Not far from the Middle Ages. Scientists have discovered how many inhabitants of Earth believe in witchcraft.

In a world where scientists are developing missions to colonize other planets and develop new territories, there seems to be no place to believe in witchcraft, but research shows that everything is completely different, writes Science Alert.

The scientists conducted a large-scale study that took about 9 years, involving more than 140,000 people in 95 different countries. Based on the results obtained, scientists came to the conclusion that there are about a billion people in the world who believe in witchcraft – and these are still underestimated conclusions, according to scientists.

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The study seemed to show that the degree of belief in magic and witchcraft differed in different parts of the world. For example, in Sweden only 9% of respondents reported believing in witchcraft, while in Tunisia the figure reached 90%. As a result, scientists suggest that the prevalence of beliefs varies greatly by region.

According to study author Boris Gershman of American University, he and his colleagues were able to generate a new, more complete dataset based on face-to-face and telephone surveys. It should be noted that similar work has been done before, but it lacks the integrity of the picture.

The surveys included a series of questions about respondents’ broader religious beliefs and belief in witchcraft. For example, survey respondents were asked to answer questions such as: do they believe in the “evil eye”, do they believe that certain people can cast curses, spells, and harm?

After analyzing the responses, the researchers concluded that around 40% of respondents in different parts of the world still believe in this type of witchcraft. Scientists applied the results of the survey to the entire population of the planet and came to the conclusion that about 1 billion people believe in magic and various manifestations of witchcraft, and most likely this figure is somewhat underestimated.

Scientists have also found a link between belief in witchcraft and certain factors. For example, the results show that people with higher education and wealth are less likely to believe in magic. At the same time, scientists found that belief in witchcraft was also associated with religiosity, and belonging to Christianity or Islam did not play an important role.

Gershman also suggests that beliefs in witchcraft at the country level are also associated with weak institutions, low levels of innovation, and social trust.

However, the researchers note that more research is needed to get a more complete picture.

Previously Focus He wrote that scientists have found the reason why 20 people and 2 dogs were executed in ancient Salem.