Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Is Widespread

WASHINGTON — A Gallup poll published on September 2, 2026, found that 89% of U.S. adults say corruption is widespread in their government. That is the highest reading in the twenty years Gallup has asked the question: 10 percentage points above last year's 79%, and far above the 72%–79% range the measure moved within between 2010 and 2025.

The sharpest shift is among Democrats

The rise is driven largely by Democrats and independents. In 2024, the final year of Joe Biden's presidency, 57% of Democrats said government corruption was widespread; that share climbed to 76% in 2025, the first year of Donald Trump's second term, and reached 91% this year.

Independents moved from 78% in 2024 to 90% now. Republicans have barely changed — 87% in 2024, 81% in 2025 and 83% in 2026. Gallup notes that Democrats' perceptions appear closely tied to which party controls the administration, while Republicans' greater consistency, despite winning the White House and Congress in 2024, suggests a more underlying view of government corruption that depends less on the party in power.

How the U.S. compares

Perceptions in the United States had already diverged from other advanced economies before this year's jump. Across the 38 member countries of the OECD, the closest comparable median — from 2025, since 2026 data collection is not complete everywhere — stands at 59%. Since 2023, only four of the 132 countries where Gallup asks the question annually have scored nominally above the U.S. figure for 2026: Lebanon in 2024 (92%), Peru in 2025 (92%), and Ghana and Nigeria in 2024 (90% each).

Gallup has asked whether corruption is widespread in government every year since 2006, when 59% of Americans answered yes. This year's 89% is the highest result in that series.