Chile’s 25.7% Trust Figure Is an OECD Survey, Not a New Poll
CHILE · INSTITUTIONS
Key Facts
- —The figure 25.7% of Chileans report high or moderately high trust in the national government.
- —The source The OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, 2026 results.
- —The fieldwork September to November 2025. Before the current government took office.
- —The comparison An OECD average of roughly 40%.
- —The trend Down from 30.4% in the 2023 wave.
- —The correction This is not a new Chilean poll and does not measure the Kast government.
The number is real, the decline is real, and it describes a period that ended before the present government was sworn in.
A figure showing trust in Chile’s national government at 25.7% has been circulating this week as a new poll. It is not one: it comes from the OECD’s trust survey published in June, with fieldwork carried out in late 2025.
What the Figure Is
The 25.7% comes from the OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, the third wave of a cross-national exercise covering 38 member and candidate countries. The report was published on 29 June 2026.
It measures the share of Chileans reporting high or moderately high trust in the national government, down from 30.4% in the 2023 wave. The OECD average is around 40%, with roughly 43% of respondents across the organisation reporting low or no trust.
When the Fieldwork Was Done
The survey was conducted between September and November 2025. José Antonio Kast took office as president of Chile on 11 March 2026.
The figure therefore measures trust under the previous administration and says nothing about the current one. Presenting it as a reading on the government six months into its term inverts what the data covers.
This distinction is not pedantic. Trust measures move slowly, and a figure collected before a change of government is precisely the baseline against which the new administration will later be judged rather than a verdict on it.
The Rest of the Chilean Numbers
The same wave puts trust in the civil service at 20%, the lowest in the OECD against an organisation-wide average of 45%. Parliament sits between 16% and 19%, local government at about 33% against an average of 46%, and the courts at 24% to 25%.
Police score considerably higher, at roughly 49% to 52%, and political parties lowest of all at 11% to 14%.
The pattern is consistent across Latin American members: institutions that deliver a visible service score better than institutions that represent or adjudicate.
Why It Is Being Read as News
The exact 25.7% figure reached Chilean coverage partly through the think tank Pivotes, which reprocessed the OECD data, while Diario Financiero rounded it to 26%. That gave the number a second life several months after publication.
Some coverage has also confused the 2026 wave with the fieldwork dates of the 2023 wave. The Rio Times states the fieldwork period because it is the detail that decides what the figure means.
One outlet cited in circulating summaries could not be traced in any coverage of the data. The Chilean sources that carried it are La Tercera, Diario Financiero, La Razón and Cambio21.
What It Does Support
The claim that Chile’s gap with the OECD average has widened is supported. Chile recorded one of the steepest declines in the wave, and the distance from the 40% average is among the largest.
That is the durable finding, and it predates both the coup-anniversary unrest of this weekend and the change of government. It describes a decade-long erosion rather than an event.
It also sits awkwardly with Chile’s standing as one of the region’s better-administered states. The country scores comparatively well on corruption measures and on public service delivery, and still records trust below almost every OECD peer.
That combination points at expectations rather than performance. A population that was promised, and largely received, a functioning state judges it against a higher standard than one that was not.
More: Chile news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 25.7% figure?
The share of Chileans reporting high or moderately high trust in the national government, in the OECD trust survey published on 29 June 2026.
When was the fieldwork?
September to November 2025, before President Kast took office on 11 March 2026.
Is it a new poll?
No. It is an OECD cross-national survey, recirculated this week.
What is the OECD average?
Around 40%.
What was the previous reading?
30.4% in the 2023 wave.
Sources: OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2026, La Tercera, Diario Financiero.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
In depth