Almost two-thirds (64%) of the public across 27 countries say things in their country are heading in the wrong direction. Coronavirus remains the number one concern in our global survey – a place it has occupied for almost a year.
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.
The monthly What Worries the World survey, which tracks levels of public concern about a range of social and political issues in 27 countries, shows that Coronavirus is still top of mind when it comes to what people are worried about in their country. Level with last month, the global country average for concern about COVID-19 is currently at 50%.
Unemployment is second in our 18-issue ranking, followed by Poverty & social inequality, Financial/political corruption, and Crime & violence (moving up from sixth place to replace Healthcare).
Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?
Source: Ipsos Global Advisor. The global score is a Global Country Average. See methodology for details.
Coronavirus
With over three-quarters (77%) selecting COVID-19 as a top issue, Malaysia is the country showing the highest levels of concern about the pandemic this month.
Coronavirus is also a worrying topic for two in three people in Great Britain (68%), Spain (67%) and Japan (66%).
The largest increases in concern about Coronavirus since last month are seen in Belgium (+11 points), France (+10) and Israel (+10).
Unemployment
Unemployment is currently ranked second in our survey. On average across all countries, 37% select it as one of the most important issues facing their country today.
Italy is the nation most concerned about jobs, with 63% saying this is a top issue in their country.
A similar score in South Africa (61%) puts this country second out of the 27 in terms of unemployment concern. Spain is once again in third with 57%.
Poverty/social inequality
On average, three in ten (30%) across all nations say Poverty & social inequality is one of the top issues in their country today.
Russia continues to be the most concerned nation in our survey. Last month’s 6-point increase is repeated in February, marking a steep increase from 51% in December 2020 to 63% today.
Other countries showing recent rising concern about Poverty & social inequality include Japan (+6 points to 36% since last month), Poland (+6 points to 23%) and Malaysia (+5 points to 23%).
Financial/political corruption
Financial/political corruption is the fourth greatest global concern, with 27% on average saying it is one of the big issues facing their country today.
Russia is also at the top of the table on this issue: 57% select corruption as a worrying topic, a 9-point increase vs. January 2021.
South Africans almost match Russia’s score, with 56% of citizens saying this is a top concern in their country today.
Peru, Hungary and Malaysia complete our list of the five nations most worried about Financial/political corruption.
Looking ahead
In February 2021, the global country average of those saying things in their country are heading in the wrong direction is 64%. This, alongside our November 2020 reading, is the most pessimistic score seen over the past year.
Larger majorities say things are on the wrong track in Peru (87%), South Africa (82%) and Poland (80%). Three-quarters or more also share this opinion in Argentina, Spain, Chile, Italy and France.
In both Belgium and Spain, the proportion saying their country is on the wrong track has increased by 10 percentage points vs. last month.
On the other hand, there has been a positive shift in the US. The number of respondents saying things are heading in the right direction is up 13 percentage points to 38%, making the country now marginally more optimistic than the global country average.
