Majority (65%) of Global Citizens Agree Money Is More Important To Them Nowadays Than Previously

New York, NY -- A new Reuters News poll conducted by Ipsos and released today indicates that two thirds (65%) of adults surveyed in 23 countries (representing 75% of the worlds GDP) agree that money is more important to them nowadays than previously. However, six in 10 (57%) disagree that money is the best sign of a person's success.

Comparably, the survey of over 24,000 adults--1000+ respondents per country--shows that 35% of adults surveyed in the 23 countries don't agree that money is more important to them nowadays than previously and 43% believe that money is the best sign of a person's success.

"Perhaps not surprisingly, those nations with the highest levels accorded the importance of money more now than previously directly correlate with those who put the greatest weight in money as a determinant of success" said John Wright, Senior Vice President of Market and opinion research firm Ipsos -- noting that South Korea, Japan, China, India, Russia and Turkey top both lists, with Canada, Belgium, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany and Mexico at the bottom of both.

"With only a few exceptions, we can clearly see the subtle but incredible gulf between the two groups: the value of money and success compared to the values because of money and success." he said.

Where Money Is More Important Nowadays... and Not...

Those countries where citizens are most likely to say that money is more important to them nowadays than previously are from South Korea (84%), Japan (84%), China (84%) and India (78%).

Those countries where citizens are least likely to say that money is more important to them nowadays than previously are from the Netherlands (50%), Mexico (52%), Germany (54%), Great Britain (56%), Belgium (57%) and Canada (57%).

The following list of findings begins with the countries where citizens are most likely to agree that "money is more important to me nowadays than previously" and ascends to those countries where citizens are least likely to agree with the proposition:

With respect to demographic findings for the total sample, it would appear that those most likely to agree that "money is more important to me nowadays than previously" (65%) are equally men (65%) and women (64%), those under the age of 35 (71%) compared with those aged 35-54 (61%) and aged 55+ (52%), and equally all income earners: lower income (64%), middle income (65%) and higher income (66%).

In the alternate, those most likely to disagree that "money is more important to me nowadays than previously" (35%) are most likely to be equally men (35%) and women (36%), older (55+ -- 48%) as opposed to middle aged (35-54 -- 39%) and younger (under 35 -- 29%), and equally among income earners: lower income 36%, middle income 35% and higher income 34%.

Where Money Is Viewed as the Best Sign of a Person's Success... and Not...

A majority (57%) of global citizens don't agree that "money is the best sign of a person's success" with those in Canada (73%), Sweden (72%), Mexico (72%), the Netherlands (71%) and Argentina (70%) leading the way.

However, a significant minority (43%) of global citizens believe that "money is the best sign of a person's success." Where citizens are most likely to agree with this perspective are in China (69%), South Korea (69%), India (67%) and Japan (63%).

The following list of findings begins with the countries where citizens are most likely to agree that "money is the best sign of a person's success" and ascends to those countries where citizens are most likely to disagree with the proposition:

With respect to demographic findings for the total sample, those most likely to disagree that "money is the best sign of a person's success" (56%) are most likely to be women (60%) compared to men (53%), those aged 55+ (65%) compared to those aged 35-54 (60%) and those under the age of 35 (52%), and equally among income earners: lower income (57%), middle income 56%) and higher income (55%).

In the alternate, those most likely to agree that "money is the best sign of a person's success" (44%) are more likely to be men (47%) compared to women (40%), younger (under age 35 -- 48%) compared to middle (35-54 -- 40%) and older (55+ -- 35%) aged, and equally among income earners: higher income (45%), middle income (44%) and lower income (43%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 4th, 2009 and January 13th, 2010, on behalf of Thompson Reuters News Service. For this survey an international sample of 24,077 adults aged 18+ were interviewed in a total of 23 countries representing 75% of the world's GDP. The countries included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, and South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the United States and Turkey. Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos online panel. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent country Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of 1773.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 per country of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in that country had been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. G@6O3_11; G@6_O12

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright Senior Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs (416) 324-2002 [email protected]

For all Reuters/Ipsos Polls go to: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/reuters/

For information about Ipsos and access to all Media and Polling Releases go to: http://www.ipsos.com

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the second largest global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals that assess market potential and interpret market trends for over 5,000 worldwide clients to develop and test emergent or existing products or services, build brands, test advertising and study audience responses to various media, and, measure public opinion on issues and reputation. With over 9,100 employees working in wholly owned operations in 64 countries, Ipsos conducts advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting and a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services in over 100 countries. Founded in 1975 by Jean-Marc Lech and Didier Truchot, Ipsos has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2008, Ipsos' revenues totaled e979.3 million. Listed on Eurolist by NYSE -- Euronext Paris, Ipsos is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities..

About Thomson Reuters

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