Citizens’ trust in public institutions in the global South: empirical evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

Trust signals the effectiveness of governance by reflecting citizen confidence in public institutions. This article examines reported trust in civil service and local government, aggregated as public administration, across Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, using nationally representative Governance and Trust data from 2020–2021 (n = 6240; 2740 in Bangladesh; 2256 in Nepal, and 1244 in Sri Lanka). The findings reveal high levels of trust despite widespread perceptions of corruption, which challenges dominant Global North assumptions that corruption undermines trust. Although corruption remains endemic, regression analysis shows that it does not positively predict citizen trust. This paradox reflects the region’s social orientation, characterised by an authoritarian culture that fosters obedience and loyalty. Citizens also face heavy administrative burdens, including onerous rules and processes. Additionally, given the oppressive governance context in these countries, citizens may overestimate the government’s actions out of fear of harassment. Importantly, as the data predate Sri Lanka’s 2022 and Bangladesh’s 2024 uprisings, this article interprets such trust as conditional, fragile, and likely to collapse when fairness norms weaken or repression intensifies.