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The majority of the Swiss public supports scientific research and condemns attacks on science, according to the 2025 Science Barometer survey conducted by the University of Zurich. Most people in Switzerland use artificial intelligence, but many approach it with caution.

The Swiss public continues to be overwhelmingly supportive of science and scientific research, according to the results of the 2025 Science Barometer Switzerland survey conducted by the University of Zurich. The researchers behind the survey triennially examine the Swiss public’s attitudes toward science and scientific research and investigates where people in Switzerland inform themselves about the subject.

Many of the more than 1,500 survey respondents consider scientific research necessary, endorse government funding of it and believe that public policy decisions should be based on scientific knowledge. A stable, high 60% of them state that they have a strong or ironclad faith in science, though the percentage of skeptics has recently edged upward.

Predominantly favorable image of science

“Our findings show that Switzerland stands on a robust foundation as an innovation and knowledge society: the majority of the Swiss public is staunchly supportive of scientific research,” says project co-head Mike S. Schäfer, who is a professor in the Department of Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich. This is also evidenced by yet another finding, he adds: “Whereas the survey respondents consider objective criticism of science and its methods and funders to be legitimate, they resoundingly oppose personal attacks such as verbal abuse, threats or violence against scientific researchers – that’s an important signal for public discourse.”

However, beyond those commonalities, groups of people definitely exhibit differences. A conjoint analysis of science-related knowledge, interest, attitudes and trust reveals the existence of four groups in Switzerland that view science and scientific research differently. “Sciencephiles” have a very high level of trust in science while the “critically interested” have a liking for scientific research, but see clear boundaries for science. Both of those groups together make up around one-third of the Swiss public. Around 48% of residents in Switzerland take a more remote interest in science as “passive supporters.” The “disengaged” make up around 17% of the Swiss public.

TV a key source of information, AI tools popular among younger people

Television remains the lay public’s main source of information on science topics, followed by newspapers and magazines. Movies and television series are gaining importance in this area, and Wikipedia and government agency websites continue to matter as science information sources. Video platforms and AI tools are particularly used by younger people, who favor them ahead of radio shows, podcasts and messenger services. Alongside media, personal interaction also comes into play: many people talk about science topics with their circle of friends and acquaintances or visit zoos, museums and exhibitions.

“We see clear traces of the media transition here,” says project co-head Julia Metag, who is a professor at the University of Münster. “Traditional channels remain relevant, but audiovisual formats and digital resources – including AI tools – are particularly exerting a formative influence on younger people, affecting how they come in contact with science.”

A vote for digital sovereignty and Switzerland’s own AI models

The majority of the people in Switzerland use artificial intelligence, and around a quarter of the Swiss public even does so frequently, albeit with caution: almost half of the survey respondents do not or tend not to consider AI a reliable source of information on scientific subjects, or conversely, only few have a lot of trust in that information. Moreover, 71% say that they want Switzerland to develop its own AI models in order to become less dependent on the USA and China.

“People desire Swiss AI infrastructures and at the same time remain wary about using AI as an information resource,” says project co-head Niels G. Mede, an assistant professor at Wageningen University. “This combination of faith in Swiss innovative prowess and healthy skepticism toward current AI tools is an important starting point for a responsible AI strategy in science and society.”

About the project

Since 2016, the Science Barometer Switzerland project conducted by the University of Zurich triennially examines the Swiss public’s attitudes toward science and scientific research and investigates where the Swiss inform themselves about the subject. This year, the project has been co-headed by Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer (University of Zurich), Prof. Dr. Julia Metag (University of Münster) and Prof. Dr. Niels G. Mede (Wageningen University). It is funded by the University of Zurich, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, the ETH Board, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Gebert Rüf Foundation.

Methodology

The 2025 Science Barometer is based on a written representative population sample survey (consisting of online and hard-copy questionnaires).

The population sample was drawn with assistance from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office from census data on the language-assimilated resident population aged 16 and over. A total of 1,548 people (990 from German-speaking Switzerland, 317 from French-speaking Switzerland and 241 from Italian-speaking Switzerland) were surveyed over a period from June 13 to July 10, 2025. For the modules “criticism of and attacks against scientific researchers” and “artificial intelligence,” the population sample was divided in half randomly and surveyed using the split ballot technique. The population sample was weighted by gender, age, language region, canton, settlement type and education level.

The data of the Science Barometer Switzerland of 2019 are now also available at FORSbase. They can be accessed and used for academic research.

The data from the first survey wave of the Swiss Science Barometer from 2016 are already stored in the online repository FORSbase of the Swiss Centre of Competence for the Social Sciences (FORS). Now the data from the second survey wave from June and July 2019 can also be accessed there. The data set comprises 1,050 cases and 110 variables on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, their attitudes towards science and research, their knowledge about it and their information behaviour. Detailed information on the method and the questionnaires in German, French and Italian are attached to the data set. The use is limited to academic research.

Befragungsdaten des Wissenschaftsbarometer Schweiz 2019. Universität Zürich, Zürich. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne 2020. https://doi.org/10.48573/wpf5-hf36

The data from the Science Barometer special survey on COVID-19 are now available on the online platform FORSbase. On request, they can be accessed there and used for academic research.

