Moscow, April, 20th, 2007. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center presents data on what level of knowledge Russians and inhabitants of EU have.
To evaluate a level of knowledge of respondents, they were offered to define whether the suggested 13 statements correspond to scientific subjects or not. The level of knowledge in Russia appears a bit lower, than that of the European Union: very good scientific knowledge (from 10 up to 13 correct answers) show 22% of Russians and 42% of inhabitants of EU; fairly good knowledge (from 6 up to 9 correct answers) show 51% and 43% correspondingly; bad knowledge (not more than 5 correct answers) show 27% of Russians and 15% of EU inhabitants.
Being interested in science and technology gets on with Russians' belief in God (55%), fate (42), signs (23%), requital for sins (19%), supernatural force (16%), and horoscopes (10%). Only 18% interviewed say that they do not believe in any kind of supernatural forces and the phenomena. In comparison to 2005 the part of those has increased a bit (from 14% up to 18%). The part of those who believe in signs (from 18 % up to 23%), and fatalists (from 35% up to 42%) has simultaneously increased also.
The Russian opinion poll was conducted by VCIOM, April, 14-15th, 2007. 1600 respondents in 153 settlements of 46 regions of Russia were interviewed. The statistical error does not exceed 3,4%.
Do you agree with the following statements? (One answer for each statement) | ||||||
| Russia | EU* | ||||
| + | - | 0 | + | - | 0 |
The sun rotates around of the Earth | 67 | 28 | 5 | 66 | 29 | 4 |
The center of the Earth is very hot | 75 | 8 | 17 | 86 | 7 | 7 |
Oxygen we breathe, is produced by plants | 83 | 11 | 6 | 82 | 14 | 4 |
Radioactive milk can be safe if it is boiled | 67 | 14 | 19 | 75 | 10 | 15 |
Electrons are smaller than atoms | 48 | 20 | 32 | 46 | 29 | 25 |
Continents which we live on, have been moving for millions of years and are continuing their movement in the future | 72 | 8 | 20 | 87 | 6 | 8 |
Child's gender is defined by mother's genes | 46 | 25 | 29 | 64 | 20 | 16 |
First human beings were living in the same era as dinosaurs | 45 | 30 | 25 | 66 | 29 | 11 |
Antibiotics kill viruses just as well, as they kill bacteria | 30 | 45 | 25 | 46 | 43 | 11 |
The laser works by focusing sound waves | 31 | 26 | 43 | 47 | 26 | 28 |
All the radio-activity is a product of the mankind | 30 | 57 | 13 | 59 | 27 | 14 |
Modern people have developed from earlier human species | 61 | 16 | 23 | 70 | 20 | 10 |
Earth makes a full circle around the Sun within a month | 61 | 14 | 25 | 66 | 17 | 16 |
*Information about EU is provided by: Europeans, Science and Technology. Special Eurobarometer. 2005.
Level of scientific knowlegde | ||
| Russia | EU* |
Very good scientific knowledge (from 10 to 13 correct answers) | 22 | 42 |
Fairly good scientific knowledge (from 6 to 9 correct answers) | 51 | 43 |
Fairly bad scientific knowledge (from 3 to 5 correct answers) | 22 | 12 |
Very bad scientific knowledge (from 0 to 2 correct answers) | 5 | 3 |
What/who do you believe in? (unlimited number of responses) | |||
| 2004 г. | 2005 г. | 2007 г. |
God | 52 | 58 | 55 |
Signs | 21 | 18 | 23 |
Some kind of supernatural force | 12 | 15 | 16 |
UFO, aliens | 6 | 5 | 7 |
Afterlife | 7 | 7 | 9 |
Horoscopes | 9 | 8 | 10 |
Witchcraft, magic | 7 | 6 | 9 |
Reincarnation | 4 | 3 | 6 |
Fate, destiny | 40 | 35 | 42 |
Requital for sins | 18 | 18 | 19 |
Other | 5 | 6 | 4 |
I do not believe in anything supernatural or phenomenal | 15 | 14 | 18 |
In difficulty to say | 1 | 2 | 2 |