More than 70 percent of 100 major companies in Japan have implemented systems that facilitate employees taking leave for fertility treatments, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

As insurance coverage for such treatments expands, more businesses are taking the initiative to support their employees, but there are still challenges such as protecting employees’ privacy.

“While we need to share information among team members to some extent out of consideration, we must balance that with privacy protection,” said Masaaki Yajima, the president of Wacoal Corp.

The Asahi Shimbun conducted the survey of the 100 major businesses from various industries in July asking how they are supporting employees undergoing fertility treatments.

The companies were permitted multiple answers.

The most selected option, among 75 companies, was having “systems or initiatives in place to make it easier for employees to take leave for treatments.”

That was followed by having “systems or initiatives that allow flexible working hours and break hours” at 64 companies.

Nomura Holdings Inc. in 2020 revamped its policy to allow up to 50 days of medical leave for fertility treatments. It also introduced a maximum of one-year leave for such treatments to provide long-term support.

Osaka Gas Co. has a system in place that allows employees to reduce their daily work hours by up to four hours and 40 minutes if they require outpatient treatment, though this is not limited to fertility treatments.

Twenty-five companies responded that they are providing “subsidies for fertility treatment costs.”

Kokuyo Co. offers subsidies of up to 300,000 yen ($2,048) over two years to cover the cost of the treatments. The employees can apply to a mutual aid association without reporting it to their bosses.

When asked about challenges to supporting employees seeking treatment, the most selected option was “privacy protection” with 52 companies, followed by “a lack of understanding about fertility treatments within the company” from 42 respondents.

Infertility “is a problem that’s hard to bring to light because it is difficult for companies to recognize employees having such concerns,” said Koki Sato, the head of the nonprofit organization Forecia, which supports employees balancing work and fertility treatments.

He emphasized the importance of an easily accessible leave system for workers and having a way to share information within the company while protecting privacy.

Sato added that employees may hesitate to give the reasons for their leave to their bosses.

“Companies can introduce a system where employees don’t have to specify a reason for needing to take leave by offering leave or shortened working hours for a variety of purposes, such as a child suddenly falling ill or caregiving,” he said.

“When employees report (fertility treatments) to their bosses, it is important both sides confirm who should be informed and how much they should know,” Sato added. “Bosses should also have basic knowledge about treatments as much as possible.”

(Asahi Shimbun)

29 August 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14992434

Survey: Frailty Increasing Among People In Their 40s, 50s

Photo/Illutration

Doctors are urging people to consume more protein to halt a surge in frailty, a condition marked by declining muscle strength and weakened mental and physical vigor.

A total of 330 doctors, consisting of 110 internists, 110 orthopedists and 110 industrial physicians, gave valid responses.

More than 80 percent of respondents said the number of frail patients has risen, with 11.8 percent citing a “substantial increase,” 31.8 percent citing an “increase,” and 38.2 percent citing a “slight increase.”

Asked which age group they think is increasingly frail, and allowed to give multiple answers, most respondents picked people in their 60s or older.

Frailty may be associated with old age, but the survey also showed a rise in the condition among middle-aged people.

According to the survey, 36.7 percent of respondents cited men in their 50s, 36.3 percent selected women in their 50s, 21.1 percent picked men in their 40s, and 17.4 percent chose women in their 40s.

And 75.5 percent said the number of people between 20 and 65 who can be regarded as in a “pre-frailty” stage has risen.

As for reasons for the increases, reduced muscle mass was cited by 78.7 percent of respondents, decreased exercise habits by 77.1 percent, and going out less frequently by 75.9 percent.

About 90 percent said the number of frail and pre-frail individuals will increase further.

Many respondents said efforts to prevent frailty should start at a relatively young age, with the 40s cited by 30.5 percent, the 50s by 20.9 percent, and the 30s by 20.6 percent.

To prevent frailty, those in the prime of their working life should routinely exercise, increase their walking time, maintain muscle mass, get enough sleep and follow a balanced diet, the doctors said.

“Protein deficiency leads to reduced muscle mass and heightened risks of normal weight obesity and pre-frailty,” said Hiroshi Yoshida, a JPALD director who also serves as director at the Jikei University-affiliated Kashiwa Hospital. “I want people to improve their conditions through dietary habits of consuming meat, fish and dairy products.”

(Asahi Shimbun)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14985739

Church Ties Cited In 40% Of Senior Administrative Positions

The appointments followed the Sept. 13 reshuffle of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet.

Twenty-six out of 54 lawmakers admitted to having some connection with scandal-plagued group through surveys conducted by The Asahi Shimbun last year and in-house screenings by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Among the 26 senior vice ministers, 11 admitted to having had some tie in the past with the Unification Church, and among the 28 parliamentary secretaries, 15 said the same. Some of the politicians also received donations or paid to attend functions hosted by the church or related groups.

One of the individuals is Lower House member Shuhei Aoyama, newly appointed senior vice minister of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, responsible for handling issues related to the Unification Church.

He admitted to having had interactions with related organizations during the party’s screenings last year following the July 2022 slaying of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara city.

The gunman blamed his mother’s huge donations to the Unification Church for his lousy childhood and said he targeted Abe because of the veteran politician’s longstanding ties with the church, which has long been regarded as a social menace. The revelations sparked a government investigation into the church that is expected to result in the government requesting a court order to disband the organization.

The Asahi Shimbun conducted the survey from August to September last year, asking all lawmakers about their connections with the Unification Church. In September the same year, the LDP also conducted screenings of its members’ relationship with the church and its affiliated groups, and publicly disclosed the results.

The Asahi Shimbun also contacted newly elected lawmakers this past January about their connections with the Unification Church.

Among the newly appointed ministers on Sept. 13, four individuals, admitted to having had some connection with the Unification Church. They included Koichi Hagiuda, who retained his position as chairman of the LDP’s Policy Research Council.

(Asahi Shimbun)

16 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15007194

SUMMARY OF POLLS

ASIA

(Japan)

Survey: 70% Of Firms Supporting Workers’ Fertility Treatments

The Asahi Shimbun conducted the survey of the 100 major businesses from various industries in July asking how they are supporting employees undergoing fertility treatments. More than 70 percent of 100 major companies in Japan have implemented systems that facilitate employees taking leave for fertility treatments, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed. As insurance coverage for such treatments expands, more businesses are taking the initiative to support their employees, but there are still challenges such as protecting employees’ privacy.

