WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD · Mexico South Africa Saudi Arabia Argentina Germany Malaysia South Korea Turkey Healthcare is a top concern for one in four across 27 countries. This has

An Ipsos Global Advisor survey

WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD

May 2020

1 ‒

© Ipsos | What Worries the World

WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD: INTRODUCTION

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 document presents:

1. The headline findings

2. Our right track/wrong track indicator

3. The top 5 worries – which countries are most concerned?

4. Full issue rankings for the 27 countries

A full breakdown of findings for each country is available.

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

mailto:[email protected]

© Ipsos

WORLD WORRIES

An overview of the results from May 2020

3 ‒

Coronavirus is the #1 concern worldwide for the second consecutive month.

Source: Ipsos Global Advisor

Base: +/-20,000 adults in 27 countries, April 24th 2020 - May 8th 2020.

WORLD SUMMARY: MAY 2020

Q: Which three of the following topics do you find most

worrying in your country?

55%

42%

31%

25%

24%

Coronavirus

Unemployment

Poverty & social inequality

Healthcare

Financial/Political Corruption

1

2

3

4

5

55% of respondents worldwide selected COVID-19 as

one of their top three issues from a list of 18 in May’s

What Worries the World survey.

‒ This is down from the 63% recorded in April.

‒ Coronavirus is the #1 issue in 18 of 27 countries

Our latest results see an overall increase in concern about

Unemployment, which at 42% is now at the highest level

since February 2015.

In six countries, the top worry changed from COVID-19

to unemployment this month: Argentina, Italy, South

Africa, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.

Meanwhile, concern about healthcare has fallen from a

record 28% in April to a more regular reading of 25%.

Headline findings

5 ‒

WORLD WORRIES: THE FULL LIST

55%

42%

31%

25%

24%

19%

15%

12%

10%

10%

9%

8%

8%

7%

7%

7%

2%

2%

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Unemployment


Healthcare

Financial/political corruption

Crime & violence

Education

Taxes

Immigration control

Climate change

Moral decline

Threats against the environment

Inflation

Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Maintaining social programmes

Access to credit

Childhood obesity

The full ranking of 18

issues, based on results

from 27 countries, shows a

diverse range in levels of

concern attributed to each.

Coronavirus remains the

worlds greatest worry with

55% placing it in their top 3.

One in ten globally place

climate change and

immigration control in their

most important issues.


Base: +/- 20,000 adults in 27 countries, April 24th 2020 - May 8th 2020.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

May2012

May2013

May2014

May2015

May2016

May2017

May2018

May2019

May2020

6 ‒

WORLD WORRIES: LONG TERM TREND

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

55%

42%

31%

25%

24%

Coronavirus UnemploymentPoverty & social

inequalityHealthcare

Financial/political

corruption


Base: +/-20,000 adults in 27 countries, May 2012 – May 2020.

© Ipsos

HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

A snapshot of the national mood in 27 countries

7 ‒

A majority across 27 countries say that things in their country are on the wrong track.

8 ‒

HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

✓

Q: Would you say things in your country are on the right

track, or are they off in the wrong direction?

Right direction

Wrong track

45%

55%

The countries whose citizens appear least satisfied with

where things are heading are Chile, France, Belgium,

Brazil and Hungary, where more than 7 in 10 say their

nation is on the wrong track.

A majority in 17 of the 27 countries surveyed currently

say their country is on the wrong track, with two further

countries sitting at 50:50.

On the other hand, there have been large increases on

the ‘right track’ measure in Australia (+22 percentage

points), South Korea (+16), and Sweden (+11)

compared to last month’s results.



Headline findings

9 ‒

RIGHT DIRECTION VS. WRONG TRACK

24%25%

29%30%30%

33%33%34%35%36%36%38%39%41%41%

44%46%

50%50%

54%56%58%

63%64%

68%72%

91%45%

76%75%

71%70%70%

67%67%66%65%64%64%62%61%59%59%

56%54%

50%50%

46%44%42%

37%36%

32%28%

9%55%

ChileFrance

BelgiumBrazil

HungaryPolandTurkeyRussia

ItalyJapan

MexicoUS

SpainNetherlandsSouth Africa

SwedenGermany

Great BritainPeru

IsraelCanada

ArgentinaSouth Korea

AustraliaMalaysia

IndiaSaudi Arabia

WorldWrong track

Rightdirection

Country comparison

Commentary box

The proportion saying their

country is on the wrong

track has risen by 25 points

in Peru and 13 points Brazil

since last month.

