This is a company and institution trusted by global citizens, while government trust is relatively low.

Ipsos Global's research institute released a list of companies and institutions deemed most trustworthy by global citizens in a 2021 survey.

Technology companies ranked first, chosen by 34% of respondents. While in first place, Ipsos noted this percentage is down from 38% in a 2018 survey.

Pharmaceutical companies came in second, with 31% of respondents selecting them. This represents an increase from 25% in the previous survey.

Banking institutions ranked third, with 28% of respondents choosing them. This is up from 20% in the 2018 survey.

However, governments received only 20% of the votes, placing them among the bottom three out of the nine sectors studied. Despite this, Ipsos noted that this figure is up from 14% in the previous survey.

"One possible explanation for this increase is how these sectors acted during the Covid-19 pandemic," Ipsos wrote in its report.

In the first wave of the Global Trustworthiness Monitor three years prior, Ipsos analyzed this perspective by examining various data sources and trends worldwide.

At that time, Ipsos concluded that globally, trust in most institutions, sectors, and professions had remained remarkably stable over a long period. Furthermore, changes over the past 20 years had been slow.

"There is no evidence to suggest this observation is incorrect," Ipsos wrote.

Ipsos provided respondents with a list of companies and institutions. Respondents were asked to indicate their level of trust on a scale of 1-5, with 1 representing "very trustworthy" and 5 representing "not very trustworthy."

The survey was conducted from June 25th to July 9th, 2021, using an online panel in 29 countries.

A total of 21,503 adults aged 16-74 participated in most countries. Respondents aged 18-74 were included in some countries, such as Canada, Malaysia, and the United States.

The research results have not been adjusted for the population size of each country or market. Ipsos stated that these findings are not intended to represent total results.

The following nine companies and institutions were deemed trustworthy by respondents in 2021:

* Technology companies: 34% of total respondents
* Pharmaceutical companies: 31%
* Banking institutions: 28%
* Automotive companies: 27%
* Public services: 27%
* Oil and Gas companies: 22%
* Governments: 20%
* Media: 19%
* Social media companies: 17%