(Asahi Shimbun)

29 August 2023

Survey: Frailty Increasing Among People In Their 40s, 50s

An online survey conducted by the Japan Preventive Association of Lifestyle related Disease (JPALD) in March and April showed that frailty has increased, particularly among those in their 40s and 50s. A total of 330 doctors, consisting of 110 internists, 110 orthopedists and 110 industrial physicians, gave valid responses. More than 80 percent of respondents said the number of frail patients has risen, with 11.8 percent citing a “substantial increase,” 31.8 percent citing an “increase,” and 38.2 percent citing a “slight increase.”

(Asahi Shimbun)

12 September 2023

Church Ties Cited In 40% Of Senior Administrative Positions

More than 40 percent of newly appointed senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries have acknowledged past ties with the Unification Church, formerly known as the World Peace and Unification Family Federation, or its related organizations. Twenty-six out of 54 lawmakers admitted to having some connection with scandal-plagued group through surveys conducted by The Asahi Shimbun last year and in-house screenings by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

(Asahi Shimbun)

16 September 2023

Antibody Rate After COVID Around 70% In Young People

The finding by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was announced Sept. 15 in response to a survey it carried out. The percentage of people in Japan who produced antibodies after becoming infected with the novel coronavirus was found to be around 70 percent among those aged 5 to 29, but only between 20 and less than 30 percent among elderly patients.

(Asahi Shimbun)

17 September 2023

10% Of Japan’s Population Aged 80 Or Older For First Time

The graying of Japanese society seems to have turned a lot grayer. An estimated 36.23 million people in Japan were aged 65 or older as of Sept. 15. The percentage of the total population rose to a record 29.1 percent, up 0.1 point from 2022. But the number fell for the first time since comparable statistics became available in 1950 because the demographic group now reaching the age of 65 is relatively small. An estimated 20.51 million women were aged 65 or older, unchanged from 2022 and accounting for 32.1 percent of the female population.

(Asahi Shimbun)

17 September 2023

Paternity Leave Remains Complex, Difficult Decision For Many Fathers

While the rate for men who took paternity leave in Japan hit a record high in the last fiscal year, only about two in 10 eligible took it as the choice remains complicated. In fiscal 2022, 17.13 percent of men took paternity leave, 3.16 percentage points higher than the previous fiscal year, according to the welfare ministry. In comparison, 80.2 percent of women took child care leave in the last fiscal year. Sept. 19 is dubbed “ikukyu wo kangaeru hi” (The day to think about child care leave) in Japan.

(Asahi Shimbun)

19 September 2023

Study: Up To 23% Of Adults Suffer Post-Infection Symptoms

From 11.7 percent to 23.4 percent of adults infected with the novel coronavirus experienced “post-infection” symptoms, two to four times the rate for children, a health ministry research team said. The post-infection rate was around 6.3 percent among children, the team’s survey found. Both adults and children who had been vaccinated before infection had a lower rate of post-infection symptoms than those who were unvaccinated, according to the survey.

(Asahi Shimbun)

19 September 2023

Companies Seek New Market For Scallops After China Ban

Seafood suppliers are struggling to get their products to market after China banned Japanese seafood imports in response to the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. According to a survey by the Fisheries Agency, prices of scallops in Hokkaido and three other prefectures have plunged 11 to 27 percent since China imposed its ban. Last year, Japan exported seafood worth 83.6 billion yen ($562.9 million) to China. Scallops accounted for 48.9 billion yen, followed by sea cucumbers at 9.8 billion yen.

(Asahi Shimbun)

25 September 2023

(Pakistan)

24% Pakistanis Have A Device At Home That Runs On Solar Energy

According to a survey conducted by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, 24% Pakistanis have a device at home that runs on solar energy. A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the country, was asked the question “Do you have any gadget or device at your home that runs on solar energy?” In response, 24% said yes, and 76% said no.

(Gallup Pakistan)

14 September 2023

Public Opinion Split If The New Generation Is Less Or More Religious Than Previous Generations

A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the country, was asked the question “Imagine you are asked to compare the new generation with the previous generation. Considering the following aspects, share your thoughts on whether the new generation is more or less...? - Is the new generation more religious than the previous generation?” In response, 49% said yes, 47% said no and 4% said that they do not know or gave no response.

(Gallup Pakistan)

21 September 2023

Proportion Of Pakistanis Reporting Never Having Attended School Decreased By 5%, While Those Currently Attending School To Have Increased By 2% Between 2005-06 And 2018-19

A representative sample of Pakistanis over the age of 10 years from across the country was asked the following question, “What is your educational background?” In response to this question, 27% responded that they are currently attending school, 30% said that they have attended school in the past, and 44% responded that they have never attended school. Comparative Picture: This question was asked again in 2018-19 to allow a comparison to be made across the years. In 2018-19, 29% responded that they are currently attending school, 32% said that they have attended school in the past, and 39% responded that they have never attended school.

(Gallup Pakistan)

22 September 2023

(Indonesia)

Generational Differences In Digital Platform Usage: A Comparative Analysis Between Gen Z And Gen Y

Snapcart collaborated again with Iwan Murty, one of our early angel investors and a seasoned marketing researcher, to explore the differences in digital platform usage between two prominent generations: Generation Z and Generation Y. By understanding their preferences and behaviors, we can uncover potential business implications for industries aiming to cater to these distinct consumer segments. The research highlights the nuanced differences in digital platform usage between Generation Z and Generation Y.

(Snapcart)

14 September 2023

AFRICA

(Cameron)

Cameroonians Say Government Must Do ‘Much More’ To Protect The Environment

More than seven in 10 Cameroonians (72%) say pollution is a serious problem in their community. o Citizens cite deforestation (23%), human waste management (23%), trash disposal (22%), and pollution of water sources (19%) as the most important environmental issues in their community. o Three-fourths (76%) of respondents say plastic bags are a major source of pollution in Cameroon. Cameroonians believe the primary responsibility for reducing pollution and keeping communities clean falls on ordinary citizens (36%), the national government (26%), and the local government (21%).

(Afrobarometer)

11 September 2023

(Morocco)

Moroccans Endorse Women’s Political Participation But Not Equal Access To Jobs, Land

Fewer than four in 10 Moroccans (36%) say women should have the same rights as men to jobs, and only 42% say women should have equal rights to own or inherit land. o Women and men differ sharply in their views on equality in hiring and land ownership. o Moroccans cite inequality in workplace opportunities or pay as the most important women’s-rights issue that their government and society must address.

(Afrobarometer)

21 September 2023

(Liberia)

Liberians Want Fair And Competitive Elections, But Mistrust Elections Commission

An overwhelming majority (92%) of Liberians support elections as the best way to choose their leaders. About six in 10 (59%) say Liberia needs many political parties to ensure that voters have a real choice, a 9-percentage-point rebound from 2020. Majorities say elections do not work well to ensure that members of the House of Representatives (61%) and senators (60%) reflect the views of voters. But more than half (55%) say elections do enable voters to remove from office leaders who do not do what the people want.

