Turn on the news in almost any country in the world and you’ll see the same topics covered: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, political upheaval, social unrest. You wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking the world is more divided than ever. After all, trade wars happen all the time. Treaties are repeatedly formed and dissolved, threatening international relations. Each country is tightening its crackdown on news media.
As part of our 2023 Best Countries rankings, we looked at how divided the world is on a variety of topics, from climate change and press freedom to immigration. He surveyed 17,000 respondents from 36 countries about their opinions on more than 20 statements, then looked at how widespread these opinions were across countries.
So how much disagreement actually exists around the world?
The data shows some clear answers. Of all the issues we asked about in our survey, we found the greatest disagreements between countries in four specific areas: the threat of great powers, aid to Ukraine, immigration, and the role of social media in society. I did.
But there is also much global consensus on the impacts of climate change, the value of democracy, and the belief that universal health care is a human right.
Power threat and support for Ukraine
Our survey asked respondents in 30 countries whether the countries they perceived to be the most powerful – the US, China and Russia – posed a threat to the world.
A majority of respondents in each country questioned said at least one of these countries was a threat. However, there was disagreement over which country posed the greatest threat.
For example, 91% of Japanese respondents see China as the biggest threat to the world, and 86% of South Korean respondents agreed. However, only 36% of respondents in Nigeria consider China a threat, and just 41% in the United Arab Emirates.
Opinions are similarly divided on whether Russia poses a threat to the world, with 95% of respondents in Finland seeing Russia as a threat, the highest percentage in our survey. Ta. China had the lowest percentage of respondents, at just 38%, who perceived Russia as a threat to the world.
When it comes to the United States, those surveyed in China were the most likely to view the country as a potential danger, with 75% agreeing that the United States is a global threat. At the other end of the spectrum, only 22% of Israeli respondents view the United States as a threat.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also a polarizing issue, with countries divided on whether their countries should continue to support Ukraine. China and Finland once again came into conflict over this issue. Only 40% of respondents in China think their country should help Ukraine, while 93% in Scandinavian countries support it.
Unsurprisingly, the Nordic countries rate Ukraine higher than the 68th place among global respondents in the overall “best countries” ranking. For example, Danish respondents ranked Ukraine 32nd, while on the other end of the spectrum Vietnam was ranked 83rd and Italy 84th.
Similar differences exist regarding perceptions of Russia. For example, China ranked Russia 16th, and Poland ranked 84th, which is a significant change from the world ranking of 37th.
According to the Best Countries survey, global support for immigration has declined slightly. Of all respondents, 59% (down from 61% in 2022) somewhat agreed with the statement that our country should accept more immigrants.
However, immigration is always a complex issue for different countries, so views on immigration are predictably diverse.
Some countries, such as Kenya, are very pro-immigration, with 83% saying their country should be accepting more immigrants. Other countries with high support include Egypt (80%), India (78%) and Nigeria (74%).
However, not all countries were keen to welcome new entrants. Respondents in Chile (43%), Denmark (48%), France (47%), Germany (48%), Hungary (45%) and Israel (40%) agreed that their country should accept immigrants. He was less than 50%. ), Norway (49%), Sweden (33%), and Thailand (49%). Only 24% of respondents in Turkey agreed with this statement, the lowest percentage of all countries.
The impact of social media on society
The other most polarizing opinion in our survey focused on the impact of social media on society.
In 12 of the 36 countries surveyed for this question (including Australia, Finland and France), less than 50% of respondents believe social media has a positive impact on society. did. This may be due not only to social media addiction, but also to social media’s association with political turmoil and harm to young people.
Denmark is the country most skeptical of social media, with only 39% of people believing it has a positive impact on society. Meanwhile, China, with its ties to TikTok and various other social media companies, is the country most supportive of social media, with 86% of respondents viewing social media positively. Other countries where more than 80% of respondents agreed that social media has a positive impact on society include Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Masu.
Public opinion in the countries we surveyed differed on social media, immigration, support for Ukraine, and the threat posed by world powers, but there was also important agreement on a range of issues. In fact, our analysis shows that a majority of all countries agree on the reality of climate change, the primacy of democracy, and the importance of universal healthcare.
Although there remain skeptics when it comes to climate change, there is broad agreement among Best Country survey respondents that its effects are real. In Indonesia, which faces rising water levels and shrinking islands, 98% of respondents agreed that climate change is a real threat, the most of any country surveyed. More than 90% of respondents in Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Vietnam, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Egypt also expressed the belief that the impacts of climate change are real.
Even Norway and Israel, the most doubtful countries in our survey, remain generally convinced about climate change, with 80% of respondents in both countries somewhat agreeing that its effects are real.
There is also fairly wide agreement among peoples around the world that democracy is the best form of government, even in countries with monarchs. Denmark, a constitutional monarchy, is the most supportive of democracy, with just over 94% of survey respondents agreeing that democracy is the best form of government.
The country with the lowest support for democracy was Saudi Arabia, which had an absolute monarchy, but its citizens still overwhelmingly support democracy, with 76% somewhat approving of their form of government. . In the neighboring United Arab Emirates, 83% of people say democracy is the best form of government, even though the UAE is made up of seven emirates, or absolute monarchies. .
Overall, it is clear that democracy appears to be viewed favorably around the world. (It should be noted that Chinese respondents were not asked about this statement.) Closely related, the world also shows broad agreement about the importance of a free press to thriving societies. Ta.
Two health care questions received incredibly unanimous support around the world. Of all survey respondents, 93% agreed that mental health issues should be treated with the same importance as physical health, and 91% agreed that universal health coverage is a human right. did.
The issue of universal healthcare was one of the most agreed upon statements among the 30 statements. No country is more supportive of this ‘right’ than Kenya, with 98.4% of survey respondents somewhat agreeing that universal healthcare is a human right. The East African country was followed by Indonesia, where 98.2% of respondents expressed support, and Norway, where 97% of respondents agreed that universal healthcare is a human right.
Even the least supported country, the United States, showed 82% support for this statement. This clearly demonstrates the general belief in the countries surveyed that universal health care should be a human right.
So while the world may seem divided on many issues, the good news is that when you get to basic social issues like climate change, democracy, and health care, we have a lot in common. That is what the data suggests.