Mayors are the more trustworthy politicians

The GfK Verein has carried out a survey on which professions are trusted in 25 countries. Firefighters are top of the list in 15 countries. Politicians bring up the rear in Germany and 22 other countries. Only the mayor do many respondents evidently view with different eyes, as these local politicians received a considerably better result in the survey.

Caring professions enjoy a high level of trust among citizens. According to the “GfK Trust in Professions 2014” study, firefighters, paramedics, nursing staff and doctors are top of the rankings on all continents. In Germany, pilots and pharmacists are also high up on the list (see table on page 2). The results differ greatly between the 25 countries for professional groups included in the survey by the GfK Verein. The widest discrepancy was recorded for bankers: at 88 percent, the highest trust value was registered in India, while the lowest was in Spain, at 14 percent. Police are also rated differently depending on the country: more than 81 percent of Germans trust this profession, but only 50 percent do in Russia and a mere 25 percent do in Kenya. Pastors and priests are trusted by 61 percent of Germans, but only 28 percent of Spanish say the same, which puts this profession behind insurance company representatives in the country.

In Germany, insurance company representatives are the second least trusted in the rankings, with 19 percent. This profession is therefore well below bankers (39 percent) but 4 percentage points ahead of politicians (14 percent). The low level of trust in these elected representatives is particularly surprising because mayors ranked considerably higher, with almost 55 percent of Germans trusting their local mayor.

One in four professions in the survey failed to surpass the 50 percent mark for trust in Germany. These also included TV presenters and actors. Professional athletes including footballers also registered a rather low level of trust (39 percent), similar to that of journalists (37 percent).

Among other professions, market and opinion researchers are in the upper mid-range, as are IT/software specialists, with each having trust values of 58 percent.

These findings are an extract from the “GfK Trust in Professions 2014” study and are based on around 28,000 consumer interviews, which were carried out on behalf of the GfK Verein in a total of 25 countries between September and November 2013.
The basis of the survey is investigating trust in 32 professional groups using the following scale: “I trust them completely”, “I generally trust them”, “I don't really trust them” and “I don't trust them at all”. 
The following professions were included in the survey: actors, advertising specialists, architects, armed forces, bankers/bank employees, doctors, engineers/technicians, entrepreneurs, farmers, firefighters, insurance company representatives, IT/software specialists, journalists, judges, market/opinion researchers, mayors, nurses/care workers, paramedics, pastors/priests, pharmacists, pilots, police, politicians, professional athletes/footballers, public sector officials, retailers/vendors, solicitors, taxi drivers, teachers, tradespeople (e.g. plumbers, carpenters, painters), tram drivers and TV presenters.

The GfK Verein was established in 1934 as a non-profit organization for the promotion of market research. Its membership consists of approximately 600 companies and individuals. The purpose of the Verein is to develop innovative research methods in close cooperation with academic institutions, to promote the training and further education of market researchers, to observe the structures and developments in society, the economy and politics that play a key role in private consumption, and to research their effects on consumers. Survey results are made available to the membership free of charge. The GfK Verein is a shareholder in GfK SE.

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