“What Worries the World?”: COVID-19 is the biggest concern the 4th successive month

…although it is not as dominant as it was.

This marks a drop from the June survey, which saw COVID-19 listed as the single most important concern in 13 out of 27 countries. On April, 25 of the 27 surveyed markets had cited the pandemic as the greatest worry when the COIVD-19 was first introduced within the survey.

What Worries the World is a monthly online survey of adults aged under 74 in 27 countries comprising Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

On average, 43% of respondents around the world now say COVID-19 is the top issue facing their country. This is a small fall from June when 47% had cited the pandemic as the greatest concern and is 20 percent points down from the 63% registered in April.

The four major worries globally are:

1. COVID-19 (43%): Included for the first time in April, COVID-19 is still the highest-scoring global issue this month. Chile and India are now the nations most worried about this issue with 61% citing it their main concerns from the 18 issues presented to them. Next are Peru/Saudi Arabia (60%) and Japan (59%). The pandemic is the single greatest concern for 11 of the 27 surveyed nations and is a joint top worry for Brazil (Healthcare) and Sweden (Crime and Violence). The fourteen “outliers” being; Argentina (Unemployment), Belgium (Poverty and Social Inequality), France (Unemployment), Germany (Poverty and Social Inequality) Hungary (Healthcare), Israel (Unemployment), Italy (unemployment), Mexico (Crime and violence), Russia (Poverty and Social inequality), South Africa (Unemployment), South Korea (Unemployment), Spain (Unemployment), Sweden (Crime and Violence) and Turkey (Unemployment).
2.  Unemployment (40%): The rise in concern about unemployment has stalled, which mentions down very slightly (by 2 percentage points) this month. The highest levels of concern are seen in Italy (62%) closely followed by South Africa (60%) and South Korea (59%).
3. Poverty and Social inequality (32%): Once more Russia (scoring 59%) has the highest
   levels of concern about this issue, followed by Chile (56%).
4. Financial/Political Corruption (27%): Hungary (54%) is now the most concerned nation
   about this issue ahead of Russia (53%) and South Africa (51%).
5. Crime and Violence (24%): This month has seen Crime/Violence move into the top 5,
   overtaking Healthcare.

The study finds that most people across the 27 countries surveyed say that their country is on the wrong track. 39% think their country is heading in the right direction while 61% say things are on the wrong track.

Looking at how many say their nation is on the wrong track (61% on average), we find Chile (84%), South Africa (79%), Hungary (77%), France/Belgium (73%) most worried about their country’s direction of travel.

Just seven nations have seen an increase in national optimism from last month with 16 nations showing a drop. Four nations remain the same in their sentiments about national direction.

The survey was conducted in 27 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The 27 countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, 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.