A world of worry
These are the biggest concerns in Great Britain and the rest of the world
MORE than two-thirds of people in Great Britain think the country is heading down the wrong track, according to a poll by Ipsos Mori.
The survey asked respondents from 28 countries across the world including Argentina, Japan, Poland, South Africa, and the USA - how they feel about their country’s state of affairs.
Worryingly, the 67% of Brits who think the country is heading down the wrong track is worse than the global average of 56%.
However, we’re by no means the most concerned Brazil saw 86% of its population say their country is going down the wrong track.
In comparison, 91% of people in China think their country is heading in the right direction. Those in Great Britain express most concern about healthcare (44%) - again higher than the global average of 24%. Only Hungary (71%), Poland (56%) and Brazil (45%) show higher levels of worry in this area. Just 2% of people in Turkey, on the other hand, feel the same. One reason for our concerns over healthcare could be because of the increasing number of NHS services being outsourced to private companies.
People may be anxious that in the near future they will not be able to access free healthcare as a result.
Great Britain also ranks highly in its concerns about terrorism.
While the global average sees just 13% of people worried about terrorism, that rises to nearly a quarter of Brits (24%).
The frequency of terror attacks in recent years, such as the Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge stabbing, has likely contributed to this fear.
Turkey (47%), Israel (42%) and France (35%) expressed the most concern for terrorism, while Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and South Korea were the least worried - all at 1%.
The rise of extremism is also a worrying people in our country, with 17% of Brits concerned about it compared to just 9% of people globally.
Great Britain is the fourth mostworried country in the world about extremism, after Sweden (27%), Germany (19%) and Belgium (18%).
On the other hand, Peru (1%) and Mexico (2%) are least worried about it.
Across the world, unemployment (33%), poverty and social inequality (33%), crime and violence (32%) and financial or political corruption (32%) cause the most concern. Unemployment is the biggest concern for Italians (66%), while Great Britain is the joint third-least worried with the USA, at 13%. Russia is the most worried about poverty and social inequality (64%), while Peru is most worried about crime and violence (67%) as well as financial or political corruption (62%).
Of all factors included in the survey, people in Great Britain express the least amount of concern regarding access to credit (2%), inflation (7%) and childhood obesity (also 7%).