what worries the world...mexico netherlands great britain israel japan turkey sweden belgium spain...

December 2020

WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD

Global summary report

© Ipsos | What Worries the World

WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD?

Ipsos’ What Worries the World survey tracks public opinion on the

most important social and political issues across 27 countries today,

drawing on 10 years of data to place the latest scores in context.

This global summary report presents the top global concerns

alongside whether people think things their country is heading in the

right or wrong direction.

Full breakdowns of findings for each country and

each issue are also available on www.ipsos.com.

Please contact: [email protected]

for more information.

@ Ipsos | What Worries the World

mailto:[email protected]


47%

37%

29%

27%

24%

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Unemployment

Poverty & social inequality

Financial/political corruption

Crime & violence

=

=

- 2

Coronavirus remains the number one concern in our survey for the ninth consecutive month. The latest results show 47% of

people in 27 countries select COVID-19 as one of the main issues of concern facing their country. Meanwhile, more than six

in ten worldwide (62%) say things in their country are on the “wrong track”.

GLOBAL SUMMARY: DECEMBER 2020

Which three of the following topics do you

find the most worrying in your country?

Base: Representative sample of 19,504 adults aged 16-74 in 27 participating countries, November 20th - December 4th 2020.

Generally speaking, would you say things in this

country are heading in the right direction, or are

they off on the wrong track?

✓

WRONG TRACK

RIGHT DIRECTION

38%

62%

Source: Ipsos Global Advisor

3 ‒

Q Q

=

+2

-2

% change

vs. last

month

% change

vs. last

month

- 1

© Ipsos | What Worries the World4 ‒

GLOBAL SUMMARY: A 12-MONTH VIEW

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Dec2019

Jan2020

Feb2020

Mar2020

Apr2020

May2020

Jun2020

Jul2020

Aug2020

Sep2020

Oct2020

Nov2020

Dec2020

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Dec2019

Dec2020

Coronavirus

(COVID-19)

Unemployment Poverty & social

inequality

Financial/political

corruption

Crime & violence

47%

38%

29%27%24%

62%

39%

Which three of the following topics do you find the most

worrying in your country?

Generally speaking, would you say things in this

country are heading in the right direction, or are they off

on the wrong track?

Q Q

Right Direction Wrong Track




DIRECTION OF

TRAVELALL

COUNTRIES

5 ‒


18%20%21%

24%25%27%28%28%28%29%30%30%

33%35%35%37%37%

41%41%42%44%

47%49%

57%64%64%

86%38%

82%80%79%

76%75%73%72%72%72%71%70%70%

67%65%65%63%63%

59%59%58%56%

53%51%

43%36%36%

14%62% Wrong track

Right direction

Would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?

6 ‒

GLOBAL RIGHT DIRECTION OR WRONG TRACK MONITOR

q -1

p +5

p +2

p +2

q -2

q -1

p +1

q -5

p +1

p +11

q -4

p +1

q -3

q -5

q -1

q -8

p +5

q -4

q -5

q -3

q -1

q -6

p +2

q -1

q -5

=

p +4

q -2

World

Saudi Arabia

Australia

India

Malaysia

Canada

Germany

South Korea

Russia

Mexico

Netherlands

Great Britain

Israel

Japan

Turkey

Sweden

Belgium

Spain

Brazil

Italy

Peru

US

Hungary

Chile

Argentina

France

South Africa

Poland



Q

Across the 27 nations, more

than six in ten (62%) on

average, and a majority in 23

countries, say that things in

their country are on the

wrong track.

The countries where larger

majorities share this view are

Poland (82%), South Africa

(80%), France (80%) and

Belgium (79%). Poland is

most pessimistic about

where things are heading for

the second month running.

Chile has seen an 11-point

drop on the “right direction”

measure compared to last

month. Meanwhile, there has

been an 11-point increase in

both Turkey and the

Netherlands.


GLOBAL: RIGHT DIRECTION/WRONG TRACK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Dec2012

Dec2013

Dec2014

Dec2015

Dec2016

Dec2017

Dec2018

Dec2019

Dec2020

Right direction Wrong track

62%

38%

Base: Representative sample c. 20,000 adults aged 16-74 in 27 participating countries, 2012 - 2020.


