American trust in US military no longer highest among G7 nations: Survey

Americans’ confidence in the U.S. military dipped last year, losing its top spot among the other Group of Seven (G7) countries, according to a new Gallup poll.

American’s confidence in the U.S. military dipped to 81 percent in 2023, down 5 points from 2022, when confidence stood at 86 percent. That’s according to a new Gallup World Poll released Wednesday.

Since 2006, Americans’ confidence in their nation’s military has typically ranked highly among the G7 nations — the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom — Gallup noted.

The U.S. was knocked from the top spot by France, where confidence in the country’s military is about 86 percent, the poll found. Confidence in the U.K.’s military ranks the second highest among the nations at 83 percent.

Japan is slightly behind the U.S. at 80 percent trust in its military, with Italy following closely behind at 79 percent, then Canada at 78 percent.

The findings follow a decline in Americans’ confidence in their military observed across other Gallup polls in recent months. In a Gallup survey released last July, Americans’ trust in the military dropped to 60 percent, the lowest level since 1997. Confidence had not been lower since 1988, when it sunk to 58 percent.

Other institutions in the U.S. have seen a drop in numbers in recent months, Gallup noted.

The U.S. is now tied with Italy for having the least faith in its judicial system among the G7 nations, at 42 percent confidence, according to Gallup. When it comes to trust in its national government, the U.S. has the lowest standing among the G7 nations with 30 percent.

The Gallup World Poll measures attitudes and behaviors of the globe’s residents. It is conducted through telephone surveys or in-person interviews, depending on the nation. The typical survey includes at least 1,000 individuals and the margin of error for the U.S. data set is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, Gallup noted.