SINGAPORE has come out second top of 26 economies in a ranking of the level of trust people have in institutions.

This includes business, government, non-governmental organisations and media.

This was a notch up from Singapore's third place last year while it was ranked seventh in 2011.

China took pole position for the second year in a row in the Edelman Trust Barometer, conducted in 26 economies to measure the level of trust in institutions.

India, Mexico and Hong Kong also made the top five.

The ranking was done through online interviews with more than 31,000 respondents.

The study found that trust in the authorities in Singapore had increased against the backdrop of the shaky global economy.

"As the global economic environment continued to cast a shadow over Singapore, trust in government increased, possibly reflecting the faith Singapore-at-large has in the Government to navigate through choppy waters," said Ms Amanda Goh, managing director of Edelman Singapore.