(Afrobarometer)

26 September 2023

WEST EUROPE

(UK)

Britons Concerned About Climate Change, But Cost Of Living Is A Barrier To Action

New polling by Ipsos reveals concern about the impacts of climate change among Britons, with 2 in 5 (41%) believing the economic costs of climate change itself will be greater than the cost of measures to reduce it. By contrast, only 1 in 5 (22%) think measures to reduce it will be more costly, with an equal share (19%) saying there will be little difference between the cost of each. Half of Britons say they are too worried about the cost of living to think about the impact of climate change (52%) or would like to do more to reduce climate change but cannot afford to (51%).

(Ipsos MORI)

3 September 2023

Dissatisfaction With Government On Immigration At Highest Level Since 2015

Public dissatisfaction with the Government’s handling of immigration is at its highest level since before the EU referendum, according to the latest findings of an authoritative survey that has tracked public attitudes to immigration since 2015. Two-thirds of the public (66%) are dissatisfied with the way the Government is dealing with immigration, according to the Immigration Attitudes Tracker from Ipsos and British Future – the highest level in the tracker’s history. Just 12% say they are satisfied.

(Ipsos MORI)

12 September 2023

Almost 9 In 10 Say Britain Needs A Fresh Team Of Leaders

The latest Ipsos Political Monitor, taken 6th to 12th September 2023, explored public attitudes to the Labour and Conservative parties and their leaders, when the next General Election should take place and headline voting intention. Voting intention: Labour lead stands at 20 points. Labour 44% (-1 from July), Conservatives 24% (-4), Lib Dems 12% (nc), Greens 8% (+2), Other 11% (+2pts). 46% of those with a voting intention have ‘definitely decided’ who they are going to vote for.

(Ipsos MORI)

19 September 2023

Just One In Ten Members Of The Public Think The Government Has The Right Policies In Place For The NHS

The public remain sceptical about the quality of services provided by the NHS - only a third (33%) of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally. This is consistent with public opinion recorded in November 2022, but still notably lower than in May 2022 and November 2021 (43% and 44%, respectively). Addressing the pressure on or workload of NHS staff (40%) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS (39%) are seen as the top priorities.

(Ipsos MORI)

27 September 2023

Most Britons Oppose Banks And Building Societies Closing Customer Accounts For Reputational Reasons

New YouGov data shows that three-quarters of the public (74%) believe institutions should only close an account if they deem the holder to pose a clear financial, regulatory, or legal risk – just 15% think they should be allowed to close an account to protect their public image. On the question of whether banks have become too politically motivated, two in five say they have (40%), and just 4% think they could stand to be more politically motivated. A quarter (25%) believe they have struck the right balance.

(YouGov UK)

5 September 2023

Do Student Loan Repayments Count As ‘Tax’

A recent report on tax rates highlighted how a graduate earning £35,000 a year pays almost double the average tax of someone with the same income from rent on property. YouGov tested two different question wordings, with both getting similar results. Asking “Do you think that the money that graduates repay from their student loans constitutes 'tax'?” resulted in a very close split, with 36% saying that it does and 38% feeling that it does not. . Our other question “Do you think that the money deducted from graduates’ salaries to pay off student loans constitutes 'tax'?” resulted in a slightly wider difference, with 36% again saying that it does but 42% answering that it does not.

(YouGov UK)

12 September 2023

Sunak Net Favourability Falls Again To New Low Following Net Zero Announcements

YouGov polling on 21-22 September finds Rishi Sunak’s net favourability rating now stands at -45, his lowest score to date. Some 68% of Britons currently have an unfavourable view of the prime minister (from 67% in late August), the highest figure since becoming prime minister, while only 23% have a favourable view (from 26%), his lowest to date .

(YouGov UK)

22 September 2023

(France)

72% Of French People Think That The Education System Is Deteriorating

Ipsos asked the French about their opinion of the education system in the country. They judge it quite negatively, 52% of French people even think it is bad, and only 20% consider it "good", against respectively 36 and 33% in the world. Nearly one in two citizens in the world (46%) consider that the situation in which the education system finds itself is deteriorating compared to the period when they were in school. The French are among the most nostalgic and critical, since they are 72% to believe that the situation has deteriorated, against only 12% to consider it better.

(Ipsos France)

4 September 2023

65% Of Women Want Psychological Support In Case Of Personal Or Professional Difficulties

Nearly 8 out of 10 employees say they are satisfied with their work, a figure that has been stable since 2011. Their confidence in their professional future remains high (75%). This figure continued to increase between 2012 (64%) and 2018 (73%). After a decline in 2019 (70%), it starts to rise again in 2020. The assessment of their quality of life at work by employees has increased from year to year: 32% considered it good in 2012, they are 41% in 2023. 72% of employees are satisfied with the level of flexibility offered by their company, a figure up 4 points compared to 2020.

(Ipsos France)

22 September 2023

(Germany)

A Clear Majority Of The Electorate Considers "The Left" To Be A Weak Party

In a recent survey by the international data & analytics group YouGov, 2,134 eligible voters aged 18 and over were interviewed from 15 to 20 September 2023 on topics related to the left. According to the survey, only 19 percent consider the party to be united, while almost two-thirds of the electorate (63 percent) consider it divided. This is significantly more than, for example, the governing parties SPD (46 percent "rather divided" and "very divided"), FDP (36 percent), or the Greens (47 percent). Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of the German electorate say they are dissatisfied with the work of the federal government.

(YouGov Germany)

29 September 2023

Only Seven Percent Germans Very Satisfied With The Federal Government

Only about one in ten Germans (11%) say they are very satisfied with the work of the Green minister, while more than half (54%) rate his work very negatively. His net satisfaction, i.e. the difference between those who are very satisfied and very dissatisfied, is thus only -43. Economics Minister Robert Habeck, on the other hand, who lost a total of 21 points on the satisfaction scale in the last surveys in May and July, was able to stop his downward trend in September. His net satisfaction increases by five points, but remains at a low level of -43.
(Ipsos Germany)

12 September 2023

(Hungary)

It Is Becoming More Widespread, But There Are Still Many Misconceptions About Temporary Agency Work

In the 12-month period under review, temporary employment was mentioned about 14,<> times in the Hungarian community space, and the topic came up most frequently in content related to market trends, top lists and employment data. However, social internet content analysis by Ipsos and Neticle also showed that temporary employment is a divisive topic and can sometimes be associated with negative emotions. Prohuman is one of the few providers who came out of the study with a positive opinion rate.

