Eurostat: Romanians have the highest level of trust in others in the European Union

Romanians have the highest level of trust in others in the European Union, according to the most recent Eurostat data for the year 2024, ahead of the usual leader of the ranking, Finland.

The indicator ‘trust in others’ measures a person’s trust in people they do not know on a scale from 0 (‘I have no trust at all’) to 10 (‘I have complete trust’). The measurement is important since interpersonal trust represents an essential indicator for the quality of social relationships and for the way a society functions, according to Eurostat methodology.

In Romania, the average level of trust reached 7.3 in 2024, above the European Union average of 5.8.

The figure is not a surprise. Romania’s evolution in recent years has been a constantly upward one. In 2013, Romanians had an average trust level of 6.4. After a strong jump in 2018 to 7.0, the indicator continued to grow, reaching a peak of 7.7 in 2021. In the following years, the values stabilized around the range of 7.1–7.3, indicating a sustained level of trust that is rarely encountered in the region.

Finland and Poland are also in the upper part of the European ranking, with values of 7.0 or above. At the opposite end are countries such as Cyprus, France, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Greece, where scores drop below 5.

Overall, young Europeans aged between 16 and 29 tend to have a higher level of trust in others than the general population. In 2023, the EU average for this category was 6.1, compared to 5.8 for the population as a whole.

Romania stands out clearly in this regard as well. In 2023, Romanian young people (16-29) had the highest level of trust in the entire Union, with a score of 7.7, surpassing Croatia (7.2) and Poland (7.0). Last year, Romania’s youth scored even higher, with 7.8, the highest value recorded by any member state.

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