Ranking: Births and deaths in 12 main countries

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Which countries have the most confidence in science?

Key points to remember:

  • Spain leads the world in trust in science, with 67.9% of respondents saying they trust science “a lot,” compared to just 5.8% in Togo.
  • Europe represents 12 of the 16 countries where a majority of respondents express high confidence in science.
  • The United States ranks 13th in the world with 52.5%.

Public trust in science varies widely across the world, with some countries reporting a proportion of highly confident respondents more than 10 times that of others.

This visualization uses data from the Wellcome Global Monitor 2026, which surveyed more than 140,000 people in 140 countries in 2025.

Ranking of 140 countries on trust in science

The following table ranks countries by the proportion of respondents aged 15 and over who have “a lot of confidence” in science, using weighted results from the Wellcome survey.

RankCountryTrust in science “a lot” (%)
1🇪🇸 Spain67.9
2🇫🇮 Finland65.9
3🇺🇿 Uzbekistan63.8
4🇹🇯 Tajikistan60.7
5🇩🇪 Germany59.7
6🇧🇪 Belgium59.3
7🇳🇴 Norway58.6
8🇨🇦Canada54.3
9🇮🇸 Iceland53.8
10🇸🇪 Sweden53.5
11🇩🇰 Denmark53.4
12🇦🇹 Austria52.9
13🇺🇸 United States52.5
14🇫🇷 United Kingdom51.2
15🇮🇪 Ireland50.4
16🇫🇷France50.2
17🇦🇺 Australia49.5
18🇨🇭 Switzerland49.4
19🇸🇮 Slovenia49.4
20🇨🇿 Czech Republic49.2
21🇵🇹Portugal48.9
22🇱🇺Luxembourg48.2
23🇳🇿 New Zealand46.4
24🇳🇱 Netherlands46.4
25🇳🇪Niger45.7
26🇪🇪 Estonia43.9
27🇮🇹 Italy43.3
28🇲🇱Mali42.7
29🇮🇱 Israel40.5
30🇭🇺 Hungary40.2
31🇰🇼 Kuwait39.4
32🇬🇳 Guinea38.7
33🇺🇾Uruguay38.5
34🇦🇷 Argentina37.9
35🇵🇭 Philippines37.6
36🇩🇿 Algeria37.4
37🇬🇷 Greece36.2
38Northern Cyprus35.2
39🇹🇿 Tanzania33.5
40🇧🇩 Bangladesh32.5
41🇧🇭 Bahrain32.3
42🇸🇬 Singapore32.0
43🇻🇳Vietnam31.7
44🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates31.4
45🇱🇧 Lebanon31.2
46🇲🇼Malawi31.0
47🇦🇿 Azerbaijan30.8
48🇧🇷 Brazil30.8
49🇲🇿Mozambique30.4
50🇱🇷 Liberia29.8
51🇲🇳 Mongolia29.8
52🇮🇳 India29.8
53🇨🇾 Cyprus29.4
54🇱🇹 Lithuania29.2
55🇱🇰Sri Lanka29.1
56🇪🇬 Egypt28.7
57🇰🇷 South Korea28.4
58🇲🇹 Malta28.4
59🇲🇲 Burma28.0
60🇰🇲 Comoros27.8
61🇬🇭Ghana27.7
62🇷🇴 Romania27.5
63🇻🇪 Venezuela25.9
64🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia25.9
65🇨🇱 Chile25.8
66🇯🇴 Jordan25.5
67🇷🇺 Russia25.0
68🇿🇼Zimbabwe24.9
69🇺🇬 Uganda24.1
70🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan24.1
71🇹🇼 Taiwan23.8
72🇲🇽 Mexico23.8
73🇧🇯 Benin23.7
74🇸🇰 Slovakia23.5
75🇿🇲 Zambia23.3
76🇹🇳 Tunisia22.8
77🇳🇵 Nepal22.8
78🇲🇪 Montenegro22.7
79🇸🇳 Senegal22.1
80🇲🇷 Mauritania21.6
81🇿🇦 South Africa21.5
82🇮🇶Iraq21.4
83🇧🇬 Bulgaria21.4
84🇨🇲 Cameroon21.1
85🇨🇷 Costa Rica20.7
86🇦🇲 Armenia20.4
87🇱🇻 Latvia20.4
88🇲🇬 Madagascar20.4
89🇮🇩 Indonesia20.1
90🇹🇷 Türkiye20.0
91🇧🇫Burkina Faso20.0
92🇵🇾Paraguay19.5
93🇩🇴 Dominican Republic19.4
94🇪🇹 Ethiopia19.3
95🇨🇴 Colombia19.3
96🇷🇸 Serbia19.1
97🇹🇩 Chad19.1
98🇽🇰Kosovo18.9
99🇲🇾 Malaysia18.7
100🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina18.7
101🇰🇪 Kenya18.6
102🇯🇵 Japan18.6
103🇸🇻 El Salvador18.5
104🇱🇦Laos18.4
105🇰🇭 Cambodia18.4
106🇧🇼 Botswana17.9
107🇵🇦 Panama17.6
108🇺🇦Ukraine17.2
109🇰🇿 Kazakhstan17.0
110🇨🇬Congo Brazzaville16.3
111🇬🇹Guatemala16.3
112🇭🇳Honduras16.2
113🇲🇦Morocco15.4
114🇳🇬 Nigeria15.2
115🇵🇪 Peru15.2
116🇸🇱 Sierra Leone15.1
117🇵🇸 Palestinian territories14.7
118🇧🇴 Bolivia14.7
119🇭🇰 Hong Kong13.9
120🇱🇾 Libya13.8
121🇪🇨 Ecuador13.7
122🇨🇳 China13.7
123🇵🇱 Poland13.5
124🇱🇸 Lesotho13.5
125🇳🇦 Namibia13.3
126🇹🇭 Thailand13.2
127🇨🇮 Ivory Coast13.0
128🇨🇩Congo (Kinshasa)12.8
129🇬🇦Gabon12.7
130🇭🇷 Croatia12.4
131🇬🇲 The Gambia12.2
132🇲🇺 Mauritius11.7
133🇦🇱 Albania10.8
134🇲🇩 Moldova10.4
135🇯🇲 Jamaica10.2
136🇵🇰Pakistan9.3
137🇬🇪 Georgia9.1
138🇸🇴 Somalia9.1
139🇲🇰 North Macedonia8.2
140🇹🇬Togo5.8

