‘Pakistanis Trust Teachers the Most; Police the Least’

From a given list of professionals, Pakistanis place the highest level of trust in teachers (85 per cent) and the lowest in police officers (18 per cent), showed the results of a recent Gilani Poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan.

In the survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were shown a list of people representing different professions and asked: “With regard to honesty and integrity, do you trust people belonging to the following professions?”

Results showed that 85 per cent respondents said they trust teachers, 63 per cent trust labourers, 52 per cent trust government officials, 51 per cent each trust journalists and shopkeepers while only 18 per cent trust police officers.

The results indicated that while the largest majority of Pakistanis trusts teachers and policemen are trusted the least, labourers, shopkeepers, journalists and government officials fall in the middle in terms of the public trust.

A comparison with the results of a similar survey conducted in 2000 showed that while teachers and policemen have retained their position as most trusted and least trusted professionals respectively, trust in shopkeepers has risen significantly (33 per cent to 51 per cent) in the last decade.