In November 2020, Science Barometer Switzerland conducted an online survey asking a representative sample of the Swiss resident population about attitudes and information use during the Corona pandemic. The results were recently published.
Now the data from this special survey can be accessed in the online repository FORSbase of the Swiss Competence Centre for Social Sciences (FORS). The dataset comprises 1,072 cases and includes 103 variables on respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, their attitudes towards the role of science during the pandemic, their knowledge about COVID-19, their information behaviour, and parents’ assessments of their children’s internet use. Detailed information on the methodology and the questionnaires in German, French and Italian are attached to the data set. In order to access the data, a request is necessary describing what the data is to be used for. The use is limited to academic research.

Get the Data

Befragungsdaten der COVID-19-Edition des Wissenschaftsbarometer Schweiz. Universität Zürich, Zürich. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne 2021. https://doi.org/10.23662/FORS-DS-1239-1

The people of Switzerland have confirmed their faith in science in the present COVID-19 pandemic. They would like to see scientists contributing their expertise more vigorously to the public and political debate. And most of them believe that political decisions on dealing with the pandemic should be based on scientific findings and foundations. The views are reflected in the COVID-19 edition of the Science Barometer Switzerland, which is produced by UZH’s Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) in collaboration with the University of Münster, Germany.

The people of Switzerland’s confidence and trust in science and research have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 67 percent of the country’s population rate their faith in science as “high” or “very high”, which compares to 56 and 57 percent in previous such surveys in 2019 and 2016 respectively. The Swiss people’s approval of state support for science also remains strong: while 73 percent “strongly” or “very strongly” approved of such support in 2019, some 74 percent of the population remain so convinced at the end of 2020. General interest in science and research has risen, too: while 57 percent of respondents said they were “strongly” or “very strongly” interested in 2019, some 60 percent gave the same answers this year.

“I am delighted at this firm vote of confidence in our scientists, many of whom are currently working seven days a week to help combat COVID-19,” says Claudia Appenzeller, Secretary General of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, which financed the special survey.

Scientists trusted more than officials, politicians and journalists
When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, the people of Switzerland trust the scientific view. On a scale from 1 (“don’t trust at all”) to 5 (“totally trust”), medical personnel and scientists earned the highest ratings at 4.1 and 3.9 respectively, well ahead of federal and cantonal officials (3.3), politicians (2.7) and journalists (2.6).

Seventy-seven percent of the population also “strongly” or “very strongly” agree that the expertise of scientists is important in slowing the spread of the coronavirus in Switzerland. And a correspondingly large majority of 72 percent “strongly” or “very strongly” feel that political decisions on the pandemic should be based on scientific findings. “In Switzerland, confidence and interest in science are not just consistently high: they’ve actually increased in these coronavirus times,” says Professor Mike S. Schäfer of the University of Zurich, co-head of the Science Barometer Switzerland and its COVID-19 edition. Some 63 percent of the Swiss population also want scientists to be actively involved in political debates on the present pandemic. “They should do so with a single voice, though,” Professor Schäfer adds. “While the majority of the population acknowledge that scientific controversies can be productive, 65 percent also say that they are unsettled when scientists publicly disagree.”
The people of Switzerland accept that controversies may develop within the scientific community, however, and are generally positive about its communications. Over half the survey’s respondents (56 percent) “strongly” or “very strongly” believe that controversies among scientists are valuable because they help to ensure that the right research results will prevail. Only 32 percent felt that scientists were unable to communicate about the present crisis in an understandable way.

A minority with more controversial views
The results of the COVID-19 edition of the Science Barometer Switzerland also reveal more skeptical attitudes, however, towards the current pandemic. Twenty-seven percent of respondents “strongly” or “very strongly” believe that the pandemic is being blown up into a bigger issue than it is. And 21 percent believe that the numbers of COVID-19 deaths have been intentionally inflated by the authorities.

More extreme views still are rare but held: 16 percent believe that the pandemic has been planned by powerful individuals; and nine percent doubt that there is genuine evidence that the novel coronavirus exists. “While the majority of the Swiss population do not believe in coronavirus conspiracies, there is a small group of people who doubt the scientific evidence,” explains Professor Julia Metag of the University of Münster, co-head of the Science Barometer Switzerland and its COVID-19 edition. “And scientists need to bear this in mind in their pandemic communications.”

Television the prime information source
In 2016 and 2019, it was through television and the internet that the people of Switzerland came most frequently into contact with science and research. In the present pandemic times, television is a particularly popular source of coronavirus information, with the internet and conversations with family, friends and colleagues cited as further means of such engagements with the issues concerned.

Mixed feelings on the media’s coronavirus reporting
The latest Science Barometer Switzerland also assessed how the country’s inhabitants view the media’s reporting on the coronavirus phenomenon. “Comprehensive”, “informative” and “understandable” earned particular mentions here. But 43 percent of respondents also described such reporting as “exaggerated” and “annoying”.

Further information on the approach and methodology of the COVID-19 edition of the Science Barometer Switzerland, together with graphics on the results (in german and french), are available at Ergebnisse / Résultats COVID-19.