Survey: UAE citizens trust institutions less this year, but still trust more than rest of the world

A global public relations firm’s annual survey on trust has found UAE citizens are less trusting of institutions this year than they were last year.

But they still rank as among the most trusting of institutions of any citizenry in the world.

The survey by U.S.-based Edelman, which it has conducted since 2000, ranks the UAE fourth of 28 countries on the measure of “average trust in institutions.”

The UAE is one of five “truster” countries, according to Edelman. The others are India, Indonesia, China, and Singapore.

In last year’s survey, the UAE ranked second, behind China.

Russia, Poland, and Japan ranked as the least-trusting.

The UAE was the only Gulf country surveyed.

Edelman’s Trust Index tracks trust in institutions– government, business, media, non-government organizations (NGOs)– among a country’s citizenry.

Edelman surveyed 38,400 citizens of 28 countries between Oct. 13 and Nov. 16, 2016.

The survey breaks citizens into two segments.

Members of the “Informed Public” are ages 25-64, college-educated, in the top 25 percent of household income in their country and “report significant media consumption and engagement in business news.” This amounts to 13 percent of global population, according to Edelman.

Members of the “Mass Population”– 87 percent of global population– include those surveyed who don’t meet the aforementioned criteria.

Edelman’s 2017 Trust Index