7 ‒

Would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?Q

© Ipsos | What Worries the World8 ‒

WORRIES THE

WORLD?TOP ISSUES

RANKED


47%

37%

29%

27%

24%

23%

16%

13%

11%

11%

10%

9%

9%

8%

8%

6%

2%

2%

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Unemployment


Financial/political corruption

Crime & violence

Healthcare

Education

Taxes

Climate change

Moral decline

Immigration control

Threats against the environment

Inflation

Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Maintaining social programmes

Access to credit

Childhood obesity

9 ‒

WORLD WORRIES: THE FULL LIST

Mentioned in December 2020 (%)


Source: ipsos Global Advisor

q -2

p +2

q -1

q -3

p +5

=

=

q -2

p +1

=

p +1

q -1

q -2

p +1

q -2

p +1

=

q -1

Which three of the following topics do you find the most worrying in your country?Q

This ranking of 18 issues

shows the overview of what

people in 27 countries

worry about today.

Almost half of our

respondents worldwide

(47%) say that COVID-19

is one of the top issues

facing their country, level

with last month.

Unemployment is the

second greatest issue

across all countries at 37%,

followed by Poverty &

social inequality (29%) and

Financial/political

corruption (27%).


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Dec2012

Dec2013

Dec2014

Dec2015

Dec2016

Dec2017

Dec2018

Dec2019

Dec2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Unemployment Poverty & social inequality Financial/Political corruption Crime & violence

56%47%

WORLD WORRIES: LONG-TERM TRENDS

24%

27%

37%

29%

Base: Representative sample c. 20,000 adults aged 16-74 in 27 participating countries, 2012 - 2020.


10 ‒


47%

69%

65%

64%

63%

61%

60%

54%

53%

52%

49%

48%

48%

47%

45%

43%

42%

42%

42%

42%

40%

40%

38%

38%

38%

31%

24%

17%

World

Malaysia

Great Britain

Canada

Japan

South Korea

Spain

US

Germany

Netherlands

Saudi Arabia

Israel

Turkey

India

Mexico

Peru

Belgium

Italy

Poland

Sweden

Australia

Chile

Brazil

France

Hungary

Russia

South Africa

Argentina

1 | CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

(%) worried in December 2020 in each country

q -1

p +28

q -4

q -10

q -3

q -2

q -2

q -1

q -3

p +2

q -1

q -6

q -5

q -5

q -2

p +13

q -3

q -4

q -3

q -4

q -7

p +1

p +2

q -19

p +10

q -6

q -5

p +2

11 ‒


Country Comparison

47% of our respondents

worldwide say Coronavirus is

one of the biggest issues

facing their country today.

Malaysia is the country most

concerned about COVID-19

and Great Britain is second,

in line with recent months.

We see increased concern

about Coronavirus this

month in Canada (+7), Japan

(+11) and South Korea (+10).

Six in ten are also concerned

about Coronavirus in Spain.

Although there has been a 4-

point decrease here since

last month, increases in

other countries means it now

ranks 6th instead of 3rd overall



37%

59%

59%

58%

54%

47%

47%

46%

44%

42%

42%

41%

39%

38%

37%

34%

33%

32%

32%

31%

29%

27%

26%

24%

20%

19%

16%

16%

World

Italy

South Africa

Spain

South Korea

Malaysia

Mexico

Argentina

India

Australia

Israel

Peru

Turkey

Chile

Japan

Canada

Russia

France

Saudi Arabia

Great Britain

Brazil

Hungary

US

Belgium

Netherlands

Sweden

Germany

Poland

2 | UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOBS


q -1

q -1

=

q -3

p +2

q -6

p +4

p +4

q -1

=

q -2

q -7

q -1

q -7

p +2

p +2

q -7

p +1

=

=

q -3

q -6

q -2

=

p +1

q -4

q -2

=

12 ‒


Country Comparison

Unemployment is currently

the second greatest worry

worldwide with 37%

selecting it as one of the

most important issues

facing their country today.

Italy and South Africa are

currently the nations most

concerned about jobs, with

59% in each saying this is a

top issue in their country

today. Spain is just behind

with 58%.

Month-on-month concern

has increased most in

France (32%, up 7 points).



29%

51%

45%

42%

37%

37%

36%

36%

33%

33%

33%

30%

29%

29%

28%

27%

27%

26%

25%

25%

24%

21%

20%

20%

19%

18%

17%

16%

World

Russia

Chile

Hungary

Argentina

Turkey

Germany

Mexico

Belgium

Brazil

France

Peru

Italy

South Africa

Japan

Great Britain

Spain

South Korea

Australia

Netherlands

Canada

Israel

India

Sweden

US

Malaysia

Poland

Saudi Arabia

3 | POVERTY & SOCIAL INEQUALITY


=

p +1

q -4

q -2

p +1

p +3

p +2

=

q -2

q -1

p +7

=

p +5

p +3

p +6

=

p +1

q -9

q -3

q -1

q -6

q -2

q -9

q -1

q -2

=

=

=


13 ‒

Country Comparison

Russia continues to be the

country most concerned

about Poverty & social

inequality with 51% singling

it out as a major concern.