(Ipsos Hungary)

21 September 2023

NORTH AMERICA

(USA)

The Politics Of Religion

Americans’ political identity is a powerful correlate of a wide range of Americans’ attitudes and behaviors, including, in particular, a wide range of attitudes about hot-button political and social issues. One key measure we use in analyzing this politics and religion relationship is the absence of religious identity -- those who, when asked by a survey researcher about their religious identity, reply that they have none. “Nones” have risen from essentially zero in some Gallup surveys in the 1950s to above 20% in recent Gallup surveys (and higher than that in some other firms’ surveys).

(Gallup USA)

1 September 2023

Majority Of Americans Say U.S. Is One Of The Greatest Countries In The World

Today, two-in-ten Americans say the U.S. “stands above all other countries in the world.” About half (52%) say the U.S. is “one of the greatest countries, along with some others,” while 27% say “there are other countries that are better than the U.S.” Opinions about the nation’s global standing have changed slightly since 2019. That year, 24% said the U.S. is the single greatest nation, 55% said it is one of the best countries, and 21% said other countries are better than the U.S.

(PEW)

29 August 2023

Why Some Americans Prefer To Go To Religious Services In Person And Others Prefer To Watch Virtually

Some 17% of U.S. adults regularly attend religious services in person and watch them online or on TV, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Roughly three-quarters of this group – making up 13% of all U.S. adults – say they prefer attending in person, while 2% prefer viewing services virtually and 2% have no preference. Among those who prefer in-person religious services, the most common reason respondents give is a stronger sense of connection and community with fellow participants. About half (52%) say this – more than three times the share who name any other reason.

(PEW)

6 September 2023

Most Americans Say Being A Man Helps A Person Get Ahead In The U.S.

Six-in-ten U.S. adults say being a man helps a lot or a little when it comes to a person’s ability to get ahead in the U.S., compared with 14% who say it hurts (either a lot or a little). The picture is very different when it comes to being a woman: Half of adults say this hurts a person’s ability to get ahead and 24% say it helps. Some 67% of women say being a man helps a person’s ability to get ahead at least a little, including 48% who say it helps a lot. By comparison, 52% of men say being a man helps, and 28% say it helps a lot.

(PEW)

12 September 2023

Public Has Mixed Views On The Modern American Family

Public views of the family are complicated. Americans are more pessimistic than optimistic about the institution of marriage and the family. Overall, 40% of Americans say, in thinking about the future of the country, they are very or somewhat pessimistic about the institution of marriage and the family. Only 25% are very or somewhat optimistic, and 29% say they are neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Nearly half or more say other trends – such as people having fewer children or marrying later in life – will have neither a positive nor negative impact.

(PEW)

14 September 2023

Americans Are More Pessimistic Than Optimistic About Many Aspects Of The Country’s Future

Americans feel generally pessimistic about the future of the United States when it comes to several aspects of society, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. In particular, 63% of Americans are pessimistic about the country’s moral and ethical standards, and 59% are pessimistic about its education system. The United States’ ability to ensure racial equality for all people, regardless of race or ethnicity (44% are pessimistic, compared with 28% who are optimistic)

(PEW)

18 September 2023

Americans’ Dismal Views Of The Nation’s Politics

A comprehensive new Pew Research Center study of the state of the nation’s politics finds no single focal point for the public’s dissatisfaction. Just 4% of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very well; another 23% say it is working somewhat well. About six-in-ten (63%) express not too much or no confidence at all in the future of the U.S. political system. Nearly three-in-ten (28%) express unfavorable views of both parties, the highest share in three decades of polling.

(PEW)

19 September 2023

Majority Of Americans Continue To Favor Moving Away From Electoral College

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency. A third favor keeping the current Electoral College system. Public opinion on this question is essentially unchanged from last year, though Americans’ support for using the popular vote to decide the presidency remains higher than it was a few years ago.

(PEW)

25 September 2023

Black Americans’ Experiences With News

Almost two-thirds of Black adults (63%) say news about Black people is often more negative than news about other racial and ethnic groups; 28% say it is about equal and 7% say it is often more positive. 57% say the news only covers certain segments of Black communities, compared with just 9% who say it covers a wide variety of Black people. Half say coverage is often missing important information, while only 9% say it often reports the full story.

(PEW)

26 September 2023

Asian American Voters Prioritize Candidates’ Policy Positions Over Their Racial Identity

Nearly all Asian American registered voters (97%) say a candidate’s policy positions are more important than their race or ethnicity when deciding whom to vote for. This sentiment is widespread among all major demographic subgroups of Asian registered voters. At the same time, a 68% majority of Asian registered voters say it’s extremely or very important to have a national leader who can advance the concerns of the U.S. Asian community, according to a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey conducted from July 2022 to January 2023.

(PEW)

26 September 2023

The Data On Women Leaders

As women’s representation in U.S. politics has grown, 53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the United States, and many see significant obstacles for women candidates. Our 2023 report on women leaders in politics explores Americans’ views about gender and political leadership, as well as views about the barriers women face.

(PEW)

27 September 2023

(Canada)

Trudeau’s Approval Drops To Three-Year Low; Party Trails By 12-Points In Vote Intention

Trudeau’s perceived handling of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has sent a significant segment of past LPC voters to both the New Democrats and opposition Conservatives and sent his personal approval down to levels unseen since early 2020. This bleeding of support benefits the Conservative Party directly, with CPC vote intent now at 39 per cent, a 12-point advantage over the Liberals. More critically, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is now seen as best prime minister by twice as many as those who say the same of the actual prime minister (32 versus 17 per cent) and is additionally viewed by a plurality (41 per cent) as best to manage the economy.

(Angus Reid Institute)

7 September 2023

Two-In-Five Canadians Say They Face Discrimination Based On Their Ethnicity Or Race

Indeed, one-in-five (22%) are of the view that the country is going backwards – and that racial discrimination is worse than it was generations ago. Self-identifying Indigenous (30%) and visible minority (28%) respondents are more likely to say this than Caucasians (19%). Two-in-five Canadians (38%) say they face discrimination in Canada at least sometimes (28%) if not often (10%).

(Angus Reid Institute)

27 September 2023

Mental Health And MAID: Canadians Who Struggle To Get Help More Likely To Support Expanding Eligibility

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, in partnership Cardus, finds a vast majority of Canadians concerned with the mental health care resources available in the country (80%) and the state of Canadians’ mental health overall (81%). This concern is more elevated among those who sought care from the country’s mental health-care system in the past year. Overall, one-in-five (19%) Canadians say they’ve looked for treatment for a mental health issue from a professional in the last 12 months.

