The “light” sees a large international sample survey conducted by Gallup on behalf of the British Scientific Foundation Wellcome Trust, according to which people around the world have increased their confidence in science and scientists amid the pandemic of coronavirus, in relation to 2018.
41% of people said in 2020-21 “a lot” of confidence in science and 43% in the scientists of their country, percentage higher by about 9% compared to 2018. This finding is encouraging given the widespread misinformation, mainly on social media, about coronavirus and vaccines. In fact, research shows that Doctors and nurses enjoy the greatest international trust: 45% expressed “a lot” of confidence in them (compared to 43% in scientists in general).
The research –the largest of its kind in the world on public perceptions of science and researchers – took place between August 2020 and February 2021 in approximately 119,000 people over the age of 15 in 113 countries (including Greece), at a time when vaccines were not yet widely available in several countries.
Survey: How much do the respondents trust science?
80% of respondents said they trusted science “a lot” or “to some degree”, while 77% said they trusted scientists “a lot” or “to some degree”. 37% said they trusted science “too much” to find accurate information (compared to 29% in 2018), while 47% said that the work of scientists benefits the “more” people in their country (compared to 41% in 2018). .
Although those who say they know “a lot” about science are also the ones who trust it the most, the levels of trust in science in general and scientists in particular have increased more significantly than those who in the previous corresponding public opinion poll in 2018 had stated that they knew “Some”, “not many” or “absolutely nothing” about science, as broadcast by APE-MPE. This shows that some people without scientific training or information became more aware of the importance of science in the midst of a pandemic.
In which parts of the world has confidence in science increased
The percentage of people who have declared “a lot” of confidence in science increased by at least 10% in East Asia (especially in China), in Latin America, in East Europe and in Southeast Asia. Scientists have the greatest confidence in Australians and New Zealanders (“Many” 62%), while the smallest are the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa (“many” only 19%).
Globally, only 25% of people estimate that governments value “a lot” in the opinions and know-how of scientists.
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