Perceived U.S. government corruption reaches 89%, 18 points above business

  • Gallup found perceived U.S. government corruption reached a record 89% in 2026.
  • Government corruption perceptions exceeded business perceptions by 18 percentage points.
  • Democrats, independents and Republicans recorded perceptions of government corruption at 91%, 90% and 83%.

Perceived corruption in the U.S. government reached a record 89% in Gallup’s 2026 survey, up 10 percentage points from 2025 and 18 points above the 71% who saw widespread corruption in U.S. businesses. Concern rose among Democrats and independents to 91% and 90%, respectively, while 83% of Republicans held that view. A University of Massachusetts Amherst survey released the same day found 97% believed at least some government corruption existed. Gallup surveyed 1,000 U.S. residents aged 15 and older from May 1 through June 10, with a 4.1-point margin of error. The 2026 U.S. result was exceeded in Gallup’s post-2023 data by Lebanon, Peru, Ghana and Nigeria.

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