Public trust in science has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with people facing financial hardship significantly less likely to express strong confidence in scientific research, according to the Wellcome Global Monitor 2026.
The report, based on a survey of more than 140,000 adults across 140 countries, found that the proportion of people expressing at least some trust in science fell to 72% in 2025, down from 77% in 2018. Trust had risen to 80% during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Launched at the World Health Summit 2026 in Berlin, the report examines global attitudes towards science and how trust relates to economic circumstances, healthcare access, education and confidence in public institutions.
The findings suggest that public confidence in science is closely connected to people's everyday experiences, particularly whether they feel financially secure and whether the institutions around them meet their needs.
In 2025, people who said they were living comfortably were almost twice as likely to report “a lot” of trust in science as those who said they were finding it difficult to get by financially. While 39% of the financially comfortable group reported a high level of trust, the figure was just 20% among those struggling to make ends meet.
The gap has widened since the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2025, the proportion reporting “a lot” of trust in science fell by 16 percentage points among those experiencing financial difficulties, compared with a 10-point decline among those living comfortably.
However, the report cautions that these associations do not prove financial hardship directly causes declining trust. Rather, economic circumstances and experiences with public services may influence how people perceive science and its benefits.
“Public trust shapes whether scientific advances can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” said John-Arne Røttingen, chief executive officer of Wellcome.
He also said, “As the world faces increasing challenges, from infectious diseases to climate change and mental health, science has the potential for shaping a healthier future, but only if people trust that it is a force for good. The Wellcome Global Monitor shows us we can’t take that trust for granted.”
Røttingen added that scientific discovery alone was not enough to ensure progress, stressing the importance of openness, transparency and responsiveness to people's circumstances.
“We know that scientific discovery remains essential to our progress, but that science alone is not enough. Trust must be earned through openness, transparency and a willingness to understand and respond to the reality of people’s lives for the benefits of science to be realised,” he said.
The report also found a strong association between trust in science and confidence in healthcare systems, highlighting healthcare as one of the most direct ways people experience scientific advances.
Globally, 26% of respondents reported “a lot” of trust in science. The figure rose to 43% among those who expressed strong confidence in their country's hospitals and health clinics.
Trust in scientists remained higher than trust in governments and journalists, although confidence in scientists fluctuated more sharply over the period studied.
The proportion expressing “a lot” of trust in scientists rose from 34% in 2018 to 43% in 2020 before falling to 32% in 2025. The decline suggests that the pandemic-era increase in confidence was not sustained, although the report identifies no single explanation for the change.
Mark Henderson, Wellcome's director of corporate affairs and engagement, said trust in science was shaped by the broader institutions and services people encountered in their daily lives.
Henderson said, “The Wellcome Global Monitor shows that trust in science does not exist in isolation. People are more likely to trust science when institutions work for them, healthcare is accessible, and science is relevant to their lives.”
He added that building trust required understanding people's experiences, values and concerns while ensuring that the benefits of science were shared across society.
The global decline in trust masks considerable differences between regions and countries, according to the report.
Of the 14 global regions covered by the analysis, five recorded lower trust in science in 2025 than in 2018. In seven, trust had returned close to pre-pandemic levels, while two recorded increases.
In Western Asia, Central Asia and parts of Africa, trust declined across all three survey periods, 2018, 2020 and 2025, rather than following the pandemic-era rise and subsequent fall observed elsewhere.
Country-level trends also varied considerably within regions.
In South America, 74% of respondents in Brazil reported at least some trust in science in 2025, up from 64% in 2018. In Chile, the figure fell to 63% in 2025, down from 75% in 2018 and 81% in 2020.
The report also distinguishes trust in science from perceptions of its benefits, noting that the two measures do not necessarily move in the same direction.
In Algeria and Tajikistan, perceptions of science's benefits continued to improve after the pandemic, while in India they remained stable. These findings concern perceived benefits rather than trust in science itself.
“These findings show why regional perspectives matter. Trust in science is shaped by people’s lived experiences, including whether they can access and benefit from the systems and knowledge that science produces,” Gitau said.
Evelyn Gitau, chief scientific officer at the Science for Africa Foundation, said regional perspectives were essential to understanding public confidence.
“Trust in science is shaped by people’s lived experiences, including whether they can access and benefit from the systems and knowledge that science produces,” she said.
In Africa, she added, understanding trust required examining where research originated, who led and funded it, and whether local communities and institutions owned and benefited from its outcomes.
Locally led research that responds to local priorities could help build stronger and more meaningful public trust, she said.
The report identifies financial security, access to healthcare and education, and confidence in public institutions as factors associated with trust in science.
However, researchers emphasise that the findings cannot establish why trust rises or falls in a particular country or community, nor prove that any single economic, social or institutional factor causes changes in public attitudes.
Instead, the findings offer a basis for governments, researchers, funders, healthcare providers and civil society organisations to identify where trust is weakest, whose experiences may be overlooked and how scientific knowledge and its benefits can become more accessible and relevant.
Wellcome said it would continue tracking public attitudes through future rounds of the Global Monitor. A new qualitative research phase, scheduled for publication in autumn 2027, will explore people's experiences in selected countries to help explain the survey findings and examine how local contexts shape trust.