Trust in EU rural areas

In this work, trends and drivers of rural trust in institutions are derived based on respondent-level data from the Standard Eurobarometer surveys. We find that, in terms of trust towards the EU, a considerable urban-rural gap exists, with 48% of rural residents declaring that they tend to trust the EU in 2024,12 percentage points less than city residents (60%). Rural trust in the EU, however, can vary substantially between Member States, with lowest levels being found in France (35%). On the other hand, rural residents place high levels of trust in regional and local authorities (65%), independently of their opinions towards the EU. Less education, more financial difficulties and less qualified jobs, which are more common in rural areas, are all associated with a lower trust towards the EU. After controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, however, we find that living in a rural area is still significantly associated with lower trust in the EU, hinting at a connection between rural challenges and citizens’ opinions that goes beyond individual circumstances.