(Angus Reid Institute)

28 September 2023

AUSTRALIA

(Australia)

Inflation Expectations Dropped To 5.4% For The Month Of August – And Have Now Fallen To 4.9% In Mid-September

Inflation Expectations were down in August and have now dropped in consecutive weeks in September. The latest weekly Inflation Expectations are now at 4.9% in mid-September – the lowest weekly Inflation Expectations for 18 months since early February 2022 – before Russia invaded Ukraine. In further good news for those with a mortgage the RBA has now left interest rates unchanged for a third straight month in early September.

(Roy Morgan)

19 September 2023

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Down 3.4pts To 76.4 – Lowest Since Mid-August

For once there was a relatively uniform picture when looking around the States with Consumer Confidence down in the four largest States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, but unchanged in South Australia. Now under a fifth of Australians, 19% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to a majority of 54% (up 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.

(Roy Morgan)

26 September 2023

(New Zealand)

2.8 Million New Zealanders Now Read Newspapers And Almost 1.7 Million Read Magazines

Nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders aged 14+, 2.76 million (65.8%), now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app) platforms. In addition, 1.69 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (40.2%) read magazines whether in print or online either via the web or an app. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source survey of 6,524 New Zealanders aged 14+ over the 12 months to June 2023.

(Roy Morgan)

19 September 2023

MULTICOUNTRY STUDIES

People Across 24 Countries Continue To View UN Favorably

Views of the UN are especially favorable in Kenya, Poland, South Korea and Sweden, where about eight-in-ten express positive views. The United Nations General Assembly will open its 78th session on Sept. 5 against a favorable backdrop. A median of 63% across 24 countries surveyed see the UN in a positive light, according to a spring Pew Research Center survey. Another 28% see it negatively. In most countries surveyed, a majority of the public has a positive opinion of the UN.

(PEW)

31 August 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/ short-reads/2023/08/31/people-across-24-countries-continue-to-view-un-favorably/

Data Dive: How People Around The World Feel About Climate Change, A Survey Across 36 Nations

After people everywhere from Australia to India to America saw floods, fires and furious storms wreak havoc in 2022, Mother Earth is in for another devastating weather year. Our polling across 34 countries in August/September 2022 finds strong support for a global treaty that would ban unnecessary single-use plastics (75%, on average across 34 countries), as well as for a ban on plastics that can’t be easily recycled (77%).

(Ipsos Global)

31 August 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/data-dive-how-people-around-world-feel-about-climate-change

In 29 Countries People More Likely To Think Their Education System Is Poor Than Good

Across 29 countries, 33% describe the education system in their country as good, while 36% say it is poor. However, parents of children who are at school are more likely to say it is good than poor. People are more likely to say they would not recommend (45%) becoming a teacher than would (43%). In 28 of the 29 countries surveyed, people tend to agree that having a degree is very important to succeed in life.

(Ipsos Global)

5 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-education-monitor-2023

Buddhism, Islam And Religious Pluralism In South And Southeast Asia, Survey In 6 Asian Countries

According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of six countries in South and Southeast Asia. In five of the six countries surveyed, nearly all adults still identify with the religion in which they were raised. Only in Singapore do a sizable share of adults (35%) indicate their religion has changed during their lifetime. (For additional information on religious switching in Singapore, read “Share of Singaporeans identifying as Christian or unaffiliated is increasing.”)

(Ipsos Global)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/09/12/buddhism-islam-and-religious-pluralism-in-south-and-southeast-asia/

48% Across 31 Countries Say The Quality Of The Healthcare In Their Country Is Good – But The Picture Is Inconsistent

Mental health is the top health concern for people across 31 countries, moving ahead of previous years’ top concerns like cancer and coronavirus. Across 31 countries, people put mental health as the top health concern facing their country. Since the beginning of this survey in 2018, mental health worries have increased by 17 percentage points (pp), with over two-fifths (44%) worried. Additionally, worries about stress (now mentioned by 30% as an issue) are on the rise. It is now third in our list behind cancer (40%).

(Ipsos Global)

28 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-health-service-monitor-2023

A Quarter Of Global Consumers Don't Feel Comfortable With Online Banking, A Study Across 48 Markets

More than a quarter of consumers worldwide are uncomfortable using online banking (27%), according to the YouGov Global Profiles study, which collects data from 48 international markets. Among adults aged 18-44, nearly three in ten (28-29%) agree with this view. Contrary to popular belief, the percentage of people over 55 who do not feel comfortable using online banking is similar to that of other age groups. In fact, they disagree with this statement (53%).

(YouGov Italy)

22 September 2023

Source: https://it.yougov.com/society/articles/47384-un-quarto-dei-consumatori-globali-non-si-sente-a-proprio-agio-con-lonline-banking

ASIA

810-814-43-01/Polls

Survey: 70% Of Firms Supporting Workers’ Fertility Treatments

More than 70 percent of 100 major companies in Japan have implemented systems that facilitate employees taking leave for fertility treatments, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

As insurance coverage for such treatments expands, more businesses are taking the initiative to support their employees, but there are still challenges such as protecting employees’ privacy.

“While we need to share information among team members to some extent out of consideration, we must balance that with privacy protection,” said Masaaki Yajima, the president of Wacoal Corp.

The Asahi Shimbun conducted the survey of the 100 major businesses from various industries in July asking how they are supporting employees undergoing fertility treatments.

The companies were permitted multiple answers.

The most selected option, among 75 companies, was having “systems or initiatives in place to make it easier for employees to take leave for treatments.”

That was followed by having “systems or initiatives that allow flexible working hours and break hours” at 64 companies.

Twenty-five companies responded that they are providing “subsidies for fertility treatment costs.”

Kokuyo Co. offers subsidies of up to 300,000 yen ($2,048) over two years to cover the cost of the treatments. The employees can apply to a mutual aid association without reporting it to their bosses.

He emphasized the importance of an easily accessible leave system for workers and having a way to share information within the company while protecting privacy.

Sato added that employees may hesitate to give the reasons for their leave to their bosses.

(Asahi Shimbun)

29 August 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14992434

810-814-43-02/Polls

Survey: Frailty Increasing Among People In Their 40s, 50s

Photo/Illutration

Doctors are urging people to consume more protein to halt a surge in frailty, a condition marked by declining muscle strength and weakened mental and physical vigor.

A total of 330 doctors, consisting of 110 internists, 110 orthopedists and 110 industrial physicians, gave valid responses.

