Which jobs do people trust most? According to the 2026 edition of the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index, doctors, scientists and teachers top the list, with doctors in first place at a net trust score of plus 43 percentage points. At the bottom, politicians, social media influencers and cabinet ministers are trusted by far fewer people than distrust them.
The market research firm surveyed 23,537 people in 31 countries. Taiwan was not among them.
The Full Ranking Of 20 Professions
The index, released in September, covers 22 professions and social groups. Data site Visual Capitalist compiled a ranking of 20 professions from the results, excluding "ordinary people" and AI chatbots. The net trust score is the share of respondents who find a profession trustworthy minus the share who find it untrustworthy. A positive number means more people trust the profession than distrust it, and a negative number means the reverse.
- Doctors: plus 43
- Scientists: plus 42
- Teachers: plus 37
- Armed forces: plus 16
- Personal trainers: plus 10
- Tech entrepreneurs: plus 6
- Judges: plus 5
- Police: plus 5
- Lawyers: 0
- Pollsters: minus 2
- Television news readers: minus 3
- Business leaders: minus 8
- Civil servants: minus 9
- Journalists: minus 10
- Bankers: minus 10
- Clergy: minus 11
- Advertising executives: minus 26
- Government ministers: minus 37
- Social media influencers: minus 44
- Politicians: minus 48
Why Doctors, Scientists And Teachers Lead Worldwide
Doctors were rated trustworthy by 58% of respondents, scientists by 57% and teachers by 53%. They were the only three professions trusted by more than half of those surveyed. In 27 of the 31 countries, the same three professions took the top three spots, suggesting that medicine, science and education command high trust across very different societies.
Professional credentials alone do not guarantee trust, however. Judges scored a net plus 5, while lawyers came in at zero, with as many people trusting them as distrusting them. Both television news readers and journalists landed in negative territory, at minus 3 and minus 10.
Where Bankers And Tech Entrepreneurs Stand
In business and finance, tech entrepreneurs earned a net score of plus 6, business leaders minus 8 and bankers minus 10, tied with journalists.
Views of the same profession can differ sharply from country to country. Across the 31 countries, an average of 31% of respondents found tech entrepreneurs trustworthy and 25% found them untrustworthy. In the United States, however, only 22% trusted them and 38% did not.
Why Politicians Rank Last
The gaps at the bottom of the ranking are just as stark. Advertising executives, government ministers and social media influencers placed 17th to 19th, while politicians came last at minus 48, the least trusted of all 20 professions. Only 13% of respondents said politicians are trustworthy, while 61% said they are not. Social media influencers were trusted by just 14%, and advertising executives by 15%.
Even within government, perceptions vary widely. The net score for ordinary civil servants was 28 points higher than that for government ministers and cabinet officials.
How The Survey Was Conducted
Ipsos conducted the survey online from June 19 to July 3, 2026, interviewing 23,537 adults in 31 countries, with slightly different age ranges in different countries. Respondents rated professions and social groups in their own country on a five point scale of trustworthiness, and net scores were calculated from the results.
The figures reflect averages across the 31 countries. Because respondents in some countries are more urban and better educated than the general population, the results may not fully represent all residents of those countries.
YP