India ranks 12th on Misperception Index among 37 nations: Perils of Perception Ipsos Global Study

New Delhi, December 21, 2018: There is perception and there is reality. But for a person, the perception is the reality.

Ipsos Global Perils of Perceptions survey 2018 shows that Indians’ perception around some of the key issues is warped and disconnected from reality. The fact that India is placed 12th on the Misperception Index, is a worrying sign.

Parijat Chakraborty, Country Service Lines Group Leader, Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation & CX Ipsos India sees this as a worry sign: “Misperceptions can be highly damaging as they not only erode the equity but also trigger negative sentiment unnecessarily, as they tend to be far removed from actual reality. Building awareness is extremely crucial to offset second guessing and induced behavior.”

So, what do Indians get most wrong?

Immigrants: Indians overestimate the number of immigrants per 100 people – average guess is 24% but the reality is much less, under 1% (0.4%). Highly misjudged. Across markets, it is seen that people tend to overestimate the number of immigrants in their country.

Muslims: Indians tend to overestimate the proportion of Muslims in India. Average guess is 32%, but the reality is 14%. Few markets are way off the mark – South Africa and Belgium for instance – they think that a quarter their population comprises of Muslims; but, it’s 2% and 5% respectively.

Health – Average number of Indians underestimate that out of every 100 infants aged under 12 months only 58% have been inoculated for World Health Organization recommended vaccinations for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Polio and Measles. The reality is 88%.

Global warming: We asked Indians to estimate the numbers of years that have been extremely hot for the world in the last 18 years – Indians guessed that at least 10 years had extreme temperature, but the reality was of 17 years.

Economy – Average Indians underestimate and rank India’s Economy at the 50th spot among 200 countries. The reality is, that India is ranked 7th and is amongst the largest economies of the world.
Population - We asked Indians to estimate the percentage of Indians who would be aged over 65 years by Circa 2050. The average guess was 49% of the population, while the reality was much lower at 13%. We got it wrong by a glaring 36%! Clearly, our perceptions are misplaced.

Sex – We highly overestimate the times women aged 18-29 years in India have had sex in the past 4 weeks. Average guess was 27 times (perception), but the reality was 3 times. Likewise, we asked them to guess the number of times men aged 18-29 years had sex in the past 4 weeks. The average guess was 32 times; the reality was much lower of 3 times. There is a huge disconnect between perception and reality. Similar misperception trend was noticed globally and across most markets.

Unemployment – Most Indians overestimate the number of those unemployed - out of every 100 people of working age in India, Indians think 44% are unemployed and looking for work; which is way above reality.

What do Indians get right? Well, almost.

About Renewable Energy – Indians are quite close to the actual figure in guessing what percentage of total energy consumed in India comes from renewable sources (sources which are not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power) – the reality is 36%, Indians guessed it at 33%.

Even about the Occupancy Levels of Prisons in India – actual was 114; average guess was 115. They overestimated by a paltry 1%. The options provided were: 0 – being empty; 100 – being full; and 200 – being at double the capacity.

Crime – Indians correctly guessed the most common cause of death due to interpersonal violence. Though India underestimated at 44%, the reality is 52%.

Technical note:
These are the findings of the Ipsos Perils of Perception Survey 2018. 28,115 interviews were conducted between 28th September – 16th October 2018.The survey is conducted in 37 countries around the world, via the Ipsos Online Panel system in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong (SAR, China), Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the USA. The following countries used either online or face-to-face methodologies: Montenegro, Serbia.

Approximately 1000 individuals aged 16-64 or 18-64 were surveyed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Serbia, Singapore, Spain and the USA. Approximately 2000 individuals aged 16-64 were surveyed in Japan. Approximately 500 individuals aged 16-64 were surveyed in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.

21 of the 37 countries surveyed online generate nationally representative samples in their countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong (SAR, China), Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States).

Brazil, Columbia, China, Chile, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey produce a national sample that is more urban & educated, and with higher incomes than their fellow citizens. We refer to these respondents as “Upper Deck Consumer Citizens”. They are not nationally representative of their country.

The “actual” data for each question is taken from a variety of verified sources. The most recent available data has been used which in most cases is from the past two years. Figures for sexual harassment are largely from a 2012 study for the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and some country data for the Muslim population is from pre-2015. A full list of sources/links to the actual data can be found here.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be+-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses.

Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.