'Confidence in science has increased in recent years, probably due to the corona crisis'

Dutch confidence in science has increased over the past three years. The Rathenau Institute concluded this on Thursday on the basis of a poll among more than 140,000 people. According to the institute, the increase in confidence is probably due to the way in which science has dealt with the corona virus. The Rathenau gauges confidence in science every three years.

In 2018, science received an average of 7.1 from more than 140,000 respondents, this year that has risen to 7.4. According to the institute, the Dutch have “significantly more” confidence in science than three years ago. “Since the measurements started in 2012, confidence has not been that high,” said the Rathenau.

Eight out of ten Dutch people say they have ‘a lot’ or ‘a lot’ of confidence in the information that university scientists provide about corona. Almost 90 percent trust the information of doctors in hospitals, the RIVM scores 70 percent. What family and friends say about corona is generally more trusted than what is in the media. The researchers see a clear correlation between political preference and trust in science. GroenLinks voters give science an average of 8.4, PVV voters an average of 6.5.