Surveys show majority of public still trusts U.N. despite an overall decline

This analysis first published by International Peace Institute Global Observatory has been edited for clarity, length and style. Views expressed by the authors, IPI GO Senior Fellow and Head of Publications Albert Trithart and IPI Editorial Intern Félix Romier, do not necessarily represent IPI GO, IPI, or Arete News.

There is a growing sense the United Nations faces a legitimacy crisis due to a loss of trust. Reflecting this concern, U.N. member nations committed to "rebuild trust in global institutions" in the Pact for the Future they unanimously adopted in Sept. 2024. Since then, the multilateral system plunged deeper into crisis largely due to U.S. President Donald Trump's draconian funding cuts. At a U.N. Security Council meeting in February, diplomats referred to a "crisis of confidence in the U.N.," "palpable loss of trust," "ruinous mistrust," and "unprecedented crisis of credibility."

What does "trust in global institutions" mean? It is often used to refer to trust governments place in multilateral institutions to which they belong. World leaders have increasingly criticized the U.N., especially the Security Council with its outdated structure and growing dysfunction. Criticism from far-right leaders is also reaching an apotheosis under the second Trump administration, which has put the U.N. squarely in its crosshairs.

Yet "trust in global institutions" can also refer to the general public. Public perceptions of the U.N. are hard to assess. Only a handful of multi-country surveys have asked about public perceptions of the U.N. across multiple years; here is an overview of recent surveys. All of these underrepresent the Global South, and only two have data from the past year. These surveys variably ask about trust, confidence, and favorable views of the U.N., each of which can be interpreted differently. It’s also hard to reliably poll about something most people don’t understand or feel strongly about. In one 2020 global survey, over half of the respondents said they didn’t know much about the U.N. and saw it as remote from their lives.

Nonetheless, survey data can provide some insight into what the global public thinks about the U.N. and can help us understand whether the crisis of trust is primarily among political leaders or a broader phenomenon.

Trust in the U.N. held fairly steady in recent decades despite crises like the pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Confidence in the U.N. was tepid overall and low in some regions, however, especially the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Between 2021 and 2024, most countries showed a less favorable view of the U.N., which fell from 65.2% to 59.7%, when measured for a Pew survey, and declining trust in the U.N., when measured for the Edelman Trust Barometer. The two surveys largely aligned but not for all countries. In the Pew survey, the largest decreases were in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In the Edelman survey, there was little change in France, smaller drops in Italy and Germany, and a slight increase in Spain.

It’s also important to keep these numbers in perspective. Despite the recent decline, public perceptions of the U.N. remain largely positive in most countries surveyed. In the Edelman Trust Barometer, 58% of respondents across all countries surveyed in 2024 expressed trust in the U.N. In only three of 28 countries, trust below 50%. In six countries, trust was higher than 70%. Similarly, the average favorability of the U.N. across countries surveyed by Pew was 57%. In eight of 35 countries, it was less than 50%. In seven countries, it was higher than 70%.

Why has trust in the U.N. fallen?

The current level of mistrust in the U.N. is not historically unprecedented. In the Edelman survey, the recent drop in trust was preceded by several years of growing trust; this means that trust in the U.N. is back to around what it had been in 2018. In the Pew survey, the U.N.’s favorability is low by historical standards, but only slightly lower than in 2013.

Even if perceptions of the U.N. remain largely positive, there are signs the public is not happy with the current state of international cooperation. A 2023 Stimson Center survey of 12 countries – the Group of Seven industrialized democracies and the five original BRICS members – found only 39% of respondents thought the world was doing well on global cooperation; 49% thought it was doing poorly.

Though the drop in support for the U.N. was relatively small, it still begs the question of why trust fell in recent years. Answering this question definitively would require more detailed research, but a few possible factors could explain the drop in support at least in some countries.

Trust could have declined due to specific international events such as the pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Both Edelman and Pew found an overall drop in trust between their surveys taken before and after the start of the war in Gaza. Some of the sharpest drops in trust in the U.N. were in Indonesia, Ireland and Saudi Arabia, all countries where the public is largely sympathetic to Palestinians.

Decreased trust in the U.N. also could be a result of broader decreasing trust in national institutions. This could explain some of the wide regional variations, particularly in parts of Africa, Asia and Europe with relatively high levels of trust in the U.N. and national institutions. That contrasts with relatively low levels of trust in the U.N. and national institutions in Latin America and the Middle East.

As trust in governments and parliaments fell significantly between 1999 and 2022, trust in the U.N. also fell, though more gradually. The U.N.’s 2025 World Social Report attributes this broad decline to growing insecurity and inequality, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2024, the percentage of people who rated their government as competent and ethical fell by more than 10 percentage points, according to Edelman. The percentage who believe their government lies to them rose by a similar margin. Global survey data shows the U.N. is more trusted than national governments, other multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and International Criminal Court, and regional organizations like the European Union and African Union.

Trust also could have declined in some countries due to the growing strength of far-right, anti-globalist parties and politicians. In some countries, people on the political right, particularly the far right, historically hold the most negative views of the U.N. This is especially true in the U.S., where a 2024 Pew survey found 71% of Democrats viewed the U.N. favorably versus just 34% of Republicans. This partisan divide existed at least since the 1970s but widened in recent decades.

The U.N.’s overall decline in favorability among Americans, from 61% in 2022 down to 52% in 2024, was largely driven by Republicans. Trust in the U.N. is also lower on the far right in several other countries including Austria, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland and Switzerland, according to World Values Survey data from 2018 to 2022.

Trump’s hostility toward the U.N., however, is not backed by the broader American public and his actions against the U.N. are unpopular. Though Trump proposed ending U.S. funding for U.N. peacekeeping, 60% of Americans support paying U.N. peacekeeping dues compared to 23% who are opposed, according to a 2024 Morning Consult survey.

Similarly, Trump's announced plans to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization don't line up with a 2024 Pew survey that found 59% of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from its membership in WHO and 39% believe it does not. This is an important reminder that just because leaders turn against the U.N., that doesn’t mean the public will follow. Even if most people don’t love the U.N., they still see its value.