A question of trust

This year opinion leaders from Poland were for the first time included in research for the Edelman Trust Barometer, which measures opinion leaders' trust in different institutions and professions.

The survey showed that this sector of society considers NGOs the most trustworthy institutions (49 percent trust them). Media and business followed closely, seen as trustworthy by 46 percent and 45 percent of those polled, respectively. Trust in religious institutions in Poland was among the highest in the EU. Poles are among the most skeptical when it comes to trust in one's government. Only 17 percent of the country's elites see the government as reliable. By comparison, the level of trust in the government is 24 percent in Germany, 38 percent in the US and 57 percent in Sweden. China leads the pack with 78 percent of its elites trusting the government.

When it comes to sectors of the economy, the most trustworthy, according to Poles, are the technology and the biotech/lifesciences sectors. On the other hand, trust in healthcare in Poland is at rock bottom: 29 percent, in comparison to 61 percent in the EU and 63 percent in the US.