This article is more than 2 years old.

January 21, 2015 This article is more than 2 years old.

Across the globe, 2014 was a difficult year that eroded trust in businesses and institutions.

But not in India, where trust is on the up and up.

That’s according to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual report commissioned by public relations firm Edelman and released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The report, which surveyed 33,000 people across 27 nations, calculates a “trust index” score for each country that takes into account subjects’ trust in government, business, media, and NGOs.

Edelman

India was the second most-trusted country by its own citizens, falling behind the United Arab Emirates. On last year’s list, India was the fifth most-trusted country behind China, UAE, Singapore, and Indonesia. Why the leap in faith? It may be due to a wave of optimism brought on by the election of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The global perception of India’s companies isn’t as rosy. Just 34% of those surveyed globally said that they trusted businesses headquartered in India.

Edelman

In fact, all the BRIC nations fall low on the second list. Perhaps businesses in the developing world are changing so fast that their reputations can’t keep up.