For over twenty years, CBOS has been asking questions regarding social trust. Among Poles, the prevailing opinion remains that one should exercise caution in relationships with others. Currently, this view is expressed by three-quarters (75%), while just over one-fifth (22%) believe that, in general, most people can be trusted. Since the beginning of our measurements, opinions on this subject have changed only slightly.

Which of the two opinions regarding social life in Poland is closer to your views?

The trust indicator in the business area, however, looks significantly better than in the previous measurement. Nearly four out of ten respondents believe that trust in business partners generally pays off (39%, an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous measurement in 2024), which is the highest result in the history of our studies. Just under one-third of respondents (32%, a decrease of 7 percentage points) think that such an attitude generally brings negative consequences.

Which of the two opinions regarding social life in Poland is closer to your views?

As in previous years, in addition to the general attitude toward others, we have been interested in Poles' attitudes towards state and international institutions. We presented respondents with a list of fourteen institutions and asked how much they trusted each of them. For half of the institutions, trust was predominant, while for the others, there was prevalence of (greater or lesser) distrust.

Polish institutions associated with security enjoy the highest confidence. Over four-fifths (83%) trust the military. The police rank next, trusted by over seven out of ten respondents (71%). A very similar level of confidence is given by Poles to NATO (70%) and local authorities (69%). About three-fifths trust public officials and the public administration (60%) and the Commissioner for Human Rights (58%), while nearly half trust the European Union (48%).

In relation to other surveyed institutions and organizations, the predominant attitude is distrust. With respect to the president, we observe a very similar level of trust (46%) and distrust (47%). Trust in the courts is declared by nearly two-fifths of respondents (37%), while over half express distrust toward them (51%). Confidence in the Sejm and Senate and the government is expressed by nearly one-third (32% for each), while distrust is declared by about three-fifths (59% and 61%, respectively). Fewer people trust the media (27%). The last two places in the ranking are occupied by the Constitutional Tribunal (21%) and political parties (19%).

Do you generally trust or distrust the following institutions?

Compared to the 2024 survey when we observed favourable changes in confidence in most of the institutions included in the study, we can currently see a decline in trust towards the vast majority of them. The Polish government and NATO lost the most (both down by 11 percentage points), followed by the Sejm and Senate (down by 9 points), the EU and the media (down by 7 points each), and political parties (down by 6 points). The exception is the presidential office (an increase of 6 percentage points) and the Constitutional Tribunal (the same level as in 2024).