Survey: Romanians place highest trust in Church and Army, Parliament last

The Church and the Army are the institutions Romanians trust the most, while Parliament ranks last in public confidence, according to the latest Informat.ro – INSCOP Research Barometer. The data was collected between January 12 and 15.

Roughly 64% of respondents said they have a high or very high level of trust in the Church, up from 57.7% in July 2025. The Army followed closely, with 61.8% expressing strong confidence, slightly below the level recorded in the previous edition, of 63%.

Trust in the Police stands at 50%, marking a notable increase compared with mid-2025, when the figure was 43.2%.

By contrast, political institutions continue to record low levels of public trust. The Presidency is trusted by 27.9% of respondents, down from 34.8% in July 2025, followed by the justice system at 25.4% and the government at 18.4%.

The Parliament ranks last, with only 11.9% of respondents saying they have high or very high confidence in the institution, down from 14.5% last July.

“Political institutions are trapped in a structural credibility deficit. This is not merely about temporary dissatisfaction, but about a chronic lack of trust in representative institutions. It points to a rupture between citizens and the classic mechanisms of representative democracy, which fuels populism, anti-system discourse, and radical forms of political representation,” said INSCOP Research director Remus Ștefureac.

The survey also revealed differences across social groups. Trust in the Church is higher among older respondents, rural residents, and voters of PSD (the Social Democrats) and AUR (the Alliance for the Union of Romanians), while the Army enjoys stronger confidence among PSD and PNL (the Liberals) voters and people over 60. The Parliament remains the least trusted institution across most demographic categories.

The survey was conducted using telephone interviews on a nationally representative sample of 1,100 adults. The margin of error is ±3%, at a 95% confidence level.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)