The Week in Charts

Welcome to The Week in Charts, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Ukrainians Support Their Military

Line Chart: 94% of Ukrainians say they have confidence in their country's military in 2022.

As Ukrainians battle to fight off Russia's invasion, the Gallup World Poll gives us a one-of-a-kind look into how Ukrainians are experiencing the war firsthand. The biggest surprise has been the performance of Ukrainians themselves. Before the most recent counteroffensive, nine in 10 Ukrainians said they have confidence in their military, nearly double the rate found two short years ago. Ukrainians' confidence in their military has skyrocketed since the year before the invasion and Moscow's initial attempts to take Kyiv were defeated.

2. Americans' Trust in the Federal Government

Line Chart: Trust in the U.S. legislative branch, by party identification, from 1997 to 2022.

It's no secret that public trust in the federal government is low, but our latest updates on the subject highlight just how deep Americans' confidence rut is. While the legislative branch, better known as Congress, still elicits the least confidence, the judicial branch has seen the most change to its image, nosediving to nearly meet the other two branches of government.
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3. How Bad Is the Partisan Divide in America?

Dot Plot: Trust in U.S. government branches and levels by political party in 2022.

After two years of Joe Biden in the White House, is America really as divided along partisan lines as it was under Donald Trump? This is a question I get often, and here's the answer … it's remained as bad, if not gotten slightly worse. In fact, whether one expresses trust in the executive branch is now more dependent than during Trump's presidency on whether the respondent identifies with the same political party as the incumbent. And partisan differences in trust in the judicial branch have exploded to the widest yet.
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4. A Confluence of Grievances in Iran

Bar Chart: Rates of real employment in 13 MENA countries in 2021.

While protests sweeping Iran erupted in reaction to a violation of personal freedoms, the nation's various economic challenges, and the social pressure they create, might explain the widespread expression of public dissatisfaction that we are witnessing with the regime. When it comes to employment, Iranian adults are among the least likely across the MENA region to say they work full time for an employer.

5. Not All Government Is Bad

Line Chart: 67% of Americans have trust in their local government in 2022.

With all the talk of distrust in government and partisanship, it's easy to gloss over a very critical and enduring distinction we've learned studying public opinion for decades — local government does much better than the federal government in terms of public trust and confidence. While not anything to celebrate, the relatively higher ratings for local and state governments are a refreshing change from the skeptical sentiments about government at the federal level.
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And that's The Week in Charts!

Mohamed Younis
Editor-in-Chief
Gallup

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