In this article, levels of confidence in state and non-state institutions are investigated and compared in Chile, Germany, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey. Varying levels of confidence are measured by analysing two different data sets: one derived from surveys conducted on political elites, and the other from those conducted on the general public in all seven countries under investigation. Three explanatory models for confidence in institutions are introduced and tested to assess the extent to which they account for variances in levels of confidence between and amongst political elite and the general public of the seven nations. Although the three explanatory models appear to be weak, the results show that political factors are most significant in explaining confidence in state institutions amongst the political elite, while social and cultural factors best explain their confidence in non-state institutions. A combination of social, cultural and political factors best explains institutional confidence amongst the masses.