Confidence in future drops: Only 31% of Singaporeans think next generation will do better

SINGAPORE: According to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer report, trust in business, government, media, and non-governmental organisations (NGO) has gone up by one percentage point over the past year, from a global average of 56 to 57%.

In Singapore, the level of trust has gone down by one point, going from 65% in 2025 to 64% in 2026. Nevertheless, it has a relatively high trust rating among the 28 countries that were surveyed and bucks the trend among developed nations, many of which are showing trust levels between 49% (Australia) and 37% (Japan).

Perhaps most significantly, the latest Edelman Trust Barometer shows that many countries in the world are retreating towards insularity, which is defined as a lack of knowledge or interest in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one’s own experience.

On average, seven in 10 people surveyed said they are hesitant or unwilling to trust someone different from themselves, including those who have a different culture, background, or lifestyle.  Around 74% of Singaporeans had this response

“As economic anxiety, geopolitical tension, and technological disruption intensify, people are narrowing their world to smaller, familiar circles that reflect their views, and this hinders economic and societal progress,” the report pointed out.

How Singaporeans feel about the future

However, Singapore has shown a double-digit decline in answering the question “How do you think the state of things in your country will be for the next generation compared to how things are in your country today?”

Last year, 42% of Singaporeans surveyed said they believed the next generation would be better off compared to today. For 2026, this figure has fallen to 31%. Thailand, India, and China have shown similar double-digit declines.

Singapore’s level of belief in a better future for the next generation is more or less in keeping with the global average of 32%. There has been a four-point decline over the past year, and only a handful of nations, including Australia, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, and Nigeria, showed an increase in numbers.

Though the survey was taken late last year, before the current conflict in the Middle East occurred, bringing fears of a global recession, there was already a sizable rise in the number of respondents who said they worried about the international trade and tariff conflicts affecting the company they work for. From 2019 to 2026, there has been an 8% increase.

As for employment security, from 2020 to 2026, there has been a 6% increase in respondents who said they worried about losing their job as a result of a looming recession.

A significant portion of workers also expressed fears over being left behind as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is adopted more and more, especially among low-income earners (54%) versus high-income earners (31%). /TISG

Read also: Report shows gov’t is still number 1 trusted institution in Singapore —Singapore News