Asked which age group they think is increasingly frail, and allowed to give multiple answers, most respondents picked people in their 60s or older.

Frailty may be associated with old age, but the survey also showed a rise in the condition among middle-aged people.

According to the survey, 36.7 percent of respondents cited men in their 50s, 36.3 percent selected women in their 50s, 21.1 percent picked men in their 40s, and 17.4 percent chose women in their 40s.

And 75.5 percent said the number of people between 20 and 65 who can be regarded as in a “pre-frailty” stage has risen.

As for reasons for the increases, reduced muscle mass was cited by 78.7 percent of respondents, decreased exercise habits by 77.1 percent, and going out less frequently by 75.9 percent.

About 90 percent said the number of frail and pre-frail individuals will increase further.

Many respondents said efforts to prevent frailty should start at a relatively young age, with the 40s cited by 30.5 percent, the 50s by 20.9 percent, and the 30s by 20.6 percent.

(Asahi Shimbun)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14985739

810-814-43-03/Polls

Church Ties Cited In 40% Of Senior Administrative Positions

The appointments followed the Sept. 13 reshuffle of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet.

He admitted to having had interactions with related organizations during the party’s screenings last year following the July 2022 slaying of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara city.

The Asahi Shimbun also contacted newly elected lawmakers this past January about their connections with the Unification Church.

(Asahi Shimbun)

16 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15007194

810-814-43-04/Polls

Antibody Rate After COVID Around 70% In Young People

The percentage of people in Japan who produced antibodies after becoming infected with the novel coronavirus was found to be around 70 percent among those aged 5 to 29, but only between 20 and less than 30 percent among elderly patients.

The finding by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was announced Sept. 15 in response to a survey it carried out.

After infection, the body produces antibodies to eliminate the virus, which lingers for a while.

Antibodies from vaccines and antibodies from natural infection are easily distinguishable. By examining the antibody retention rate, it is possible to determine how many people have been infected with the virus.

Since the previous survey targeted blood donors, no data was available for children or those over 70 years of age.

In the latest survey, the remaining blood samples taken for testing at clinics in July and August were used.

Blood samples from 4,235 people in 22 prefectures, mainly in the Kansai, Chubu, and the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, were examined. The overall antibody possession rate was 45.3 percent, the same level as that of the July survey of blood donors (44.7 percent).

A breakdown by age group:

Up to the age of 4 (54.6 percent)

Those aged 5-9 (73.8 percent)

Those aged 10-14 (71.7 percent)

Those aged 15-19 (61.0 percent)

Those in their 20s (67.6 percent)

Those in their 30s (62.8 percent)

Those in their 40s (47.8 percent)

Those in their 50s (36.7 percent)

Those in their 60s (29.8 percent)

Those in their 70s (26.6 percent)

Those aged 80 and older (23.2 percent)

While 70 percent of children of elementary and junior high school age may have already experienced infection, only about one in four people over the age of 70 became infected with the virus.

(Asahi Shimbun)

17 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15007727

810-814-43-05/Polls

10% Of Japan’s Population Aged 80 Or Older For First Time

The graying of Japanese society seems to have turned a lot grayer.

Figures published by the internal affairs ministry ahead of Sept. 18, Respect-for-the-Aged Day, show that those aged 80 and older for the first time represent 10 percent of the population.

An estimated 36.23 million people in Japan were aged 65 or older as of Sept. 15. The percentage of the total population rose to a record 29.1 percent, up 0.1 point from 2022.

But the number fell for the first time since comparable statistics became available in 1950 because the demographic group now reaching the age of 65 is relatively small.

An estimated 20.51 million women were aged 65 or older, unchanged from 2022 and accounting for 32.1 percent of the female population.

The number of men aged 65 or older fell 10,000 to an estimated 15.72 million, or 26 percent of the male population.

The number of people aged 75 or older increased by 720,000 from 2022 to an estimated 20.05 million and exceeded the 20 million mark for the first time. The age group includes many of the baby-boomers born in 1947 through 1949.

The number of people aged 80 or older rose 270,000 to an estimated 12.59 million, accounting for 10 percent of the total population.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects that those aged 65 or older will account for 34.8 percent of the total population in 2040, when the so-called second-generation baby boomers born in 1971 through 1974 join the group.

As the ranks of elderly people expand, more of them are now working.

In 2022, a record 9.12 million elderly people held jobs, up 30,000 from the previous year and breaking the record for 19 consecutive years, according to the Labor Force Survey.

The elderly accounted for 13.6 percent of all people with jobs, an all-time high.

By age group, a record 50.8 percent of those between 65 and 69 had jobs, as did 33.5 percent of those between 70 and 74, another record.

The work force is aging particularly in industries suffering from a labor shortage.

The agriculture and forestry sector had 1.01 million workers aged 65 or older, or 52.6 percent of all workers in the sector.

In the medical and welfare sector, the number of workers aged 65 or older increased nearly 2.7 times to 1.04 million in 2022 from a decade earlier.

The percentage of elderly workers in the sector more than doubled from 5.5 percent in 2012 to 11.5 percent in 2022.

Social security spending, which represents about one-third of the annual government expenditure, is ballooning as Japanese society ages.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare requested 33.73 trillion yen ($228 billion) in the budget for fiscal 2024, up about 587 billion yen from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.

(Asahi Shimbun)

17 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15007751

810-814-43-06/Polls

Paternity Leave Remains Complex, Difficult Decision For Many Fathers

While the rate for men who took paternity leave in Japan hit a record high in the last fiscal year, only about two in 10 eligible took it as the choice remains complicated.

In fiscal 2022, 17.13 percent of men took paternity leave, 3.16 percentage points higher than the previous fiscal year, according to the welfare ministry.

In comparison, 80.2 percent of women took child care leave in the last fiscal year.

Sept. 19 is dubbed “ikukyu wo kangaeru hi” (The day to think about child care leave) in Japan.

“Ikyukyu” means “child care leave” in Japanese. The choice of the date plays on the words: “iku,” which sounds like the number 19, and “kyu,” which is 9 (September).

The Asahi Shimbun conducted a survey of those who took paternity leave, those who did not and those who could not and asked respondents about their thoughts and circumstances.

DIFFICULT DECISION

“You don’t ask women, ‘Why did you decide to take maternity leave?’ do you,’” said Yuki Mimura, 32, who works in the information technology operations and planning department at Japan Airlines Co.

“We are both parents, so I think it is normal for men to take leave,” he said.

Mimura took paternity leave from July last year until March this year following the birth of his first child.

One of his senior male colleagues told him, “When I was working, I could not do anything to help with child care, so I felt out of place (when I was at home.)”

