New global poll finds unemployment remains the top issue globally - but in Britain, healthcare is now the single biggest worry
New study finds that majority of people across 25 countries think their country is on the wrong track – Mexico, Italy, South Korea, South Africa, France and Brazil are the most concerned.
“What Worries the World” is a monthly online survey of adults aged under 65 in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States. It finds that the majority of people across 25 countries think that their country is on the wrong track (62% on average), remaining unchanged from last month. Meanwhile, the three biggest worries for global citizens are unemployment, financial and political corruption, and poverty and inequality.
Right track or wrong direction?
The study shows that China leads as the single most optimistic country with 91% thinking their country is on the right track, followed by India (75%), Saudi Arabia (73%) and Russia (64%). Most countries, though, have much higher levels of discontent, notably Mexico, Italy, South Korea, South Africa, France, and Brazil, all of which have over eight in ten saying their country is going in the wrong direction.
Across the world, men tend to be happier than women (41% of men say their country is on the right track, against 35% of women), as are those on high income (45% right track, vs 33% of those on low incomes) and those with higher levels of education (41% right track, vs 33% those on lower levels of education).
Worries of the world
When looking at the issues that drive sentiment in the 25 countries, unemployment is once again the single biggest worry – mentioned by 38% of people globally. Despite this, long term trends show that unemployment has been decreasing since 2012 when half across all countries said this worried them. Spain continues to be the country most worried about unemployment (68%), closely followed by Italy (65%) and South Korea (62%).
Financial and political corruption remains the second most common worry of the world at 34%. South Koreans continue to be the most worried in the world about this issue, with 74% saying it is a concern. Following the impeachment of president Park Geun-hye in December last year, the proportion who felt this was a concern dropped slightly. However, since January it has slowly been rising to the current level. Corruption is also a big worry in South Africa (57%), Hungary (55%) and Mexico (55%).
Poverty and social equality (33%) is the issue people across the world worry about next. Hungary has the highest level of concern at 62%. Russia and Israel are in joint second place with 51% of their citizens worried about it.
What worries Britain?
Healthcare is now the single biggest concern for Britain at 44%, an eight-point increase this month. Britain is now in joint-third place as the most concerned about healthcare, equal with Poland and behind only Hungary and Brazil. The topic of healthcare now overtakes immigration control as the top issue that Britons worry about, which slips down to joint second place with worries about poverty and social inequality (both at 33%).
Despite this modest decrease, Britain’s concern about immigration control is still among the highest out of the 25 countries in the study, second only to Germany (35%). Levels of concern remain the highest in Europe/Turkey and the US - Italy (31%), France, Sweden (both 22%), Belgium, the US (both 21%), and Turkey (20%).
Concern about terrorism is highest in countries with recent or ongoing exposure to incidents. Turkey remains the country most worried about terrorism in the world – at a huge 73%, followed by Israel (48), France (42%) and Germany (39%). Terrorism has slipped to fourth place as the most worrying issue for Britons (26%).
Crime and violence is a key worry for 29% of people on average, with Peru (67%), South Africa (61%) and Argentina (54%), Brazil (52%) and Mexico (50%) in the top five. In Peru and Argentina, crime and violence is their primary worry.
China is more worried about climate change (20%) and threats against the environment (43%) than all the other countries.
| Top five global worries | Top five Great Britain worries |
|---|---|
| 1) Unemployment (38%) | 1) Healthcare (44%) |
| 2) Financial / Political Corruption (34%) | 2) Immigration Control (33%) |
| 3) Poverty / Social Inequality (33%) | 3) Poverty / Social Inequality |
| 4) Crime and Violence (29%) | 4) Terrorism (26%) |
| 5) Healthcare | 5) Rise of Extremism (24%) |
Commenting on the findings, Bobby Duffy, Managing Director, Ipsos Social Research Institute, said:
“This study reminds us that discontent is high in many important countries around the world – notably France and Italy in Europe, Brazil and Mexico in Latin America, South Korea and South Africa. All those countries are also among the most pessimistic about their economy, but the issue they are most concerned about varies – corruption in Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea, unemployment in France and Italy, and crime in South Africa. As for Britain, the rise in concern about healthcare mirrors other Ipsos research that shows that since the turn of the year, we have become increasingly worried about the future of the NHS.”
Technical note:
- The survey is conducted monthly in 25 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America.
- 18,029 interviews were conducted between January 20th and February 3rd 2017, among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, Israel and the US and adults aged 16-64 in all other countries. The survey was conducted in 25 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. Data is weighted to match the profile of the population.
- In 16 of the 25 countries surveyed internet penetration is sufficiently high to think of the samples as representative of the wider population within the age ranges covered: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain and United States. Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey have lower levels of internet penetration and so these samples should instead be considered to represent a more affluent, connected population. These are still a vital social group to understand in these countries, representing an important and emerging middle class.
