Coronavirus No.1 worry of urban Indians & global citizens in February 2022: Ipsos What Worries the World global monthly survey

The Coronavirus (COVID19) has emerged the No.1 worry of urban Indians and global citizens in February 2022 as per the Ipsos What Worries the World global monthly survey, conducted in 28 markets, among 19,022 netizens. Last month, Unemployment was the top worry of Urban Indians and worry levels for COVID19 have increased by 6% in February. Even for unemployment, we are seeing a 2% surge in worry levels in Feb, over January 2022.

Commenting on the top worry, Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, “Restrictions are easing, the common man is learning to live with the virus and job opportunities are also increasing. But let’s face it, the coronavirus has not gone away completely and so worry levels continue to stay. While elections are major events and it is important for commercial places to function, crowds still should follow all safety measures of social distancing and masking up, to avoid infections from going up. Also, the job market needs to keep pace with the demand.”     Global Worries Vs Local Worries

The survey shows that global citizens worry most about covid19 (33%), poverty and social inequality (31%) and unemployment (29%); while urban Indians worry about the coronavirus (43%), unemployment (40%) and financial and political corruption (28%) the most.

“Our survey highlights the macro issues by markets, of what perturbs the citizens to enable govts to prioritize them over others,” adds Adarkar. 

Optimism levels boost by 4% in February 2022 India continues to be the 2nd most optimistic market (75%) after Saudi Arabia (84%). Interestingly, we are seeing a 4% surge in optimism levels in February over the previous month. “India is opening up and life is limping back to normal. This is increasing the positive outlook for the future,” said Adarkar.Some markets continue to be downbeat. Esp. Peru (14%) and Colombia (16%).