Americans continue to have doubts about climate scientists’ understanding of climate change
The share of Americans who say climate scientists understand very well whether climate change is occurring decreased from 37% in 2021 to 32% this year.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The share of Americans who say climate scientists understand very well whether climate change is occurring decreased from 37% in 2021 to 32% this year.
Overall, there are about 42.5 million Americans with disabilities, making up 13% of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.
More Black Americans say health outcomes for Black people in the United States have improved over the past 20 years than say outcomes have worsened.
The share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive impact on society has fallen 16 percentage points since before the start of the coronavirus outbreak, from 73% in January 2019 to 57% today.
About nine-in-ten (88%) Americans say, overall, the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella outweigh the risks, identical to the share who said this before the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. adults are less confident in COVID-19 vaccines: Fewer than half rate them as having high health benefits and a low risk of side effects.
There is significant discomfort among Americans with the idea of AI being used in their own health care. Yet many see promise for AI to help issues of bias in medical care.
A majority of Americans (69%) say it’s essential for the U.S. to continue to be a world leader in space. As private companies become a bigger part of the industry, the public gives them more positive than negative ratings for their contributions to space exploration and spacecraft development. Still, Americans continue to say NASA has a critical role to play going forward.
Despite the many depressing stories dominating the international news cycle, there is also a note of positivity among survey respondents in views of the UN, the benefits of international cooperation for solving problems and the importance of common values for bringing nations together.
While the total number of U.S. births declined at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, the number of births at home rose.
Seven-in-ten Hispanic Americans say they’ve seen a doctor or other health care provider in the past year, compared with 82% among Americans overall.
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