Which professions do people in Spain admire and trust the most?

People in Spain are the Europeans who most admire and respect the work of researchers and scientists. Two out of three Spanish citizens of legal age, 65% to be precise, place their full trust in the work carried out by these professionals. This figure puts the level of respect our fellow citizens have for scientists 10 percentage points above the global average, according to research carried out by multinational pollster Ipsos, which at the end of spring questioned the inhabitants of 32 countries on five continents about which professions and professionals they trust most and least.

In the case of the people of Spain, the survey's findings indicate that they have very strong opinions on this issue. Their answers are far from the middle ground. They either trust certain activities more than anyone else or criticise others more strongly than any other country.

The Spanish people's preferences are very clear. The top five professions they trust the most are led by doctors and surgeons and by scientists. Their support for each is almost identical. Doctors win by just one point, 66% support among Spaniards aged 18 to 75 compared to 65% for scientists.

But, in addition, as was already the case with researchers, popular support for doctors is among the highest in this international barometer. Trust in scientists, however, was ten points above the global average, and the nation's respect for the work of doctors and surgeons is eight points higher than the average for the 32 countries polled.

Third place in the ranking of most admired professionals goes to teachers, whose work is trusted by almost six out of ten Spaniards, 58% to be exact. In fourth place of the job roles garnering most popular support, the accolade is shared by the work of the different police forces and that of the three armed forces (46%), mostly for their exemplary efforts such as the work they are carrying out right now in the areas devastated by the Dana floods. The top five of professionals in whom the majority of people have confidence ends with waiting staff, whose work is much appreciated by four out of every ten Spaniards. On this occasion, however, they do so somewhat less strongly than in other countries, four points below the international average.

Yet, where Spaniards' opinions really stand out is not at the top, but rather at the bottom end of the list - those professionals who invite the lowest levels of public confidence and trust. This group is clearly led by politicians, whose activity is distrusted by 70% of the country's citizens. They distrust politicians in general, but also specific political roles. For instance, the third most reviled job, rejected by almost two out of three of the Spanish public, is that of government ministers and their equivalents in other layers of government. In fact, the Spanish people are the Europeans who most dislike the work of politicians.

In second place among the professions most distrusted in Spain is the activity of 'influencers', those who make their living by attracting followers to their profiles, videos or blogs on social media. Two out of every three Spaniards (66%) distrust this new way of earning a living. The percentage rises above all due to the greater rejection of influencers by the over-50s, 14 points higher than that of younger people. In this case it is not the most reviled job in Europe, but it almost is. It is the third highest on the continent. Only Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands are narrowly ahead in their dislike of this job role.

The profession for which Spain is once again at the top of the European ranking in terms of distrust is the clergy (56%), which is the fifth most disliked profession in general. With this highly critical assessment, Spaniards are not only the Europeans who most dislike priests, but they are also among the biggest detractors of the clergy across the world.

Among younger people, there is another business activity that stirs up a lot of distrust and one which, with its outright rejection by many people, rises to fourth place in this negative top five. These are bank employees, frowned upon by 57% of the population. Some food for thought: these are also the people turning down many of the under-35s for loans and mortgages who will have participated in this poll.