Disinformation, hacking seen as top threats; Reputation of America drops

In the latest edition of our annual Ipsos World Affairs polling for the Halifax International Security Forum, we explore global attitudes towards conflicts and threats to the world.

Key findings include:

• Disinformation, hacking worry remains high. Just over 3 in 4 (77% on average across 30 countries*) say the spread of disinformation to influence public opinion is a real threat in the world today. Being hacked for fraudulent/espionage purposes (77%) ties disinformation as the No. 1 threat for the second year in a row.
• Canada still No. 1 positive influencer as America stumbles. 80% say Canada is the country/organization most likely to have a positive influence on world affairs, topping our list for the 10th year running. Meanwhile, 48% now say the U.S. will have a positive influence on world affairs, down from 60% in 2024.  
• China, BRIC, CRINK countries on the rise. China (46%) is seen as the top country/organization gaining influence on the world stage right now. This new question finds BRIC and CRINK countries**, both at 31%, are viewed as gaining more influence than Western/developed countries generally (18%).
• Support for mandatory military service for young runs gamut. While a strong majority (83%, new) think it’s important for their country to maintain a strong national defense, even in peace time, only a slim majority (52%, new) are in favor of mandatory military service for young people in their nation country — ranging from a high of 76% in Malaysia to a low of 17% in Japan.
• Pessimism rises, fear falls. Only 1 in 3 (33%, on average across 20 countries***) now think more things are getting better than worse these days, down from 47% when we first started asking this question in 2017. At the same time, worry about the world becoming more dangerous has dropped to 79% (across 20 countries), from a historic high of 86% in 2022 in the wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Key findings: at a glance

Trump slump 2.0

Less than half (48% on average across 30 countries*) now think that America will have a positive impact on world affairs over the next decade, down 12 percentage points from our polling last year, which was done right before now-U.S. President Donald Trump won the election.

America’s northern neighbors are now the least likely of all 30 countries to think the U.S. will have a positive impact with just 24% of Canadian saying so, down a whopping 28 points compared to 2024.

The proportion who think the U.S. will have a positive impact fell in 29 of 30 countries in 2025. The global reputation of the U.S. also slid during Trump’s first term (2017-2021).

A new question added amid Trump’s ongoing tariff war finds just over one in four (28% on average across 30 countries) think America is currently gaining world influence and the country is now seen as the most likely country to be losing global influence (32%). That’s behind China (46%) and BRIC and CRINK countries**, both at 31%, that are currently seen as gaining more influence on the world stage than America (28%), as well as Western/developed countries generally (18%).

Almost three in five (58% and a majority in 26 of 30 countries) think when Trump’s term is over the U.S. will go back to its more traditional role on the global stage.

O Canada!

Eight in ten (80% on average across 30 countries) think that Canada will have a positive impact on world affairs over the next decade, once again topping our influencer list.

Canada is seen as the No. 1 world influencer for the 10th year in a row. One’s own country (76%), followed by Germany (73%), the European Union (70%) tying with France (70%), and Great Britain (68%) round of the top five world influencers.

Only one in four predict Iran will have a positive impact on world affairs, tying with Israel (also at 25%) this year. During polling (done Sept. 19 - Oct. 3, 2025) the Gaza peace plan was announced on Sept. 29.

Iran has been seen as the least likely country/organization to have a positive influence every year since 2014, except for this year when it tied with Israel and 2022 when it tied with Russia for the bottom spot in the immediate wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Pakistan (28%), Russia (32%), CRINK* countries (33%), and Saudia Arabia (45%) round out the bottom five influencers for 2025.

Over the past decade Canada has consistently been seen as the most likely country/organization to have a positive impact on world affairs, though its reputation is not quite as high as it was in 2016 and 2017. Meanwhile, Canada’s neighbor to the south has seen its positive influence on the world stage fall, then rise, and most recently fall again.

National defence seen as key, but who will do the defending?

More than eight in 10 (on average across 30 countries) agree it’s important for their country to maintain a strong national defence force, even in times of peace.

Three in five (60%) agree that “given the dangers in the world, my government needs to spend more on my country’s military power”. At the same time, a similar proportion (64%) think economic power is more important in world affairs than military power.

Just over half (52% on average globally and the majority in 16 of 30 countries) support mandatory military service for young people in their country. While just under half (48%) say they would personally be willing to join a formal preparation/training program to be ready in case of invasion by a foreign country. And slightly more than two in five (43% and the majority in seven of 30 countries) agree that “new immigrants to my country should be required to serve in the military for a period of time”.

Living in dangerous, pessimistic times

The proportion thinking the world is getting better continues its slide to a new low of 33%, on average across 20 countries*, and is 14 percentage points lower than in 2017 (47%) when we first asked this question.

A strong majority (79% on average across 20 countries) think the world became more dangerous in the past year. The proportion thinking things are getting increasingly dangerous is down seven points from a high of 86% in 2022, a year marked by a global pandemic and the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

At the same time, a strong majority (77% on average across 30 counties) think “some person, organization, or country deliberately spreading disinformation to influence public opinion” is a real threat in the next 12 months. Disinformation ties with worry about being hacked for fraudulent/espionage purposes (also 77% across 30 countries) for the second year in a row. While disinformation was only added to our poll last year hacking has long been a leading concern.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed 23,586 adults online in 30 countries between September 19th and October 3rd, 2025. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness and data have been weighted to the known population profile of each country. The sample consists of approximately 2,000 individuals in Japan, 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.

*The “30*-country average” reflects the average result for all the countries and markets where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result. 
**BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and CRINK (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) countries.
***Change for 20-country average is based on the countries which were in all editions of the Ipsos for the Halifax Security Forum report over the past decade.