This document discusses public understanding and trust in statistics. It provides data on levels of trust in different professions as well as understanding of key statistical concepts. Some key findings include:
- Scientists and academics are the most trusted sources of information, with over 70% of people trusting them.
- There is a lack of understanding around definitions of debt and deficit, and probabilities.
- People tend to be overoptimistically biased about risks that affect themselves.
- Numerical skills and statistical literacy are uneven, and understanding numbers is undervalued.
- Evidence and statistics are often considered less important than personal experiences.