Americans also lean toward vaccines more than their peers do. Forty-five percent say they would get a vaccine recommended by a nurse or doctor "right away," compared with 28 percent in Germany. Globally, the share who agree science benefits most people in their society fell from 42 percent in 2018 to 37 percent in 2025. In the U.S., it climbed from 48 percent to 57 percent.
STAT's analysis of the Wellcome data shows those averages hide deep splits. Among high-income nations, religious and non-religious people sit about 5 percentage points apart on whether science benefits most people. In the United States, the gap is 24 points.
Where you live and what you studied matter too. Urban and rural Americans differ by 19 points on science's benefits, versus just three points across other high-income nations. Only 47 percent of Americans without four-year degrees say science benefits most people, compared with 71 percent of college graduates.
Americans rank high on trusting science, yet only 40 percent have a lot of confidence in U.S. Hospitals and health clinics, the same as in Portugal and Uruguay.