Study: Russia is among the five countries whose residents trust scientists least of all

More than 70,000 people from 67 countries participated in the survey

Sociologist Victoria Cologna from Leibniz University Hannover in Germany and her colleagues surveyed 71,417 people in 67 countries to determine how much they trust scientists. The study , published in January, took place from November 2022 to August 2023.

Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of one to five how much they agreed with a dozen statements about the honesty, competence, benevolence, and openness of scientists. A higher score corresponded to a greater level of trust.

The average trust score was 3.62. Most respondents said they perceived scientists as highly competent, moderately honest, and benevolent. Three-quarters of those surveyed agreed that scientific methods are the best way to establish the truth.

The countries with the highest level of trust in science were Egypt (4.3 points) and India (4.26). The top five also included Nigeria, Kenya and Australia.

Respondents from the US, UK and China showed an “above average” level of trust in scientists. In Germany, Hong Kong and Japan, trust levels were below average.

The top five countries with the lowest level of trust in scientists were Albania (3.05 points) and Kazakhstan (3.13), Bolivia (3.22), Russia (3.23) and Ethiopia (3.23). The authors of the work noted that in Russia and some former Soviet republics, trust in scientists is “somewhat reduced.”

More than 50% of respondents believe that scientists should cooperate more actively with politicians and participate in the development of political decisions. “But we see some politicians ignoring and questioning climate scientists,” the authors note.

The study also found that 80% of people think scientists should talk more about science with the general public.

“The overall message is positive. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have greatly polarized people's trust in scientists, levels of trust are quite high across a wide range of demographic groups,” sums up one of the study's authors, psychologist James Lew at New Zealand's Massey University in Auckland.

Some of the questions that respondents answered concerned their political views. This showed that, globally, support for left-wing movements is associated with greater levels of trust in science. This connection was observed in Canada, the USA, Great Britain, Norway and China. However, in some countries, including Georgia, Egypt, the Philippines, Nigeria and Greece, left-wing views, on the contrary, were combined with lower levels of trust.

And in 41 countries, including New Zealand, Argentina and Mexico, researchers found no significant connection between respondents’ political views and trust in scientists.

“These contradictory results may be explained by the fact that in some countries, right-wing parties may have cultivated animosity towards scientists among their supporters, while in other countries, left-wing parties may have done so,” the researchers said.