Public Perceptions of the Present and Future of Myanmar 8 1.1 Interpersonal trust Social science research has indicated a correlation between higher social capitalcharacterized by a higher level of interpersonal trust- and social economic development within the society. Several surveys were conducted between 2015 and 2020 to measure the level of trust within society following the political and economic reform in 2010. In this survey, the Blue Shirt would like to explore any changes in interpersonal trust after the coup in 2021. The level of distrust within society continues to increase, with more than eight out of ten respondents (85 percent) expressing that they need to be very careful when dealing with people since the 2024 survey, and only 13 percent show trust in other people. This is the lowest level of trust recorded in Myanmar in the last ten years. Previously, the lowest level of trust was measured at 17 percent in 2017 (PACE 2017-Public Opinion on Citizens’ Democratic Aspirations). However, there has been a slight increase in trust compared to last year's survey. This perception is shared across the respondents regardless of age, sex, education or whether they live in urban or rural, and states or regions. 3% 13% Most people can be trusted Need to be very careful DK/RA 85% Fig-2 : Interpersonal trust (Overall) n=2808