The 10 most critical problems in the world, according to millennials

By:Tanza Loudenback

In one survey, WEF asked respondents to name the three most serious issues affecting the world today. For the second year in a row, millennials are most concerned by climate change, followed by large-scale wars and religious conflicts. When asked who should be trusted to fix the issues plaguing the world, millennials said the responsibility belongs to international organizations and themselves. Below are the top-10 most concerning world issues, according to millennials.

10. Lack of economic opportunity and unemployment (14.2%)

About 22% of millennials in Sub-Saharan Africa are concerned with unemployment and the lack of economic opportunity in the world compared to just 8.3% of Eurasians.

9. Food and water security (15.1%)

North American millennials (27.3%) are most concerned by the global lack of food and water, followed by 21.5% of millennials in Europe and 11% in both Latin America/ the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.

8. Lack of political freedom and political instability (15.5%)

About 19% of millennials in East Asia/the Pacific are bothered by the lack of political freedom and stability in the world, followed by 18.9% of millennials in Eurasia.

7. Lack of education (16.5%)

North American millennials (21.8%) are most concerned with lack of education around the world, followed by an equal percentage (19.7%) of millennials in Europe and Eurasia. Meanwhile, just 7% of millennials in Sub-Saharan Africa are concerned with a lack of education.

6. Safety, security, and well being (18.1%)

Millennials in Sub-Saharan Africa (24.6%) and the Middle East/North Africa (23.4%) are most concerned with safety and well being around the world, while millennials in Latin America/the Caribbean are least concerned (12.8%).

5. Government accountability and transparency, and corruption (21.7%)

About 32% of millennials in sub-Saharan Africa are concerned with world government issues, the highest of the sub-regions, followed by Latin America/the Caribbean (27%) and the Middle East/North Africa (23.2%).

4. Poverty (31.1%)

Latin American and Caribbean millennials are most concerned with poverty (40.4%), followed by millennials in North America (33.9%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (33.6%).

3. Religious conflicts (33.8%)

Many of the world’s millennials are largely concerned with religious conflicts, mostly in the Middle East/North Africa (45.1%), South Asia (44.1%), Eurasia (41.8%), and Europe (38.8%).

2. Large scale conflict and wars (38.5%)

According to the WEF survey, millennials in Eurasia (54.3%) and the Middle East/North Africa (50.3%) are most concerned with global conflict.

1. Climate change and destruction of natural resources (45.2%)

Millennials in Latin America/Caribbean (51.8%) and South Asia (49.3%) are most concerned with global warming and climate change.