Page 10 - Science Barometer 2022

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Defence forces enjoy highest trust
The most trusted institutions and organisations have long been ranked in the same order in the Science Barometer: the police, the defence forces, and universities. This time, however, the defence forces came out on top.
One possible explanation is the timing of the survey. In early summer 2022, life in Finland was overshadowed by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and opinion polls showed that most people now wanted the country to join NATO.
Although the proportion of respondents with very high or fairly high trust edged up slightly from the previous survey, an in- crease was also seen in the percentage of those who said they did not trust national institutions. The latter figure ranged from 11% (defence forces) to 22% (judicial system). Some respondents who earlier did not state their position now expressed their distrust. The polarisation of trust reflects, in part, an international trend.