Kiwis closer together as tensions rise around the world — survey

A major international survey has shown New Zealanders feel much more united than before Covid-19, bucking a global trend that has seen most countries descend into division.

As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its second year disrupting life around the globe, most people say their societies are more divided now than before the pandemic, according to a

Pew Research Centre survey in 17 advanced economies.

New Zealand and several other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have stood out, however.

In New Zealand 75 per cent said they felt the country was more unified than before, only behind Singapore at 86 per cent.

In the United States, the opposite was true with 88 per cent reporting they felt more divided.

New Zealand, which has had among the lowest rates of cases and Covid-19-related deaths per capita, came out on top for the proportion of people who felt the restrictions were about right, at 80 per cent.

Meanwhile the United States, which has the highest total amount of cases and deaths, was at the bottom with just 17 per cent agreeing the restrictions were right.

New Zealanders were also the most likely to report little change to their lives since the pandemic began.

Just 33 per cent said their lives had changed “a great deal” — 5 per cent less than Australia. In South Korea 87 per cent said their lives had changed “a great deal”.

Report authors said this was likely due to New Zealand and Australia being “relatively sheltered from the worst of the pandemic”, due to its response measures and geography.

The authors also noted during their fieldwork, the quarantine-free travel bubble opened up between the countries, adding a potential further sense of return to normality.

There were stark differences however between different age groups. In New Zealand 18 per cent of those over 65 felt their lives had changed a “great deal” compared with 45 per cent of those aged 18 to 29.

The survey, which included over 16,000 people from the 16 countries excluding the United States, also identified correlations between political ideologies and economic views, and levels of restrictions.

Those who thought the economic situation was bad and disagreed with restrictions were more likely to say their society was divided.

New Zealand experienced the fourth-highest differential, with 16 per cent saying the economy was good and more divided, compared with 42 per cent who said it was bad and divided. Sweden had the highest difference, 48 per cent compared with 83 per cent.

Overall nearly all adults in Singapore and New Zealand said their own countries did a good job dealing with the outbreak (97 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively), including more than seven-in-ten who say the response has been very good.