Health · Healthcare & Policy · 23 hrs ago
Americans report more trust in science than people in most countries
A survey covering people in 140 countries found that Americans report more trust in science than people in most other countries.
In the United States, 52 percent said they had “a lot” of trust in science, compared with 26 percent globally.
The survey was funded by the British research foundation Wellcome and most recently gathered responses from more than 140,000 adults in 2025.
Americans were also more likely than people in some peer countries to say they would get a recommended vaccine right away.
But views within the United States vary sharply: the gap between religious and non-religious Americans who said science benefits most people was 24 percentage points, compared with an average of five points in high-income countries.
Belief in science’s benefits rose among Americans from 48 percent in 2018 to 57 percent in 2025, including increases among religious people and those without four-year degrees.
The survey does not explain why trust is higher in the United States or say what happens next.
A survey of people in 140 countries found that 52 percent of Americans report having “a lot” of trust in science, compared with 26 percent globally.
Americans were also more likely than people in some peer countries to say they would get recommended vaccines right away.
Despite high overall trust, Americans showed wider divides than people in other high-income countries over whether science benefits society.
The Wellcome Global Monitor’s latest survey was conducted in 2025 through the Gallup World Poll.
The survey does not explain why the United States appears to outpace other countries in trust in science.
- Who
- People in the United States and other countries surveyed.
- What
- The Wellcome Global Monitor found that Americans report relatively high trust in science, alongside pronounced divides within the country.
- When
- The latest survey was conducted in 2025. The article was published on 2026-10-10.
- Where
- The United States and 140 countries.
- Why
- The survey does not explain why Americans appear to have higher trust in science than people in most other countries.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
more extreme responders to public opinion surveys
Wellcome funded an earlier edition of the survey.
Wellcome funded another edition of the survey.
The latest survey was conducted as part of the Gallup World Poll.
- Trust in science
- 52% of Americans reported “a lot” of trust, compared with 26% globally
- Survey scope
- People in 140 countries
- Vaccine intentions
- 45% of Americans said they would get recommended vaccines right away
- Religious divide
- A 24-percentage-point gap in the United States over whether science benefits most people
- Urban-rural divide
- A 19-percentage-point gap in the United States over whether science benefits most people
- Survey waves
- 2018, 2020 and 2025
Sources
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