Among the most surprising results were Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which ranked third and fourth globally, ahead of major scientific powers including the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

At the other end of the ranking, several countries have high single-digit trust levels, highlighting substantial differences in public attitudes toward science across the world.

Does education influence trust in science?

Several highly educated and innovative economies rank among the countries with the highest confidence in science. Finland, Germany and Sweden all feature in the top 10.

However, Uzbekistan (63.8%) and Tajikistan (60.7%) rank third and fourth globally, ahead of many wealthier countries with more established research institutions. This suggests that education level and economic development alone cannot explain differences in public trust.

Wellcome researchers found little convincing evidence of a consistent relationship between trust in science and scientific literacy. They also found no clear association at the national level between trust and average scientific literacy or public spending on education.

What role does religion play?

Religious belief does not necessarily translate into skepticism of science. Muslim-majority Uzbekistan and Tajikistan rank among the most trusting countries in the world, while Pakistan (9.3%) ranks near the bottom, highlighting substantial differences even between countries sharing a predominant religion.

The relationship is just as complex within scientific communities. Think tank Theos found that 94% of scientists surveyed in India and 87% in Turkey identified with a religious tradition, compared with 40% in the US and 36% in the UK. Separate interviews with Pew Research suggest that many Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists view science and religion as compatible rather than inherently contradictory.

Ultimately, religious identity alone is a poor indicator of scientific confidence. Cultural context, institutional trust, and how religious communities interpret scientific findings can all shape public attitudes.

Global trust in science has fallen since 2020

Globally, 72% of respondents said they would trust science “a little” or “a lot” in 2025, up from 80% in 2020, according to Wellcome. This represents a drop of eight percentage points over five years.

A Harvard Global Health Institute discussion highlighted how distrust can reflect structural inequalities, institutional failures, misinformation and political polarization, particularly among underrepresented populations.

These results suggest that building scientific trust requires more than scientific progress. Economic inclusion, reliable institutions and effective public communication are also important.

Learn more about the Voronoi app

To explore another perspective on global scientific achievements, see Ranked: Best Countries in Science on Voronoi.

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