Other colleagues also recommended Mimura take the leave.

On the other hand, an employee in his 30s who works for a listed company in the Kanto region did not take the leave.

“If doing so would cause problems for others, it’s better for me to manage the job myself,” he said.

At the time, the employee was working in public relations on a team along with several people.

“The absence of even one team member would significantly affect the others,” he said.

Although his wife, who was on maternity leave, asked him to take one, too, he apologized, saying, “I have important work to do.”

He said he wanted to work because it was at a crucial time for his career advancement.

It is common for male employees to take child care leave at his company.

“I would have taken the leave if I had been in a department that does not handle emergency responses,” he said.

Some wanted to take paternity leave but could not.

A man in his 30s who works in the pharmaceutical industry and lives in Tokyo became a father this year but was unable to take the leave.

He was not eligible to do so because he had only joined the company a few months before.

The Child Care and Family Care Leave Law stipulates that employers cannot refuse a worker’s request for child care leave. But if a labor union has reached a labor-management agreement with the firm, the law says that “workers employed for less than one year can be exempted.”

NAVIGATING WORK OPTIONS

Taking care of a child continues after parental leave, of course, making a flexible work style essential.

Ryosuke Fujimaru, 31, is an employee of All Nippon Airways Co. with a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old child. He has been working shorter hours under the company’s system since April.

After he spoke with his wife, who also works, the couple decided that she would work full time and that he would work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“I thought just managing somehow would be too stressful. Besides, I wanted to be the main parent taking care of our children since my wife had taken maternity leave,” he said.

Although there were no men around Fujimaru using the shortened working hours system, he said he had no conflicted feelings at all.

ANA allows employees to use the system regardless of the reason, and the company says around 10 people are currently utilizing it.

PROMOTING LEAVE

Sekisui House Ltd., a major housing company that promotes paternity leave, established the “day to think about child care leave” in 2019.

The company registered the day with the Japan Anniversary Association.

About 119 companies and organizations, including The Asahi Shimbun, support the company’s paternity leave project.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set the goal of increasing the rate of male employees taking child care leave to 50 percent by fiscal 2025 and 85 percent by fiscal 2030.

The government is considering measures such as raising the parental leave benefits for both men and women from the current 67 percent of wages earned before the leave to about 80 percent starting in fiscal 2025.

In addition, the government mandated companies with more than 1,000 employees to disclose their paternity leave rates from April.

Of the companies with a fiscal year ending in March that are required to disclose their rates by the end of June, 86.8 percent, including those that are planning to make the disclosure, did so.

The average amount of leave taken by men at companies that responded was 46.5 days.

On the other hand, it is said to be harder for employees in small and midsize businesses to take child care leave compared to those in large companies.

The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other organizations conducted a survey of around 6,000 small and midsize businesses nationwide last year.

Of the 2,880 companies that responded, 52.4 percent said they did not have the personnel to replace those taking child care leave.

(Asahi Shimbun)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15008881

810-814-43-07/Polls

Study: Up To 23% Of Adults Suffer Post-Infection Symptoms

The post-infection rate was around 6.3 percent among children, the team’s survey found.

Both adults and children who had been vaccinated before infection had a lower rate of post-infection symptoms than those who were unvaccinated, according to the survey.

Most infected people see their symptoms disappear within days or weeks. But some suffer from certain post-infection symptoms over an extended period, including fatigue, malaise, joint pain, shortness of breath, decreased concentration and disturbances in smell and taste.

These symptoms have been referred to as “long COVID” or “post-COVID,” but the definition has not been firmly established internationally, and many things about the symptoms remain unclear.

In Japan, the health ministry categorizes them as “post-infection symptoms.”

Hiroyasu Iso, a member of the research team and head of the Institute for National Center for Global Health and Medicine’s Institute for Global Health Policy Research, said his team defined the symptoms as those persisting for at least two of the three months following infection.

The team conducted online and paper-based surveys on COVID-19 patients and uninfected people in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward, Yao in Osaka Prefecture, and Sapporo.

The researchers analyzed 53,642 cases (25,736 adults and 27,906 children) after sorting them by city or ward.

The research team also compared the post-infection rates based on peak infection times in the pandemic.

Among adults who contracted the virus during the outbreak of the Alpha and Delta variants in spring and summer 2021, 25 percent to 28.5 percent reported having post-infection symptoms.

The rate decreased to 11.7 percent to 17 percent during the peak of the Omicron variant from early 2022 to summer that year. Omicron continues to be the dominant strain in Japan.

The health ministry plans to incorporate the findings into treatment guidelines for post-infection symptoms.

It also intends to conduct further research to clarify how the symptoms trend over the coming years and what is causing the symptoms.

(Asahi Shimbun)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15008970

810-814-43-08/Polls

Companies Seek New Market For Scallops After China Ban

Since the ban was announced on Aug. 24, Gen Komori, president of Tokyo-based seafood trading house Housen Co., has received inquiries for scallops from overseas but at "incredibly low prices."

“I feel like (Japanese businesses) are getting ripped off,” said Komori.

According to a survey by the Fisheries Agency, prices of scallops in Hokkaido and three other prefectures have plunged 11 to 27 percent since China imposed its ban.

At Marui Sato Kaisan Co., a seafood processing company based in Betsukai, Hokkaido, inventories of frozen scallop abductor muscles have piled up since orders from China, a major export market, evaporated in July even before the ban was implemented.

“I am worried about where things go from here,” said Takeshi Ise, the company president.

China is the largest overseas market for Japanese seafood, followed by Hong Kong.

Last year, Japan exported seafood worth 83.6 billion yen ($562.9 million) to China. Scallops accounted for 48.9 billion yen, followed by sea cucumbers at 9.8 billion yen.

The impact of the Chinese ban is not limited to domestic businesses.

An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 tons of shell-on scallops were exported to China, processed there and then shipped to the United States annually.

American and European buyers have said it will become difficult to supply products to North America unless Japanese scallops can be brought into China.

Komori said he plans to explore the possibilities of exporting Japanese scallops to other countries where they can be processed for North America and Europe as well as developing new distribution channels in Japan.

“We need to support fishermen in sales so that they will not become dispirited by excessive price declines,” Komori said.

The United States has its own safety and health standards for imported processed food.

The U.S. Embassy in Japan is introducing processing facilities in Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries that meet the U.S. standards so that Japanese fisheries businesses can export scallops to the United States from those facilities.

The government plans to help Japanese businesses if they choose to process scallops on their own by subsidizing two-thirds of expenses to introduce equipment for shelling scallops.

