South Korea vs United States: Share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted"
South Korea
32.9%
in 2022
United States
37.0%
in 2022
South Korea rank
17th
United States rank
14th
Share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted" over time
- South Korea
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 37.0% against 32.9% in South Korea, a difference of 4.1%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times South Korea's.
Across all 7 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 17th and United States ranks 14th of 39 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 36.0% | 39.2% | 3.3% | United States |
| 1990s | 31.9% | 42.5% | 10.6% | United States |
| 2000s | 27.3% | 35.5% | 8.2% | United States |
| 2010s | 27.2% | 37.0% | 9.7% | United States |
| 2020s | 32.9% | 37.0% | 4.1% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted", South Korea or United States?
- United States, at 37.0% against 32.9% in South Korea as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted" between South Korea and United States?
- 4.1%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?
- 7 years are reported by both, from 1984 to 2022.
- How do South Korea and United States rank globally for share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted"?
- South Korea ranks 17th and United States ranks 14th of 39 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted". Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
% of respondents replying "Most people can be trusted" when asked "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?" Possible answers include "Most people can be trusted", "Do not know" and "Need to be very careful".