Gallup survey reveals the two countries have the world’s highest levels of trust in scientists, with 62% saying they trust them ‘a lot’
As the Covid-19 pandemic raged, New Zealanders and Australians developed the world’s highest levels of trust in scientists, newly released survey data has found – and those trust levels soared as the global crisis evolved.
The Wellcome Global Monitor, conducted by Gallup, surveyed 119,000 people across 113 countries. It found 62% of the two countries’ citizens said they trusted scientists “a lot”, compared with a global average of 41%. While trust in scientists had increased around the world since 2018, the portion who said they trusted scientists a lot jumped 15 percentage points in Australia and New Zealand, compared with nine points elsewhere. In 2018, western Europe had had the highest levels of trust in scientists, but they were overtaken in the past two years.
