Ipsos releases Global Trends 2023: A new world disorder-Hong Kong

As 2023 gets underway, we are entering a new world disorder filled with crises on multiple fronts. The largest Global Trends survey from leading insights firm Ipsos shows that, globally, 74% agree that their government and public services will do too little to help people in the years ahead.

The author(s)
  • Javier Calvar Group Service Line Head
  • Adrian Lo Principal - Strategy 3
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The major challenges facing people give businesses and institutions a clear mandate to offer plans and solutions, which will differ from market to market. Yet less than half consider their national government (36%) or businesses (45%) to be good at planning for the long-term future.

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What should businesses and institutions look out for in 2023?

There is a clear acknowledgement among Hong Kong residents that we are living in a challenging and uncertain world, which is impacting how people feel about themselves and their future. Only one of two (52%) Hong Kong citizens feel happy or very happy taking all things together, whereas 62% of their fellow APAC citizens and 61% globally feel that way. The fact that Hong Kong residents feel financially more pressed than their counterparts in APAC or globally certainly does not help lift their mood.

Most Asian citizens believe globalisation is good for their local economies. Hong Kong is no exception, 70% of the Territory’s residents sharing this positive sentiment.

 

1. A growing tension between global and local.  Although many talk of de-globalisation, at least six in ten people across the world believe that globalisation is good for them personally (62%) and for their economy (66%). Over the last decade, this figure has been gently rising even as geopolitical tensions have worsened. Like their global counterparts, Asians too see the merits of globalisation and believe it is good for their respective markets –Vietnam (89%), China (82%), India (80%), Indonesia (80%), Singapore (80%), Philippines (75%), Malaysia (74%), South Korea (74%), Thailand (72%), Hong Kong (70%), New Zealand (64%), Australia (63%) and Japan (61%).

 

2. Eight in ten people around the world agree we are headed for environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly, a concern shared in the Asian markets of Indonesia (92%), Vietnam (91%), Philippines (88%), Thailand (88%), South Korea (85%), India (85%), Hong Kong (83%), Singapore (83%), China (82%), Malaysia (82%), New Zealand (80%), Australia (72%) and Japan (62%). What there is no agreement about is how to address it – and even with such high levels of concern, over half agree scientists don’t really know what they are talking about on environmental issues.

 

3. Despite global divisions, Ipsos Global Trends shows people do have clear expectations of brands and business. Most believe business can be a force for good, with 80% agreeing that brands can make money and support good causes at the same time. – However, 53% don’t trust business leaders to tell the truth. And almost two-thirds say they try to buy products from brands that act responsibly, even if they cost more (64%). On the other hand, only 39% of people around the world trust business leaders to tell the truth, a proportion that drops to 34% in Hong Kong. In APAC, trust in business leaders is highest in India (78%), Indonesia (71%) and Vietnam (64%).

 

4. Amid rising demand for the regulation of big tech, six in ten fear that technical progress is destroying our lives – but at the same time 71% also say they can’t imagine life without the internet; this encapsulates the cognitive polyphasia so many of us experience in thinking about technology. This paradox was visible particularly in the Asian markets of India (72%), Malaysia (70%), Indonesia (68%), New Zealand (63%), Philippines (63%), South Korea (63%), Thailand (61%), Australia (60%), China (60%), Hong Kong (59%), Singapore (58%) and Vietnam (57%). A larger proportion still – 81% globally and 86% in Hong Kong - are resigned to losing some privacy because of what new technology can do.

 

5. Finally, despite a gloomy global outlook, we are confident about our own prospects. Our optimism bias is clear; while only 30% are optimistic for the world overall for the coming year, most consider themselves happy (57%), and 59% are optimistic about how 2023 will pan out for themselves and their family. However, Hong Kong residents are a little less optimisitic than their global or APAC counterparts: less than half (45%) feel optimistic about their and their family’s future, and just one in four (24%) are optimistic about the world in general.

 

Making the right decisions in a polycrisis 

“Navigating through the ‘Twitchy Twenties’ means detail matters,” says Ben Page, Global CEO of Ipsos. “How can brands, governments and individuals work together to solve the multiple crises facing global society and build on the personal hope and optimism we see?”

Hamish Munro, Ipsos APAC CEO, commenting on the findings of IGT 2023, " Most Asian markets believe globalisation is good for their country with a preference for brands with a strong image especially among affluents and those with higher education. Most Asian citizens want brands to help their society and are willing to pay more. "

Ipsos Global Trends 2023 provides the data needed to make decisions for a range of plausible future scenarios. We share the Macro Forces that will shape the next decade, review the changes we see in our global trends framework and suggest ways to react and build resilience.

Our report tells a story from the topline data. For a deeper dive into demographic differences, regional analysis and sector- or market-specific insights please contact us for a custom analysis of this incredibly rich data source.

Access the full report


About this study

Ipsos interviewed 48,541 people aged 16+ between September and November 2022. In most markets, the survey was carried out online with audiences aged 16-75 or 18-75. However different methods were used in four markets where internet penetration is lower: In Nigeria, Pakistan and Zambia the survey was carried out face-to-face, while in Kenya the survey was conducted using telephone.

In each market the data are weighted to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent census data on factors including age, gender and education. The overall global figures presented in this release and the report are not weighted by population size but are an average across all 50 markets. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

The author(s)
  • Javier Calvar Group Service Line Head
  • Adrian Lo Principal - Strategy 3

Society