In line with previous

months, Chile and Hungary

are in second and third

place with 45% and 42%

respectively.

There has been a significant

increase in concern about


in the past month in France

(+13 points to 33%).



27%

59%

53%

48%

47%

46%

35%

35%

33%

32%

32%

31%

29%

28%

28%

24%

19%

19%

18%

18%

17%

16%

15%

13%

9%

7%

7%

7%

World

South Africa

Peru

Malaysia

Russia

Hungary

Chile

Poland

Israel

Brazil

South Korea

Argentina

India

Spain

US

Mexico

Italy

Saudi Arabia

Canada

Japan

Turkey

Australia

Belgium

Great Britain

Sweden

France

Germany

Netherlands

4 | FINANCIAL/POLITICAL CORRUPTION


=

p +5

q -1

p +1

q -8

q -3

=

=

p +6

q -1

q -1

q -3

=

=

q -4

p +7

q -1

p +9

q -2

=

q -3

q -2

p +1

=

q -2

q -2

p +1

p +1


14 ‒

Country Comparison

Financial/Political

Corruption is the fourth

greatest global concern,

with 27% on average

globally saying it is one of

the big issues facing their

country.

South Africa is the country

most concerned about this

with six in ten (59%)

selecting this issue.

There has been an 8-point

increase in Peru, taking the

total concern to 53% and

putting the country in

second place on this

measure. Malaysia (48%),

Russia (47%) and Hungary

(46%) complete the top five.



24%

58%

54%

50%

45%

41%

40%

32%

29%

25%

24%

24%

23%

22%

22%

22%

21%

21%

18%

14%

13%

12%

11%

11%

9%

8%

6%

6%

World

South Africa

Mexico

Sweden

Peru

Chile

Argentina

Brazil

France

Malaysia

Netherlands

US

Turkey

Belgium

Germany

India

Australia

Israel

Great Britain

Italy

Canada

Saudi Arabia

Japan

South Korea

Spain

Russia

Hungary

Poland

5 | CRIME & VIOLENCE


p +3

p +9

p +8

p +5

q -5

p +3

p +1

p +5

p +3

p +12

=

q -6

p +9

q -1

p +1

=

p +3

p +2

p +2

=

p +2

p +2

p +4

p +5

p +2

q -4

=

=


15 ‒

Country Comparison

Crime & violence is ranked

fifth globally, with 24% on

average saying this is

among the most worrying

issues in their country

today.

Scores are highest in South

Africa (58%), Mexico (54%)

and Sweden (50%).

Indeed, Crime & violence is

the number one issue for

people in Mexico and

Sweden.

The largest increase in

concern about crime and

violence recorded over the

past month is in Belgium,

up 6 points to 22%.



This 27-country Global Advisor survey was conducted between November

20th - December 4th, 2020 via the Ipsos Online Panel system among 20,086

adults aged 18-74 in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and the

United States, and 16-74 in all 21 other countries.

The sample consists of approximately 1000+ individuals in each of Australia,

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Japan,

Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the US, and approximately 500+ individuals in

each of Argentina, Chile, Hungary, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru,

Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany,

Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea,

Spain, Sweden, and the US can be taken as representative of these

countries’ general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi

Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or

more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these

markets should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected”

segment of these populations.

Weighting has been employed to balance demographics and ensure that the

sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to the

most recent census data.

The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval

with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate

to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of

credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1

more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses,

or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses

The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.

METHODOLOGY

16 ‒

© Ipsos | What Worries the World© Ipsos | What Worries the World17 ‒

ABOUT IPSOS

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present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our research professionals, analysts and scientists have built

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“Game Changers” – our tagline – summarises our ambition to

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Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext

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Service (SRD).

ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg

IPS:FP

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GAME CHANGERS

In our world of rapid change, the need for reliable information

to make confident decisions has never been greater.

At Ipsos we believe our clients need more than a data supplier,

they need a partner who can produce accurate and relevant

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This is why our passionately curious experts not only provide

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