A new study created by the Military Academy and the Centre for Security Studies has found that people in Switzerland mostly trust the country’s biggest institutions. Many Swiss residents regard the country’s military and security institutions highly, while the media remains the most distrusted profession in the alpine nation. 

Switzerland’s police force is the country’s most trusted institution

In the study, residents were asked which Swiss institution they trusted the most, giving each sector a trustworthiness score out of 10. The survey, which took place before the beginning of the war in Ukraine, found that the Swiss police force is the most trusted institution in the country. Interestingly, 57 percent of the Swiss population said that they believe security “takes precedence over freedom,” while the number of people who believed freedom is more important than security dropped by 9 percent since the last survey in 2018. 

The study’s authors - ETH university in Zurich, Military Academy (ACAMIL) and the Centre for Security Studies (CSS) - found that 94 percent of those questioned claimed to have a general feeling of security when living in Switzerland, but a further 68 percent said that they feel concerned about the evolution of world politics.

The Swiss population back neutrality

A majority of the survey’s respondents said that they back Switzerland’s neutral stance when it comes to conflict, though 79 percent of the country still sees a need for the army. Only 16 percent of those surveyed said they would like to see Switzerland join the EU, and just 26 percent said they felt that Switzerland should join NATO.

The institutions that were the least trusted in Switzerland were the media (scoring just 5,4 out of a possible 10), and political parties (5,5 out of 10).

Who do the Swiss trust the most?

The most trusted institutions in Switzerland as of January 2022 are (rated out of 10):

1. Swiss police force (7,9)
2. Scientists (7,8)
3. Swiss judicial system (7,6)
4. Swiss Federal Council (7,3)
5. Economic institutions like Swiss banks (7)
6. Swiss Parliament (6,8)
7. Swiss Army (6,7)
8. Swiss political parties (5,5)
9. The media (5,4)

For more details about the study and its findings, check out the full survey (in German).