U.S. Perceptions of Government Corruption Hit Record 89%, Now Highest in OECD

Gallup’s latest polling finds 89% of American adults believe corruption is widespread in their government — the highest reading in two decades and a 10-point jump in a single year, well above the 72%–79% band that held from 2010 through 2025. The surge is notable for cutting across party lines: it is the near-convergence of partisans, rather than one side pulling the average up, that produced the record.

The partisan mechanics differ, though. Democrats’ views track closely with who controls the White House, climbing from 57% in Biden’s final year to 76% in 2025 and 91% now. Independents sit at 90%, closer to Democrats than to Republicans. Republicans have stayed comparatively flat at roughly 80% across the past two years despite winning the presidency and Congress in 2024 — suggesting their concern reflects a more baseline distrust of government that is less sensitive to which party is in power.

Internationally, the U.S. has broken from its peers. The OECD median for perceived government corruption has fallen below 60%, while the U.S. climbed to 79% in 2025 — a 20-point gap that put it atop the bloc’s rankings for the first time, even before this year’s further increase. Only Lebanon, Peru, Ghana, and Nigeria have posted higher numbers among 132 countries since 2023. Domestically, perceived government corruption (89%) now towers over perceived business corruption (71%), an 18-point gap that is the widest in the U.S. trend and unusual by global standards.