What Worries the World – July 2025

Our monthly What Worries the World survey explores what the public thinks are the most important social and political issues, drawing on more than ten years of data to place the latest scores in context.

Concern about crime & violence (32% across 30 countries) has nudged just ahead of inflation (31%) as the top worry right now.

Key findings:

• Mentions for crime & violence across 30 countries rose slightly (+2 percentage points compared to last July) to just under a third (32%), while mentions of inflation dipped a bit (-2pp year-over-year) to 31%.
• Following the election of President Lee Jae Myung in June, South Korea has seen the largest rise in the proportion of people saying their “country is heading in the right direction” month-over-month rising 39 points to 59%.
• Although falling four points from last month, Peru’s level of concern about crime & violence is seven points higher than last July’s level, with 64% worried. Likewise, Chile is highly worried, increasing slightly (+5pp year-over-year) to 62%.
• Concern about inflation has dropped dramatically since July 2024 in Argentina (-17pp to 31%), Colombia (-15pp to 16%) and the U.S. (-15pp to 35%), while cost-of-living concern is up 15 points in Singapore to 63%.
• Since Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected last July, Great Britain has seen concern about immigration control rise 10 points year-over-year to 39% mentioning it. Alongside Brits, people in Ireland (45%) and Germany (37%) also now see immigration as the No. 1 issue in their countries. 
   

Spotlight: Great Britain

The honeymoon is over. 

When Keir Starmer took the Labour Party back into government in the U.K. for the first time in 14 years in a landslide victory in July 2024 there was palpable excitement. 

The following month in What Worries the World 44% of Brits said the country was headed in the right direction, the highest level in three years.

Eleven months on, only 33% feel the same way. 

Over this time there has been a surge of worry about immigration as the number of people crossing the English Channel in “small boats” from France has risen.

According to the U.K. Home Office, almost 20,000 people arrived in the U.K. in the first six months of 2025 in “small boats”, up 48% compared to the same period in 2024.

Concern about immigration control is up 10pp in the last 12 months and 39% say they are worried about the issue. July 2025’s score of 39% is the highest level of worry about immigration in Great Britain since September 2016.

“Starmer’s net satisfaction rating of -54, is the worst of any Prime Minister at a comparable point of their premiership going back to Margaret Thatcher,” says Ben Roff, Senior Research Executive, Public Affairs. “One explanation for Labour’s poor poll ratings is that a majority of the public think they are doing a poor job on some of the issues that matter most to them. For example, reflecting this latest What Worries the World data, immigration, the economy, the cost of living and healthcare are consistently shown as the issues of most importance to the public.”

Spotlight: Ireland

On the other side of the Irish Sea people in the Republic of Ireland are keenly worried about many of the same issues as Brits. 

People in Ireland are currently the most concerned about immigration control out of all 30 countries in this month’s What Worries the World polling. The issue is seen as the No. 1 issue in Ireland (45%), followed by healthcare (40%).

"Ireland is experiencing many infrastructural issues following years of underinvestment in housing, utilities and critical services meaning that many who have lived here for all their life are struggling to buy a home, are seeing a straining healthcare and social system and are struggling to reconcile this with Ireland’s apparently wealthy economy," says Kieran O'Leary, Director at Ipsos B&A.

"This gives fertile ground for immigration concerns to thrive. It manifests itself through local concerns around housing immigrants in centres in communities around the country, as well as in far-right protests suggesting that 'Ireland is Full'.

World Worries: Long-Term Trends

Q: Which three of the following topics do you find the most worrying in your country?

Crime & violence

Across 30 countries the proportion mentioning crime has risen slightly (+2pp) since last July to just under a third (32%). 

Concern about crime & violence is highest in Latin America with all six countries from the region included in this survey featuring among the eight most worried countries. Concern is highest in Peru (64%) and Chile (62%). While both countries have seen their level of worry fall this month, it is higher in both countries than 12 months ago (Peru +7pp, Chile +5pp).

Inflation

Meanwhile, the proportion citing inflation has decreased marginally to 31%, dropping it just below crime & violence at a global level.

This wave of polling was done June 20-July 4, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest global trade deal deadline of August 1.

So far, despite the likelihood of stiff tariffs and counter-tariffs for many countries, concern about inflation has fallen since July 2024 in Argentina (-17pp to 31%), Colombia (-15pp to 16%) and the U.S. (-15pp to 35%), though cost-of-living concern is up 15 points in Singapore to 63%.
 

Post-election bumps

While Brits are now feeling gloomier about the direction of their country now than they were than in PM Starmer’s early days as leader other countries are experiencing post-election bumps. 

Following the election of President Lee Jae Myung in June, South Korea has seen the largest rise in the proportion of people saying their “country is heading in the right direction” month-over-month rising 39 points to 59%.

And in Canada, 43% of people now say their country is going in the right direction, up from 23% at the start of the year before then-PM Justin Trudeau resigned and now-PM Mark Carney won the federal election in late April. 

But, as the Brits show there’s often a wave of elation after an unpopular incumbent leader is shown the door that proves to be short-lived. 

Current economic situation - G7 Countries

Q: How would you describe the current economic situation in your country?

Current economic situation

On average across 30 countries, almost four in ten (38%, +1pp year-over-year) describe the current economic situation in their country as good.

Since last July five of the G7 countries have fresh faces at the helm (Canadian PM Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. PM Starmer, Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Trump). 

The change of leaders hasn’t led to a significant change in economic sentiment year-over-year, except in Germany where there’s been an 11-point drop in the proportion who think the current economic situation in their country is good to 31%.

Meanwhile, the economic mood in both Japan (now 11%, -1pp) and France (14%, -6pp) was and is dismal with the Japanese feeling the most pessimistic out of all 30 countries this month, followed by the French. 

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