From climate change to Isis, and Russia to China, this is what people around the world are most scared of
Climate change is seen globally as the biggest threat to our future
A new study has attempted to ascertain the deepest global fears of the world’s population on an unprecedented scale.
People from around the globe were asked to rank some of the biggest issues of our time based on whether they were “very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned or not at all concerned” about each one.
The study, conducted by the Pew Research Centre, has been published in the run up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference set to take place in Paris this December, and set out to measure the “perceptions of international challenges” country by country.
The organisation, based in Washington DC, undertook the research in 40 countries between March and May this year, with responses from over 45,000 people.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Almost half of UK left-wingers put climate change in the most serious category of risk, whilst just 30 per cent of those on the right are as worried.
The people of Burkina Faso are the most concerned about climate change, with a staggering 79 per cent of people very worried about global warming. It’s understandable, given that the United Nations Development Programme predicts that Burkina Faso will “experience some of the worst impacts of climate change” of any country across the globe.
ISIS
Overall, 14 countries put Isis as their highest level risk.
ECONOMIC INSTABILITY
In the United Kingdom, the biggest concern is Isis, with 66 per cent of us purporting to be very concerned. Brits are also more concerned by Iran’s nuclear programme than climate change, with territorial disputes with China being the least of our concerns.
TENSIONS WITH RUSSIA
IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
CYBERATTACKS
Only 4 per cent of Ukrainians expressed a high level of concern about cyberattacks, clearly with other things on their mind as the fighting continues in the Eastern European state. The Philippines and Brazil are also worried about online threats, coming in alongside France.
TERRITORIAL DISPUTES WITH CHINA
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