Distrust follows a general pattern, but education level and worldview play a crucial role – according to the latest report from the SW Research institute, which analyzed the attitudes of Poles toward 15 selected nationalities and religions.
Every nation builds its identity within the context of changing political, social, and cultural conditions – and Poles are no exception. Globalization, migration crises, and armed conflicts alter daily life, creating tensions and new social challenges. In this context, measuring social distrust becomes a key tool for understanding societal moods and analyzing relationships between various national and religious groups. The “Polish Distrust Ranking 2024” report, prepared by SW Research, reveals current Polish attitudes toward different groups of foreigners and religious communities. The central feature of the report is the Distrust Index – a proprietary measure based on E. Bogardus’ classic social distance scale from 1926. So, who do Poles feel most distanced from, and who do they trust the most?
RANKING
Level of Distrust Among Poles
- Russians – 57.2
- Muslims – 44.7
- Belarusians – 42.2
- Ukrainians – 34.4
- Moroccans – 33.0
- Hindus – 32.5
- Jews – 32.5
- Georgians – 28.2
- Germans – 27.7
- Hungarians – 22.6
- Lithuanians – 22.4
- Japanese – 20.6
- Slovaks – 18.6
- Czechs – 18.4
- Americans – 18.0
Source: SW Research
Poles trust Russians the least, who rank significantly higher in distrust compared to other nationalities and religious minorities. The gap between Russians and the next groups in the ranking – Muslims and Belarusians – is several points on the Distrust Index scale. Conversely, Poles express the least reservation toward Americans, Czechs, and Slovaks, with a similar level of distrust for all three groups.
Distrust varies by demographic characteristics of respondents. Those more skeptical are often men and members of the youngest generation. A higher likelihood of distrust is also found among people with lower educational levels and voters with right-leaning political views. Notably, the high level of distrust toward Russians is universal, cutting across nearly all demographic categories.
Since demographic factors can be correlated, statistical analysis was necessary to determine the strength of these relationships, considering the simultaneous influence of multiple factors.
“We examined differences based on both the context of the assessed minorities and socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, education, and voting declarations from the last parliamentary elections. We found strong positive correlations in the Distrust Index for different groups. This means that if we distrust one group, we often distrust another. However, exceptions exist, such as ‘orthogonal’ groups where correlations are close to zero. For example, distrust of Russians is unique and not related to distrust of other nationalities and religions. Interestingly, no pair showed a negative correlation, meaning distrust of one group does not translate into trust for another,” explains Dr. Piotr Szulc, a mathematician and statistician who conducted advanced analyses for SW Research.
Men and women generally distrust the analyzed minorities similarly, though extreme cases are more common among men, especially regarding Ukrainians, Germans, Belarusians, and Jews. About twice as many men as women exhibit very high distrust toward these groups.
Distrust is generally independent of age, but when there is a link, it tends to decrease with age. This trend is most evident with Ukrainians and Jews. The exception is distrust toward Russians, which increases with age. For example, while the average 20-year-old is more distrustful overall than a 70-year-old, the average 70-year-old distrusts Russians significantly more than a 20-year-old.
Higher education levels (when controlling for other respondent characteristics) are associated with lower distrust. This trend is strongest for Belarusians, Jews, Germans, and Ukrainians.
Focusing solely on political views, when comparing individuals of the same gender, age, and education, voters of PiS and Confederation are generally more distrustful than those supporting KO, the Left, and the Third Way. Among Confederation voters, the greatest distrust differences are toward Ukrainians, Jews, and Muslims. For PiS supporters, distrust is highest toward Germans and Muslims.
“Studying acceptance of different nationalities and minorities captures a multifaceted phenomenon within a single dimension. The nature of the scale suggests that acceptance or distance toward various groups is not binary but gradational. Each partial result forming the index reflects the environment we grew up in, our beliefs, and our sense of belonging to a social group,” summarizes Jakub Wasiewicz, a researcher at SW Research.
Methodology Note:
The study was conducted from September 11-16, 2024, using CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) on a representative sample of 1,500 adult Poles from the swpanel.pl research panel. Each respondent provided opinions on 10 of 15 randomly selected blocks, each dedicated to a specific nationality or religious minority. Each group was assessed by at least 1,000 respondents.