Meanwhile, we see an uptick

in positivity on our right

track indicator in Australia

(+22) and South Korea (+16).

The 50:50 score for the UK

represents a marked

improvement on 12 months

previous, when 77% said

their country was on the

wrong track – the highest of

any country measured.Source: Ipsos Global Advisor


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

May2012

May2013

May2014

May2015

May2016

May2017

May2018

May2019

May2020

Right direction Wrong track

Global long-term trend

10 ‒

RIGHT TRACK/WRONG TRACK

55%

45%


Base: +/-20,000 adults in 27 countries, May 2012 – May 2020.

© Ipsos

TOP 5 ISSUES

Country rankings for this month’s top 5 global concerns

11 ‒

12 ‒

#1: CORONAVIRUS55%

74%73%

71%70%

69%65%

63%63%

62%61%61%

60%57%

56%54%54%54%

51%51%

48%46%

44%40%

39%34%

32%31%

WorldMalaysia

JapanGreat BritainSaudi Arabia

PeruIndia

NetherlandsSpain

CanadaChile

USAustralia

ItalyBrazil

BelgiumFrancePoland

GermanySwedenMexico

South AfricaSouth Korea

ArgentinaIsrael

RussiaHungary

Turkey

A majority worldwide

(55%) consider

coronavirus to be one

of the most worrying

issues facing their

country today, down

from 63% last month.

It is the top concern in

18 of the 27 countries

surveyed, down from

24 of 27 last month.

More than 7 in 10

remain concerned

about coronavirus in

Malaysia, Japan,

Great Britain and

Saudi Arabia.



13 ‒

#2: UNEMPLOYMENT42%

66%

65%

64%

60%

51%

50%

50%

50%

49%

48%

45%

42%

40%

40%

40%

40%

39%

36%

34%

32%

32%

29%

26%

26%

25%

23%

22%

World

Spain

Italy

South Korea

South Africa

Malaysia

Australia

Chile

Mexico

India

Argentina

Turkey

Japan

Canada

Russia

Saudi Arabia

US

Peru

Israel

Brazil

France

Sweden

Great Britain

Belgium

Hungary

Poland

Germany

Netherlands

Unemployment is the

second greatest concern

worldwide and is at the

highest level since

February 2015.

Six countries have

shifted from being most

concerned about

COVID-19 to

Unemployment this

month (shown in purple).

All but three countries

show higher levels of

concern about

unemployment

compared to last month.



14 ‒

#3: POVERTY & SOCIAL INEQUALITY31%

61%

50%

41%

41%

38%

37%

36%

35%

34%

33%

33%

32%

32%

31%

31%

30%

27%

26%

26%

26%

23%

22%

22%

19%

16%

14%

14%

World

Russia

Chile

Hungary

Turkey

Germany

South Africa

Mexico

Argentina

Belgium

France

South Korea

Brazil

Italy

India

Israel

Peru

Japan

Malaysia

Netherlands

Spain

Great Britain

Canada

Poland

Australia

Sweden

Saudi Arabia

US

Russia is most

concerned about

Poverty & social

inequality, consistent

with previous data.

One in two Chileans

also select this as a top

concern for their country

today. The proportion

worried about this has

risen during 2020.

There is an overall

increase in concern as

19 of the 27 countries

see this issue go up

since last month.



15 ‒

#4: HEALTHCARE25%

59%

46%

44%

37%

37%

35%

33%

32%

30%

27%

26%

26%

26%

25%

22%

22%

21%

21%

16%

15%

13%

12%

11%

11%

11%

4%

3%

World

Hungary

PolandBrazil

CanadaGreat BritainNetherlands

SpainUS

Russia

Sweden

Belgium

Chile

Japan

Peru

Australia

India

France

Israel

Italy

Mexico

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

Argentina

Germany

Malaysia

South Korea

Turkey

Healthcare is a top

concern for one in four

across 27 countries.

This has fallen from the

record high of 28%

recorded in April 2020.

Healthcare concerns are

strongest in Hungary

(59%), followed by Poland

and Brazil.

