One Third of Americans are Worried about Healthcare

Washington, DC, December 27, 2019 — According to the latest installment of What Worries the World, a majority of Americans (59%) think that things in their country are off on the wrong track, which is in line with the global average of 61%.

What Worries the World is a monthly online survey of adults aged under 74 in 28 countries including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Right Direction?

In line with previous trends, Chinese citizens remain the most confident about their nation’s direction with 95% believing their country is heading in the right direction. Saudi Arabia (81%) remains in second place with India (69%) in third place, ahead of Malaysia (47%). The United States is ranked in thirteenth place among this group, with 41% saying they feel their country is going in the right direction. This figure was about the same during data collection in September of this year (40%).

Russia and South Africa have seen the greatest increase in national optimism this month, with both nations up 10-percentage points (to 46% and 25% respectively). There are no other notable increases in positivity this month.

Spanish, Chilean, Italian, and British respondents have the greatest apprehension about the direction of their country this month. Just 17% of Spanish citizens think their country is going in the right direction, followed by 18% in Chile, 21% in Italy and 23% in Great Britain.

Chile and Turkey are the nations with greatest drop-offs in positivity— with a reduction of 13 and 12 points respectively from the previous month.

Top Four Worries, Globally

Among the countries surveyed for this study, the top concerns are poverty and social inequality, unemployment, crime and violence, financial and political corruption, and healthcare.

• Poverty & social inequality (33%): Hungary (60%) is most anxious about this issue, followed by Chile (55%) and Russia (53%). Chile is also the country with the greatest month-on-month increase, with a 23-percentage point rise for this issue. There is also a notable rise in apprehension by Belgian citizens (39%) with a 9-percentage point increase. Russia (53%) and Argentina (39%) are the nations with the biggest decreases in this worry showing declines from the previous month of 10 and 9-percentage points respectively. The US (18%) is the least worried nation on this issue.

• Unemployment (32%): The highest levels of concern are seen in South Africa and Spain (both 62%) closely followed by Italy (61%). Turkey (48%) is the nation with the greatest increase in worry for this month with a 12-percentage point increase from the previous month. Worries around unemployment are lowest in the Netherlands (where it is mentioned by 10%), Israel (11%), and Germany (11%).

• Crime & violence (30%): As in previous months, the highest levels of concern are seen in Mexico (67%) and South Africa (62%), with Peru (60%) following in third. Israel (33%) is the country with the biggest increase from the previous month, with a rise of 9-percentage points.

• Financial/political corruption (30%): Peru (63%) has the highest proportion worried about financial or political corruption, followed by South Africa (59%) and Hungary (51%). Chile (47%) records the largest spike in anxiety with an increase of 15-percentage points from the previous month. The greatest decreases in this issue are Hungary (8-percentage point decrease) and Russia (7-percentage point decrease).

Top Four Worries, US

• Healthcare (35%): This is the number one concern in the United States but is only ranked fifth on a global scale (25%). Healthcare is also very concerning to citizens in Hungary (70%), Poland (57%), and Brazil (45%).

• Financial/political corruption (29%): Corruption is ranked second in the US, and fourth globally (30%), though with about the same proportion of people naming it as a top concern.

• Crime & violence (28%): Crime and violence is ranked third both in the US and globally. However, many countries have much higher percentages of citizens concerned about this issue, especially Mexico (67%), South Africa (62%), and Peru (60%).

• Immigration control (25%): Immigration control is ranked fourth among the US’s concerns, with a quarter of Americans saying it is one of their top three concerns for the country. This issue is ranked ninth globally (14%), but Germany (30%), Belgium (28%), Peru (27%), and Sweden (27%) all have higher percentages of citizens that feel it is a top issue than the US.

About the Study

The survey was conducted in 28 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The 28 countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China (mainland), France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America.

For this study, 19,889 interviews were conducted between October 25 and November 8 among adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Israel, South Africa and Turkey and 16-74 in all other countries. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

In 17 of the 28 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, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain and United States. The remaining 11 countries surveyed: Brazil, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Peru, 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.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Kate Silverstein
Media Relations, US
Public Affairs
+1 718 755-8829
[email protected]

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