What worries the world - November 2017

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, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.
Most people across the 26 countries think that their country is on the wrong track (58% on average) but this varies across countries:

• China, India and Saudi Arabia remain as the top three countries most positive about their nation’s direction. Ninety-three per cent in China think their country is going in the right direction, 72% in Saudi Arabia and 65% in India.
• At the other end of the spectrum, South Africans ­- for the third consecutive month— are most concerned about the direction taken by their country. Only 9% of South Africans think their country is going in the right direction, followed by 11% in Brazil and 12% of the population in Mexico. Spain (up 9%), Argentina and Serbia (both up 7%) have seen the biggest increase in optimism. Argentina has seen a substantial 18% increase in positivity about the direction taken by the nation since August. 
• Peru has seen a decline in positivity this month with a fall of seven percentage points (now at 27%) in Peruvians who think the country is heading in the right direction.  There has also been a six point fall in Australia.
• In Britain, two in three (68%) think the country is going in the wrong track, slightly  more optimistic than September 2017 (72%) but still worse than the beginning of the year.

The three major worries for global citizens all remain in line with the previous month:

• Unemployment is still the primary global concern (35%). Italy and Spain have the highest levels of concern (both 63%) – and have been the top two for the third consecutive month. Concern about unemployment in the US has fallen by 5-percentage points from the previous month to 13%. Once again, Germans are least worried about the issue for the fifth consecutive month —joint with Israel in August— with only 12% citing unemployment as a worry this month. 
• Financial/political corruption follows (33%). South Africans continue to be most concerned (71%). Sweden at 6% has surpassed Germany (7%) as the country least concerned.
• Poverty/social inequality is the third most common worry (32%), with the highest level of concern in Hungary (57%) and Russia (55%). The US has the lowest level of concern for this (15%).

What worries Britain

Healthcare is now the single main worry in the British public’s mind with 40% citing it as the focal concern. Britain continues to be the fourth most concerned country about this issue in the world. However, concern about healthcare still remains below its recent peak of 48% in March 2017.

Britons are the most worried about the rise of extremism than any other country in the study, with a quarter (25%) choosing it as a concern – but it’s still less of a worry since a spike in July 2017 (34%).

Concern about terrorism has dropped by 4 points (37%) from September of this year, although Britons are the fifth most worried about terrorism around the world, having previously occupied 8^th place in May 2017.

Over one-third (32%) of the British population is troubled about poverty & social inequality – a rise of 13 points since March 2010, though Britain is still only mid-table in its concern compared with other countries.  As with previous trends — concern about immigration (29%) has fallen by 21 percentage points since March 2016 where it was at 50%, although Britain is still the third most worried of the 26 surveyed.

Notes to editors

• The survey was conducted in 26 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, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America.  18,940 interviews were conducted between October 20th and November 3^rd 2017 among adults aged 18-64 in the US, Israel and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in all other countries. Data is weighted to match the profile of the population.
• In 16 of the 26 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, Serbia, 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. 
• Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With offices in 87 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.