Abstract:
Global public trust in science has fallen below pre-COVID-19 levels, with the decline in trust among economically disadvantaged groups being particularly pronounced. The Global Monitoring Survey released by the Wellcome Trust shows that 72% of global respondents in 2025 said they trust science to at least some extent, down from 80% in 2020 and 77% in 2018.
At the same time, the proportion of respondents who have a high level of trust in scientists fell to 32% from 43% in 2020. The survey, covering more than 140,000 adults around the world, reflects the complex relationship between public health policy controversies, economic conditions, trust in medical institutions and public confidence in science during the epidemic.
Global trust in science dropped to 72%, with only 32% having high trust in scientists
The Wellcome Global Monitor shows that global public trust in science continues to decline after reaching a high level during the COVID-19 epidemic.
In 2018, 77% of global respondents said they trusted science at least to some extent; this proportion rose to 80% in 2020, but fell to 72% in 2025, 5 percentage points lower than before the epidemic.
A similar shift has occurred in high levels of trust in scientists. In 2018, 34% of respondents expressed a high degree of trust in scientists. This proportion rose to 43% in 2020 and dropped to 32% in 2025.
Vicon CEO John-Arne Røttingen said politicized debates over vaccines, masks and public health measures during the coronavirus pandemic may be one of the reasons for the decline in trust in science.
Despite this, the survey found that scientists still have greater trust among the public than governments and journalists.
The trust level of economically disadvantaged groups has dropped most significantly, and the gap with wealthy groups has widened
The survey found that there is a clear correlation between economic conditions and public trust in science. People facing financial difficulties are especially likely to lose confidence in science.
Among the respondents who said it was difficult to maintain daily income and expenses, only 20% had a high degree of trust in science, while among those who lived in a comfortable financial situation, this proportion reached 39%, a difference of 19 percentage points between the two.
From 2020 to 2025, the proportion of people who highly trust science among economically disadvantaged groups dropped by 16 percentage points, while among economically well-off groups dropped by 10 percentage points.
This means that while trust in science has declined across all income groups globally, the decline has been greater among economically disadvantaged groups, further widening the trust gap between groups with different economic status.
Trust in medical institutions is closely related to scientific confidence, and attitudes towards vaccination are divided
The survey also found that there is a clear correlation between the public's trust in medical institutions such as hospitals and clinics and their confidence in science.
Among the respondents who have a high level of trust in hospitals and clinics, 43% expressed a high level of trust in science, significantly higher than the global comparison level of approximately 26%.
Vaccination attitudes also reflect divided public trust in medical science.
The survey showed that about 34% of the respondents said that if they were advised to get vaccinated, they would accept it immediately; 48% preferred to make a decision after further consideration; and 15% said they would avoid vaccination completely.
This result shows that there are large differences in public acceptance of vaccines, and a considerable number of people are more inclined to make decisions after obtaining additional information or weighing them.
Measles cases in the United States approach 3,900, public health controversy continues
Vaccination and preventable infectious diseases are in the spotlight again at a time when trust in science is declining.
Nearly 3,900 measles cases have been reported in the United States this year, making it the country’s worst measles epidemic in about 30 years.
At the same time, surveys show that there are clear political differences in the American public's evaluation of the social benefits of science, and the attitudes of different groups towards the country's leadership are related to their scientific concepts.
Weikang conducted this survey with the participation of Gallup and Ipsos. The findings reveal relationships between economic conditions, trust in medical institutions, and political attitudes and trust in science, but these statistical associations by themselves do not directly identify the specific causes of the decline in trust.
Overall, global scientific trust is not only lower than the pre-epidemic level, but the decline is mainly concentrated among economically disadvantaged groups. In the context of increasing attention to scientific and technological issues such as vaccination, public health policy, and artificial intelligence, how to improve public trust in scientific institutions is becoming an important challenge for public health governance and science communication.
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