Looking To The Future Poll

  • Mail-out to 1,000 participants of the International Students' Competition 2000 between 24 March-7 April
  • 287 returns, representing a 28.7% response
  • Data are unweighted
  • Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don't knows/not stateds
  • An asterisk (*) denotes a value of less than half of one per cent, but greater than zero

Q1 Would you describe your own politics as generally to the right, generally to the left or middle of the road?

  %
Right 25
Left 10
Middle 51
None of these 9
Not stated 5

Q2 Thinking over the next 25 years, do you expect the following in your country to be generally higher, lower or about the same?

  Higher Lower About the same Not stated
  % % % %
Unemployment 26 51 17 6
Inflation 28 27 39 6
Economic growth 61 12 22 5

Q3 And still thinking over the next 25 years, do you expect the following internationally to be generally higher, lower or about the same?

  Higher Lower About the same Not stated
  % % % %
Unemployment 28 46 22 5
Inflation 25 29 40 6
Economic growth 60 11 24 5

Q4 Thinking about your country over this 25-year period, do you expect the role of market forces in the way the economy runs to...?

  %
Increase 82
Decrease 3
Remain the same 7

No opinion

3

Not stated

5

Q5 And over this 25-year period, do you expect the role of market forces in the way the economy runs internationally to...?

  %
Increase 74
Decrease 4
Remain the same 14

No opinion

3

Not stated

5

Q6 In your country, do you expect that, over the next 25 years, taxes as a share of national income will be higher, lower or about the same as now?

  %
Higher 45
Lower 25
About the same 22

No opinion

2

Not stated

5

Q7 Still thinking of your country, do you expect inequality of wealth and income between rich and poor to increase or decrease, over the next 25 years?

  %
Inequality will increase 60
Inequality will decrease 22
Inequality will remain about the same 11

No opinion

2

Not stated

6

Q8 And thinking of the same thing internationally, do you expect inequality of wealth and income between rich and poor to increase or decrease, over the next 25 years?

  %
Inequality will increase 58
Inequality will decrease 20
Inequality will remain about the same 15

No opinion

2

Not stated

5

Q9 Thinking of your country, how do you expect the quality of the environment to change over the next 25 years?

  %
Get better 48
Get worse 33
Remain about the same 11

No opinion

2

Not stated

5

Q10 And thinking of internationally, how do you expect the quality of the environment to change over the next 25 years?

  %
Get better 36
Get worse 45
Remain about the same 11

No opinion

2

Not stated

5

Q11 There is much talk nowadays about the internet and e-commerce. In your opinion, is this...?

  %
A revolution, on a par with the industrial revolution 72
An important change, but not one that will change society in revolutionary ways 21
A change of limited significance 1

No opinion

*

Not stated

5

Q12 Looking over the next 25 years again, do you expect the role of national governments relative to international or local institutions to get...?

  %
Bigger 16
Smaller 61
Or stay about the same 15

No opinion

3

Not stated

5

Q13 And thinking of international organisations such as United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, do you expect that over the next 25 years they will play a bigger role in the world, a smaller role or about the same as they do now?

  %
Bigger role in the world 50
Smaller role in the world 19
Stay about the same 22

No opinion

3

Not stated

5

Q14 And what of military alliances such as NATO? How do you see them changing over the next 25 years?

  %
They will become more powerful 28
They will become less powerful 37
Stay about the same 20

No opinion

11

Not stated

5

Q15 Thinking of the current European Union, which of the following comes nearest to your view of what will happen over the next 25 years?

  %
The EU will become a single 'superstate' 14
The EU will become wider and deeper but without turning into a 'superstate' 66
The EU will remain broadly as it is now 5

The EU will become a looser grouping of states

6

The EU will collapse

2

No opinion

2

Not stated

5

Q16 Thinking over the next 25 years, please rank the following in order of their likely power in the world, marking 1 against the organisation you think will be most powerful, 2 against the second-most powerful and so on.

  1 2 3 4 5 6 Notstated
  % % % % % % %
Microsoft 23 29 15 9 8 5 11
The Roman Catholic Church 3 3 12 20 17 33 12
The government of your country 13 8 11 17 22 18 11
The IMF 23 21 18 15 10 2 10
Greenpeace 6 10 14 15 24 20 11
Time Warner/AOL 24 21 17 11 6 8 11

Q17 Comparing the next 25 years with the 20th Century as a whole, do you expect that they will be more peaceful internationally, less peaceful or about the same?

  %
More peaceful 51
Less peaceful 17
About the same 27

Not stated

5

Q18 And how likely over that period do you think it is that there will be a Third World War?

  %
Very likely 5
Fairly likely 7
Not very likely 56

Not at all likely

23

Don't know

5

Not stated

5

Q19 How likely do you think it is that the 21st Century will be characterised in your country as one of stable government?

  %
Very likely 33
Fairly likely 38
Not very likely 17

Not at all likely

4

Don't know

2

Not stated

5

Q20 Do you think that the 21st Century will be generally characterised internationally as...?

  %
Very peaceful 4
Fairly peaceful 39
Neither peaceful nor violent 37

Fairly violent

11

Very violent

1

Don't know

3

Not stated

5

Q21 In 25 years' time, how likely do you think it is that...?

  Very likely Fairly likely Not very likely Not at all likely Not stated
  % % % % %
People in rich countries will live to 100+ 17 37 33 9 5
Hunger in poor countries will increase 15 36 36 8 5
Cancer will be generally curable 30 42 22 2 5
There will be a major worldwide epidemic 5 22 47 22 5

Q22 And thinking of your country, do you believe that in 25 years' time...?

  Yes No Don'tknow Notstated
  % % % %
Abortion will be available to anyone who wants it 70 16 9 5
Homosexual relationships will be considered legitimate 44 41 10 5
Racial discrimination will diminish 57 30 8 5
Sexual equality wil increase 81 11 4 5
Freedom of speech will increase 74 16 5 5
Religion will become stronger 18 63 14 5

Q23 Who do you think was the greatest individual of the 20th Century and why?

Q24 Thinking of your own life, how likely do you think it is that you will get the job or jobs which will meet your expectations?

  %
Very likely 55
Fairly likely 33
Not very likely 5

Not at all likely

1

Don't know

1

Not stated

5

Q25 Which matters to you most?

  %
Career 10
Family & friends 22
Both equally 61

Not stated

6

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