Britons’ overall satisfaction with infrastructure has dropped off significantly since 2024 amidst changes in political leadership and a challenging economic outlook.
The Global Infrastructure Index 2026 is produced by the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA) and carried out in partnership with Ipsos.
When last surveyed two years ago, 37% of Index respondents across Great Britain said they were satisfied with their current national infrastructure. This figure now sits at just 26%.
Vocal dissatisfaction extends to the country’s past track record in delivering national infrastructure projects, with only one in five (19%) agreeing that Britain has a good record of doing so. Additionally, 71% of Britons don’t believe infrastructure has been adapted enough to cope with future changes in the climate.
Despite reservations around Britain’s infrastructure track record, the public does strongly recognise the benefits of investing in infrastructure – 81% agree that investment will create new jobs and boost the British economy.
68% of respondents are comfortable with private sector investment in infrastructure where it delivers results. And when asked about their preferences between the public and private sector as sources of funding or financing, the public favour either the private sector as a source on its own or public-private collaboration.
This preference extends to financing that will create new jobs and boost the economy, build new infrastructure within budget and to deadline, and harness new technology – underpinning the private sector’s perceived efficiency to deliver.
As the UK strives to deliver its wider infrastructure strategy, creating a stronger public-private partnership pipeline would open greater opportunities for Great Britain to unlock these benefits for communities around the country – realising the government’s intention for “world class infrastructure”.
The Index’s findings come against a backdrop of widely recognised challenges in public funding across Britain, and indeed many other G7 countries who have seen a similar drop in public satisfaction with infrastructure delivery. In the UK, it is estimated that £345 billion in private capital is required over the coming decade to meet the government’s infrastructure funding goals of almost £2 trillion by 2040.
According to the Index, water supply and sewerage remain the biggest priority for investment for Britain. This is a priority also firmly reflected in the government’s welcome progress on water reform to date, although it will need to maintain momentum to secure further investment still needed to truly modernise the sector.
Internationally, the Index finds water supply and sewerage among the top three priority sectors for investment in 18 out of 29 of the country’s covered.
Transport infrastructure and renewable energy generation follow water as further priority infrastructure sectors – motorways, which remain primarily publicly funded in the UK, saw the highest percentage increase among sectors since 2024.
Jon Phillips, Chief Executive of GIIA, said:
“The British public are increasingly dissatisfied with the state of the country’s infrastructure – sending a clear wake-up call to the government that it must do more to enable delivery.
“But what’s encouraging for the government – faced with tough choices on public spending – is that the large majority of people are also open-minded about how future projects should be delivered, recognising the benefits in terms of jobs and economic growth. This includes openness to working collaboratively with private capital and expertise to deliver projects with real-world impact.
“With an impending change in government leadership, infrastructure investors in the UK and beyond are primed to work closely with ministers and policymakers to turn appetite for modern, resilient British infrastructure into a reality – keeping communities up and down the country powered, connected, and thriving.”
The full Global Infrastructure Index 2026 results deck can be found here.