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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The proportion of people in Poland who do not believe that humans evolved from animals has risen significantly over the last two decades and now stands at almost 40%. Meanwhile, one third of Poles believe that humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs.
The findings come from Eurobarometer, a series of regular surveys carried out on behalf of the European Union. Since 2005, it has periodically asked Europeans for their knowledge of and views on scientific issues.
The latest study, published this month, finds that Poland ranks among the EU’s least scientifically knowledgeable nations, with 36% of Poles unable to correctly answer more than four out of the ten questions asked by Eurobarometer. That was well above the EU-wide figure of 26%.
Only five countries – Cyprus (55%), Bulgaria (55%), Greece (51%), Portugal (41%) and Latvia (39%) – fared worse than Poland, while Romania (36%) had the same result. The best results were found in Sweden (6%), Belgium (7%) and Denmark (10%).
Poland’s performance has declined since 2005, when its results were only slightly below the EU average. Direct overall comparison is difficult, as some of the questions have changed over that time. However, on questions that have remained the same since 2005, Poland’s results have mostly got worse.
For example, one question asked then and now was whether it is true that “human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals”. Almost two out of every five people in Poland (38%) now say that this is false, up from 27% in 2005.
Another question asked if it is true or false that “the continents on which we live have been moving for millions of years and will continue to move in the future”. Over a fifth (21%) of Poles now incorrectly say that this is false, up from just 8% in 2005.
Meanwhile, 32% of Poles wrongly believe it is true that “the earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs”. That proportion has remained little changed from 2005, when it stood at 33%.
On all three questions, the proportion of wrong answers given by Poles was well above the EU average. Across the bloc as a whole, 27% do not believe humans evolved from earlier animals and 23% think that humans shared the planet with dinosaurs.
Meanwhile, the latest survey also found that Poland has the highest share of EU citizens who believe climate change is primarily caused by natural cycles rather than human activity. In Poland, 52% hold this view, compared to the EU average of 35%.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Tara Winstead / Pexels
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
