Global survey finds public trust in science second highest in India

New Delhi: Public trust in science is the second highest in India, following Egypt, with a moderately high level overall worldwide, according to a survey spanning 68 countries, including under-researched ones in the Global South.

Australia ranked fifth and Bangladesh sixth, while New Zealand ranked ninth and the US twelfth for public trust in scientists.

The analysis, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, found no evidence for the oft-repeated claim of a crisis of trust in science, researchers said.

"Our results show that most people in most countries have a relatively high level of trust in scientists and want them to play an active role in society and politics," lead researcher Viktoria Cologna, from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, said. The survey, the first in a post-pandemic world, included nearly 72,000 people.

The majority of the participants also perceived scientists as qualified (78 per cent), honest (57 per cent) and concerned about people's well-being (56 per cent), the authors found.

However, significant differences between countries were noticed -- in particular, people with right-wing political views in Western countries tend to have less trust in scientists than those with left-wing views.

Further, 83 per cent of the survey respondents believed that scientists should communicate with the public about science, and 52 per cent that scientists should be more involved in the policy-making process, the researchers found.

The participants also gave high priority to research related to improving public health, solving energy problems, and reducing poverty.

While research related to developing defence and military technology was given a lower priority overall, people in African and Asian countries often demand high priority for developing defence and military technology, the authors said.

"Our results also show that many people in many countries feel that the priorities of science are not always well aligned with their own priorities. We recommend that scientists take these results seriously and find ways to be more receptive to feedback and open to dialogue with the public," co-author Niels G. Mede, from the University of Zurich, said.

"Our 68-country survey challenges the idea that there is a widespread lack of public trust in scientists. In most countries, scientists and scientific methods are trusted," the authors wrote.

The study provides global, representative survey data on the populations and regions in which researchers are perceived to be most trustworthy, the extent to which they should engage with the public, and whether science is prioritising important research issues, the team said.