Compared to the previous

month, there has a slight

decrease in concern

about Healthcare in the

majority of countries.



16 ‒

#5: FINANCIAL/POLITICAL CORRUPTION24%

50%

49%

44%

42%

39%

35%

35%

33%

31%

28%

27%

26%

25%

23%

23%

21%

17%

16%

16%

13%

13%

12%

12%

9%

8%

7%

6%

World

Hungary

Russia

South Africa

Peru

Malaysia

Brazil

Israel

South Korea

Poland

India

Chile

Mexico

Spain

Argentina

US

Turkey

Italy

Belgium

Saudi Arabia

Canada

Japan

Australia

France

Germany

Great Britain

Netherlands

Sweden

Financial/Political

Corruption is the fifth

greatest concern

worldwide, with highest

levels in Hungary, Russia,

South Africa and Peru.

This is the lowest score

seen for this issue since

the survey began.

Concern about corruption

has dropped since the

outbreak of coronavirus

Fewer than one in 10 are

particularly worried about

this in Sweden, the

Netherlands, Great Britain

and Germany.



© Ipsos

ALL COUNTRIES

The top concerns of each of the 27 countries surveyed

17 ‒

18 ‒

48%

44%

40%

35%

35%

24%

23%

14%

11%

7%

5%

3%

2%

2%

2%

1%

1%

0%

Unemployment

Inflation


Crime & violence


Education


Taxes

Healthcare

Moral decline



Rise of extremism

Immigration control

Climate change

Terrorism

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Argentinian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

ARGENTINA

19 ‒

60%

50%

26%

22%

20%

19%

15%

13%

12%

11%

9%

9%

8%

7%

6%

3%

3%

2%


Unemployment

Climate change

Healthcare

Crime & violence


Immigration control

Threats against the…


Education


Moral decline

Taxes

Inflation

Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Childhood obesity

Access to credit


Base: 1000 Australian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

AUSTRALIA

20 ‒

54%

34%

29%

26%

26%

18%

16%

16%

13%

12%

10%

9%

8%

7%

5%

4%

4%

1%



Taxes

Unemployment

Healthcare

Immigration control


Climate change

Crime & violence

Rise of extremism


Education

Terrorism

Moral decline


Access to credit

Inflation

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Belgian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

BELGIUM

21 ‒

56%

44%

35%

34%

32%

25%

21%

9%

7%

7%

7%

5%

3%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%


Healthcare


Unemployment


Crime & violence

Education

Taxes


Rise of extremism

Moral decline

Inflation


Climate change

Terrorism

Immigration control

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 Brazilian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

BRAZIL

22 ‒

62%

40%

37%

22%

21%

19%

13%

13%

12%

12%

10%

9%

6%

6%

6%

2%

2%

1%


Unemployment

Healthcare


Climate change

Taxes

Immigration control


Crime & violence


Education

Inflation

Rise of extremism


Moral decline

Terrorism

Childhood obesity

Access to credit


Base: 1000 Canadian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

CANADA

23 ‒

62%

40%

37%

22%

21%

19%

13%

13%

12%

12%

10%

9%

6%

6%

6%

2%

2%

1%


Unemployment

Healthcare


Climate change

Taxes

Immigration control


Crime & violence


Education

Inflation

Rise of extremism


Moral decline

Terrorism

Childhood obesity

Access to credit


Base: 500 Chilean adults aged 16-74. May 2020

CHILE

24 ‒

54%

33%

32%

21%

18%

17%

16%

16%

15%

15%

12%

12%

11%

9%

5%

4%

2%

1%



Unemployment

Healthcare

Taxes


Terrorism

Climate change

Crime & violence

Immigration control

Education


Moral decline

Rise of extremism

Inflation


Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 French adults aged 16-74. May 2020

FRANCE

25 ‒

51%

38%

28%

25%

23%

17%

17%

15%

14%

11%

9%

9%

9%

8%

6%

5%

2%

1%



Immigration control

Climate change

Unemployment

Crime & violence

Rise of extremism

Moral decline


Healthcare

Taxes

Terrorism


Education

Inflation


Childhood obesity

Access to credit


Base: 1000 German adults aged 16-74. May 2020

GERMANY

26 ‒

71%

37%

29%

23%

18%

18%

16%

12%

10%

10%

9%

9%

9%

8%

6%

4%

2%

2%


Healthcare

Unemployment


Crime & violence

Climate change

Immigration control

Maintaining social…


Moral decline

Education

Rise of extremism

Terrorism


Taxes

Inflation

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 British adults aged 16-74. May 2020

