Public Trust in President Hits 91%, Indikator Survey Finds

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Public trust in President Prabowo Subianto reached 91% as of Jan 15–21, 2026 based on a national survey conducted across Indonesia, signaling strong confidence in the presidency as the administration pushed its governance agenda.

Indikator Politik Indonesia conducted the survey with 1,220 respondents and a margin of error of ±2.9% at a 95% confidence level, using face-to-face interviews and proportional sampling across all 38 provinces.

Founder and lead researcher of Indikator Politik Indonesia Burhanuddin Muhtadi said trust in the presidency typically ran higher than performance satisfaction because respondents evaluated the institution differently from day-to-day policy outcomes.

“Trust in the presidency is structurally higher than approval ratings because people may still have policy complaints, yet they believe the institution of the president is acting in the right direction,” Burhanuddin said.

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Burhanuddin said President Prabowo entered office with unusually large political capital, which continued to shape perceptions more than a year after the Oct 20, 2024 inauguration.

“President Prabowo has a very strong electoral base, combining his own supporters with those of former president Joko Widodo, and this dual foundation is still clearly reflected in public trust today,” Burhanuddin said.

The survey ranked the Indonesian National Armed Forces as the most trusted institution, while placing the presidency in the top tier and keeping political parties and the House of Representatives near the bottom.

Burhanuddin linked the strength of public trust to perceptions of tougher law enforcement and anti-corruption measures, while warning that economic pressure could quickly reshape sentiment, especially among urban middle-class voters.

“Trust can rise and fall quickly if economic pressures intensify, especially for the middle class, which tends to be more critical and more exposed to rising living costs,” he said.

The same survey put President Prabowo’s approval rating at 79.9%, combining 13.0% “very satisfied” and 66.9% “fairly satisfied,” while 18.8% said they were “less satisfied” and 5.6% “not satisfied.”

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Burhanuddin said the approval number remained high by historical standards for a first-year presidency, but he noted the relatively small share of “very satisfied” respondents as a signal the government still faced expectations it had yet to fully meet.

“Overall approval is strong, but the level of very satisfied respondents is still limited, and that means the administration cannot assume public enthusiasm will sustain itself without continued delivery,” he said.

Asked why satisfied respondents approved of the president’s performance, Burhanuddin said the most cited reason was the belief that President Prabowo was eradicating corruption, followed by perceptions that he frequently provided assistance and social support.

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“The top reason people say they are satisfied is the view that the president is serious about fighting corruption, and the second is that he is seen as often giving aid, which became more prominent after the government intensified support programs,” Burhanuddin said.

Among dissatisfied respondents, Burhanuddin said the leading complaint was that assistance was not well targeted or not evenly distributed, followed by concerns that there was not yet enough tangible proof of results and that the economy still felt unstable for some households.

“Those who are not satisfied most often say the aid is not on target or not evenly distributed, and others say they have not seen concrete results yet, which is why the economy remains a critical factor for approval,” he said.