Pessimism around the globe is fuelling populism; almost half of Australians believe our country is in decline

Ipsos’s latest international survey, conducted in 31 countries including Australia, sheds light on the deeper forces feeding the populist surge. And the diagnosis is stark.

Globally, the figures are higher, with 57% believing their country is in decline and 56% saying that the society they live in is broken.

What’s fueling this sense of collapse? The picture is complex, according to the Ipsos survey, but three major themes emerge from the data:

1. Economic discontent: Even as inflation retreats from the record highs of the 2021–2023 period, economic anxiety remains widespread. Many feel left behind or exposed to growing financial insecurity—fears often heightened by recent economic and trade policies, particularly those associated with the Trump administration. The perception of a worsening economic landscape continues to erode public trust.
2. The gap between elites and the people: There is widespread belief that traditional elites have grown distant from the people. Sixty-four percent of respondents agree that “traditional parties and politicians don't care about people like me,” 62% believe that “experts in this country don't understand the lives of people like me.” More striking still, 68% say that “the main divide in our society is between ordinary citizens and the political and economic elite.” These views are shared by a clear majority in almost every country and cut across generations and social classes.
3. Opposition to immigration: Immigration has become another powerful fault line. A plurality of citizens (44%) believes their country “would be stronger if we stopped immigration”—only 28% disagree. Anti-immigration views have gained ground in recent years, often tightly interwoven with economic fears: 60% agree that “when jobs are scarce, employers should prioritize hiring people of this country over immigrants.”

Key Australian findings

• Just under half (47%) of Australians believe that ‘our society is broken’, which is down 3% on 2023 and lower than the global average figure of 56%.
• The same proportion of Australians (47%) believe ‘our country is in decline’. Again, we are well below the global average (57%) and only five other countries are more optimistic (Mexico 44%, Malaysia 40%, Poland 36%, Switzerland 29%, and Singapore 23%).
• Two thirds (64%) of Australians believe ‘the economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful’.
• 60% of Australians agree that ‘traditional parties and politicians don’t care about people like me’, up 3% on 2023. Again, this is lower than the global average (64%).
• Two thirds (69%) of Australians believe that ‘Australia needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful’ (up 2%) – and over half (53%), above the global average (47%), believe that ‘to fix Australia, we need a strong leader willing to break the rules’.
• We are now in line with the global average (58%), when it comes to deciding political issues via referendum which is an increase of 6% on 2023, with 56% of Australians surveyed agreeing with the idea that ‘the most important political issues should be decided directly by the people through referendums, not by the elected officials’.
• A little over a third (36%) of Australians believe that ‘Australia would be stronger if we stopped immigration’, up 2% on 2023 and significantly behind the global average (44%).
• We are also less likely than the global average (60%) to believe that ‘when jobs are scarce, employers should prioritize hiring people of this country over immigrants’ at 54%. Although again, this has increased by 3% since 2023.
• Half of Australians surveyed (50%) reject increased taxes aimed at financing additional public spending, again below the global average (57%), but a strong majority support increased spending for all public services, except that of Defence.
• As a long-established multicultural society, we demonstrate less nativist thinking than many around the globe. In Australia, 44% of those surveyed believe it is important to have been born in Australia to be truly Australian, whereas globally the figure is 64%.

Ipsos Australia Director, Jessica Elgood, said: “The findings from the global Ipsos study again provide insight into the current state of our thinking about Australian society and government. We are not as consumed by the idea of Australia being ‘broken’ as many other countries included in this study, but many of the measures around populism have increased since 2023.

“One of the surprising findings here in Australia, and globally, is the co-existence of two seemingly contradictory demands. On one hand, a significant share of Australians (53%) say they want ‘a strong leader willing to break the rules’ to fix their country—signalling a clear attraction to ‘illiberal’ forms of democracy. On the other hand, a slightly larger proportion (56%) believe that the most important decisions should be made by the people themselves, via referendums—not by elected representatives. This points to a desire for direct democracy—one that seems difficult to reconcile with the demand for a strong, personalised power. 

“This tension lies at the heart of contemporary populism: a call for both authority and decisive leadership, but also for citizen involvement and direct popular control. It also signals the difficulty of the political challenge we are facing globally.”

Key global findings

• Belief that society is broken is more the rule than the exception. In 2025 56% across 31 countries feel society is broken in their country. Yet opinions improved in places where major political changes have happened between 2016 and now, such as Mexico (-29%) or Italy (-9%).
• Many see their country in decline and in need of strong leader. Confronted with what 57% see as the decline of their country, 47% consider they need a strong leader that breaks the rules. In Brazil (58%) and South Korea (75%), two countries where the previous presidential election was defined by this issue, levels of agreement remain high. While Germans are the most likely to say society is broken (77%), they are also the least likely like to say what is needed is a strong leader willing to break the rules (24%).
• Belief that economy is rigged shows little change in a decade. This belief (68%) is strongly correlated with being in favour of a strong leader taking the country back from the rich and powerful (64%), but it resonates far more in emerging economies in Asia (Indonesia, 81%, Thailand, 77%, Malaysia, 76%), and in South Africa (77%).
• Support for economic "cakeism” remains high. A widespread aspect of a populistic approach to economics is the contradiction between calls for increased spending and demands for lower taxes. Across 31 countries, 57% reject increased taxes aimed at financing additional public spending, but a majority support increased spending for all public services.
• Nativism is widespread but not universal. The “importance of being born in a particular country” is strong in 25 of the 31 countries surveyed. There are six countries where a majority doesn’t consider it to be important - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.