GREAT BRITAIN

27 ‒

59%

50%

41%

32%

26%

20%

13%

10%

8%

7%

5%

5%

5%

4%

3%

1%

1%

0%

Healthcare




Unemployment

Education

Moral decline

Inflation

Crime & violence

Climate change

Taxes


Immigration control

Rise of extremism


Access to credit

Childhood obesity

Terrorism


Base: 500 Hungarian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

HUNGARY

28 ‒

65%

49%

31%

28%

22%

19%

16%

14%

10%

8%

6%

5%

5%

5%

3%

3%

2%

2%


Unemployment



Healthcare

Crime & violence

Education

Terrorism


Inflation

Climate change

Rise of extremism

Immigration control

Moral decline

Taxes


Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Indian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

INDIA

29 ‒

39%

36%

35%

31%

26%

26%

21%

17%

17%

14%

8%

7%

7%

4%

3%

2%

2%

1%


Unemployment



Education

Terrorism

Healthcare

Taxes

Crime & violence

Moral decline

Immigration control

Rise of extremism



Access to credit

Childhood obesity

Inflation

Climate change


Base: 500 Israeli adults aged 16-74. May 2020

ISRAEL

30 ‒

65%

57%

32%

29%

17%

16%

13%

12%

8%

8%

7%

7%

7%

5%

4%

4%

2%

2%

Unemployment



Taxes


Healthcare

Immigration control

Crime & violence

Education



Climate change

Moral decline

Rise of extremism

Access to credit

Inflation

Terrorism

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 Italian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

ITALY

31 ‒

73%

42%

27%

26%

21%

15%

14%

13%

13%

12%

8%

7%

5%

4%

2%

2%

1%

0%


Unemployment


Healthcare


Taxes

Moral decline

Education


Climate change

Crime & violence


Inflation

Immigration control

Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 Japanese adults aged 16-74. May 2020

JAPAN

32 ‒

74%

51%

39%

26%

18%

17%

14%

11%

11%

10%

9%

4%

4%

3%

3%

3%

1%

1%


Unemployment



Crime & violence

Immigration control

Inflation

Healthcare

Moral decline

Education

Rise of extremism

Taxes


Terrorism


Climate change

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Malaysian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

MALAYSIA

33 ‒

53%

50%

48%

36%

26%

22%

15%

12%

7%

7%

6%

5%

3%

3%

2%

2%

1%

1%

Crime & violence

Unemployment




Education

Healthcare

Inflation

Taxes



Childhood obesity

Climate change

Moral decline

Terrorism

Access to credit

Rise of extremism

Immigration control


Base: 500 Mexican adults aged 16-74. May 2020

MEXICO

34 ‒

63%

35%

26%

23%

22%

16%

15%

15%

15%

13%

10%

10%

10%

7%

6%

5%

3%

1%


Healthcare


Climate change

Unemployment

Education

Crime & violence


Immigration control

Moral decline

Taxes

Rise of extremism



Childhood obesity

Terrorism

Inflation

Access to credit


Base: 500 Dutch adults aged 16-74. May 2020

NETHERLAND

35 ‒

69%

42%

39%

30%

30%

30%

25%

6%

5%

5%

5%

4%

2%

2%

2%

2%

1%

1%



Unemployment

Education

Crime & violence


Healthcare


Immigration control

Moral decline

Inflation

Taxes

Terrorism


Climate change

Access to credit

Rise of extremism

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Peruvian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

PERU

36 ‒

54%

46%

31%

25%

22%

22%

18%

15%

14%

11%

11%

8%

6%

5%

3%

1%

1%

1%


Healthcare


Unemployment


Climate change

Taxes

Inflation



Moral decline

Education

Rise of extremism

Crime & violence

Childhood obesity

Terrorism

Immigration control

Access to credit


Base: 500 Polish adults aged 16-74. May 2020

POLAND

37 ‒

61%

49%

40%

34%

30%

15%

14%

13%

10%

7%

6%

4%

4%

3%

2%

1%

1%

1%



Unemployment


Healthcare

Inflation

Education

Taxes

Moral decline



Crime & violence

Access to credit

Immigration control

Climate change

Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 Russian adults aged 16-74. May 2020

