institutions. For example, 77 percent of people over 15 show trust in the police and the judiciary, and 64 percent in the military. Confidence in these institutions has increased slightly over the past decade.

Less faith is observed in other, mainly political institutions. Around half show trust in the European Union and the municipal council, the same as for banks. Approximately 30 percent of the people have confidence in the church.

Less faith in institutions after coronavirus crisis

After increasing in 2020 and 2021, trust in many institutions fell back to mostly pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Confidence in various institutions dipped even below these levels. Not only does this apply to political institutions, but also for banks, large companies, health care and civil servants.

Highest level of trust among university graduates

In 2022, 40 percent of people with only primary education expressed trust in other people. This so-called social trust is at least twice as high among the group with higher vocational education (80 percent) or university education (89 percent). On average, they also show more trust in (political) institutions, but this difference is smaller than for trust in fellow citizens. As for trust in private institutions - such as banks and large companies - there are no discrepancies between the different education levels.