Americans Believe Government Corruption Is Widespread, Gallup Poll Finds

Eighty-nine percent of Americans now believe corruption is widespread in American government, the highest level recorded in two decades, according to new Gallup polling.The survey, released Wednesday, found the number of people who believe government corruption is common has jumped 10 percentage points from last year and is now well above the 72 percent to 79 percent range recorded between 2010 and 2025.The surge has been driven largely by Democrats, whose views have shifted sharply depending on who controls the White House. In President Biden’s final year in office, 57 percent of Democrats said corruption was widespread in government. That figure climbed to 76 percent in 2025, the first year of President Trump’s second term, and reached 91 percent this year.Independents now track closely with Democrats. Ninety percent say corruption is widespread, up 12 points since 2024. Republicans, by contrast, have held remarkably steady: 83 percent share that view this year, roughly in line with the 87 percent recorded in 2024.“In a country where many are polarized across a wide range of issues, this is one case where bipartisanship reflects shared alarm as much as shared consensus,” the pollsters wrote. “In fact, it is the near convergence of U.S. partisans on the issue — with Democrats’ concern about government corruption now only marginally higher than Republicans’ — that has lifted the U.S. figure to its record high.”Gallup notes that although strong majorities in both parties see government corruption as pervasive, the reasons likely differ. Democrats’ perceptions appear closely tied to which party holds power, while Republicans’ consistency — even after winning the White House and Congress in 2024 — “suggests a more underlying view of government corruption that depends less on the party in power.”The United States increasingly stands apart from other wealthy nations on this measure. Across the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the median level of perceived government corruption has fallen from 69 percent in 2009 to below 60 percent since 2022.The most recent comparable data, from 2025, showed a median of 59 percent across the OECD — 20 points lower than the 79 percent recorded in the US that year. That gap had already widened from 15 points in 2024, and this year’s additional 10-point U.S. increase could push it further still.The United States now ranks at the top of the OECD. Since 2023, only four of the 132 countries Gallup surveys annually have scored higher than this year’s U.S. figure: Lebanon (92 percent in 2024), Peru (92 percent in 2025), and Ghana and Nigeria (both 90 percent in 2024).Gallup measures perceptions of corruption in both government and business, and the two usually move together. In America, they no longer do. Americans’ perceptions of business corruption rose this year, up eight points to 71 percent. But that sits 18 points below the government figure — the largest gap between the two measures in the U.S. trend. Between 2006 and 2025, government corruption averaged just 11 points higher than business corruption.“Perceptions of government corruption are now higher in the U.S. than at any point in the past two decades and outpace most other countries, including advanced economies. While perceptions of corruption in business are also elevated, government corruption is seen as significantly more widespread,” the pollsters wrote.

Americans Believe Government Corruption Is Widespread, Gallup Poll Finds

Americans Believe Government Corruption Is Widespread, Gallup Poll Finds

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