RUSSIA

38 ‒

70%

40%

16%

16%

15%

15%

14%

14%

13%

13%

12%

10%

7%

5%

5%

4%

3%

3%


Unemployment

Terrorism


Education

Childhood obesity


Climate change

Taxes

Moral decline

Healthcare

Crime & violence


Immigration control

Inflation


Rise of extremism

Access to credit


Base: 500 Saudi adults aged 16-74. May 2020

SAUDI ARABIA

39 ‒

60%

46%

44%

41%

37%

20%

13%

7%

7%

5%

5%

3%

2%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Unemployment



Crime & violence


Education

Healthcare

Taxes

Immigration control

Moral decline

Inflation

Climate change



Rise of extremism

Terrorism

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 500 South African adults aged 16-74. May 2020

SOUTH AFRICA

40 ‒

64%

44%

33%

33%

18%

17%

15%

15%

10%

9%

8%

8%

7%

4%

1%

1%

0%

0%

Unemployment




Crime & violence


Taxes

Moral decline

Rise of extremism

Education


Climate change

Inflation

Healthcare

Access to credit

Childhood obesity

Terrorism

Immigration control


Base: 500 South Korean adults aged 16-74. May 2020

SOUTH KOREA

41 ‒

66%

63%

33%

26%

25%

15%

10%

9%

9%

8%

8%

5%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

1%

Unemployment


Healthcare



Education


Taxes

Climate change

Crime & violence

Rise of extremism

Immigration control

Moral decline


Terrorism

Inflation

Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 1000 Spanish adults aged 16-74. May 2020

SPAIN

42 ‒

51%

39%

32%

27%

25%

20%

16%

14%

14%

14%

10%

8%

6%

5%

3%

2%

2%

2%


Crime & violence

Unemployment

Healthcare

Immigration control




Rise of extremism

Climate change

Terrorism

Taxes


Moral decline

Education

Access to credit

Childhood obesity

Inflation


Base: 500 Swedish adults aged 16-74. May 2020

SWEDEN

43 ‒

45%

41%

31%

27%

24%

22%

21%

17%

15%

12%

11%

8%

4%

3%

3%

2%

2%

1%

Unemployment



Terrorism

Education

Inflation


Taxes

Crime & violence

Immigration control

Moral decline

Rise of extremism


Healthcare

Climate change


Access to credit

Childhood obesity


Base: 501 Turkish adults aged 16-74. May 2020

TURKEY

44 ‒

61%

40%

32%

23%

16%

16%

15%

14%

13%

11%

10%

9%

9%

8%

5%

3%

2%

1%


Unemployment

Healthcare


Immigration control

Moral decline

Climate change


Crime & violence

Taxes

Education

Rise of extremism

Terrorism



Inflation

Childhood obesity

Access to credit


Base: 1000 US adults aged 16-74. May 2020

US

© Ipsos | What Worries the World45 ‒

METHODOLOGY

The survey is conducted monthly in 27 countries around the world via

the Ipsos Online Panel system. The 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 US.

A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size would

have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points for

a sample of 1,000 and an estimated margin of error of +/- 4.5

percentage points for a 500 sample 19 times out of 20.

For the results of the survey presented herein, an international sample

of 19,505 adults aged 18-74 in the US, South Africa, Turkey, Israel and

Canada, and age 16-74 in all other countries, were interviewed

between April 24th 2020 to May 8th 2020. Approximately 1000+

individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos

Online Panel.

In 17 of the 27 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, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,

Great Britain and United States.

The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility

interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.1 percentage points and

of 500 accurate to +/- 4.5 percentage points. For more information on

the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

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 country census data.

Brazil, Chile, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Peru, Saudi Arabia,

South Africa and Turkey have lower levels of internet penetration

and so these samples should not be considered nationally

representative, and 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.

Documents

WHAT WORRIES THE WORLD · Mexico South Africa Saudi Arabia Argentina Germany Malaysia South Korea Turkey Healthcare is a top concern for one in four across 27 countries. This has