Nikko Co., a food machinery maker based in Kushiro, Hokkaido, manufactures equipment for automatically removing abductor muscles from shell-on scallops.

A company representative said the number of inquiries has not changed since the government announced the subsidy program.

The equipment costs about 100 million yen, meaning that companies will have to shoulder more than 30 million yen apart from the subsidy.

The equipment is also made to order and takes a year to deliver after receiving an order,

A lack of manpower is also an obstacle for processing more scallops in Hokkaido.

“Processing facilities in Hokkaido are chronically short of hands and rely on foreign technical interns,” said the president of a seafood processing company in Hokkaido. “They cannot easily increase the number of workers or raise hourly wages.”

(Asahi Shimbun)

25 September 2023

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15013611

810-814-43-09/Polls

24% Pakistanis Have A Device At Home That Runs On Solar Energy

(Gallup Pakistan)

14 September 2023

Source: https://gallup.com.pk/post/35237

810-814-43-10/Polls

Public Opinion Split If The New Generation Is Less Or More Religious Than Previous Generations

According to a survey conducted by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, public opinion split if the new generation is less or more religious than previous generations. A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the country, was asked the question “Imagine you are asked to compare the new generation with the previous generation. Considering the following aspects, share your thoughts on whether the new generation is more or less...? - Is the new generation more religious than the previous generation?” In response, 49% said yes, 47% said no and 4% said that they do not know or gave no response.

(Gallup Pakistan)

21 September 2023

Source: https://gallup.com.pk/post/35270

810-814-43-11/Polls

Proportion Of Pakistanis Reporting Never Having Attended School Decreased By 5%, While Those Currently Attending School To Have Increased By 2% Between 2005-06 And 2018-19

In a Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey conducted in the year 2005- 06, a representative sample of Pakistanis over the age of 10 years from across the country was asked the following question, “What is your educational background?” In response to this question, 27% responded that they are currently attending school, 30% said that they have attended school in the past, and 44% responded that they have never attended school. Comparative Picture: This question was asked again in 2018-19 to allow a comparison to be made across the years. In 2018-19, 29% responded that they are currently attending school, 32% said that they have attended school in the past, and 39% responded that they have never attended school. Trend Analysis: The proportion of people who responded that they were currently attending school increased by 2%, while those that say they never attended school decreased by 5%, and those that report having attended school in the past also increased by 2% in the 13 years between the two surveys.

(Gallup Pakistan)

22 September 2023

Source: https://gallup.com.pk/post/35282

810-814-43-12/Polls

Generational Differences In Digital Platform Usage: A Comparative Analysis Between Gen Z And Gen Y

The rapid evolution of digital technology has significantly altered the way individuals interact with various aspects of their lives, including shopping, banking, education, and entertainment. We all know that the younger generations are more technologically open and quick to adopt. However, between the two younger generation: Generation Z (up to 26 years old) and Generation Y (27 to 42 years old), commonly referred to as Millennials, are they the same in their preference in using different digital platforms or there are differences?

The data presented in this report is derived from our online survey covering across Indonesia from 18 to 24 July 2023. Total sample of n=4,337 males and females are split into 2,590 individuals from Generation Z and 2,347 individuals from Generation Y. To be eligible to this survey, these individuals have to have prior experience using digital platform and at least has done a transaction only.

The survey encompassed a range of digital platform usage categories, including online shopping, food delivery, banking, transportation, travel booking, daily necessities, streaming services, online education, and telehealth.

PTP-558 Request to make an infographic and graphic for digital platform article-03

Key Findings

Both generations show a strong adoption of online shopping, followed by online food delivery, digital banking and online transports.

The lowest adoption is found for online education and telehealth.

Very high adoption of online shopping highlights the growing comfort of the younger generation with e-commerce platforms and presents opportunities for businesses to create tailored online shopping experiences to capture their preferences.

Travel and Transportation: Interestingly, Gen Z and Gen Y’s preferences diverge in terms of online transportation services. Generation Z appears to rely more on motorized transportation (38%) than mobile-based alternatives (35%), whereas Generation Y displays a more balanced usage pattern (39% motorized and 37% mobile). This is likely due to different charges between the two types and these generations’ spending power. This insight may guide transportation companies in tailoring their services to each generation’s preferred modes of commuting.

Entertainment and Education: Generation Z demonstrates a more significant inclination towards streaming services (25%) compared to Generation Y (19%). Furthermore, the data unveils a notable contrast in the adoption of online education, with Gen Z embracing it at a rate of 20%, compared to a mere 8% among Gen Y respondents. These variations suggest a growing market for digital educational content, along with a potential for innovative edutainment platforms targeted at Gen Z.

Online Travel and Hotel Booking: usage of this digital platform is significantly higher among the Gen Y which might be driven by more travel for works and higher purchase power.

For online shopping most often used by these generations, Shopee leads the share by wide margin for both online shopping and grocery shopping; and generation Z is more likely to shop from Shopee than generation Y. Gen Y also has higher inclination to shop at TikTok Shop.

Tokopedia seems to be preferred by Generation Y.

Gojek and Grab has 80% of the market, but it seems their strategy is different. Gojek is appealing more to the younger generation, while Grab is preferred more by Gen Y.

Maxim is challenging the two main players with 13% share and skews slightly to the younger generation.

The top two digital banking used – BCA Mobile and BRImo – have different skews. BCA is used more by Generation Y, while BRImo by Generation Z. Livin by Mandiri is also preferred by Generation Y.

Majority of Gen Z (83%) claims that their mobile main bank is using digital banking, compared to only 67% of Gen Y.

Additional Information – Brand Funnel

Among the Generation Z and Y, the following data show awareness level, incidence of ever used to main platform used for online shopping, online grocery shopping and online transport (car)

For the online shopping platform:

· Shopee has a good retention rate from aware to ever used to retain them as main platform. Tiktok Shop is the other platform that is able to retain about a third of those who have tried to be their loyal users

· The other platforms show a loss in conversion from aware to induce trial to try their platform.

For the online grocery shopping platform:

· Again Shopee has the higher awareness with 82% of those aware to try the platform (57% of ever used divided by 70% awareness) and ability to retain those who tried to make Shopee as their main online grocery shopping platform 67% (38% who use Shopee as their main platform divided by 57% of those who ever)

· The next group of platforms with similar awareness level are Alfagift, Grabmart, Go-Mart and KlikIndomaret. Alfagift leads this pack with 20% claiming to use it as their main online daily grocery shopping platfrom.

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For the online transport shopping platform:

· Both Gojek and Grab has high conversion from aware to ever try to main.

· Maxim has a good level awareness, better than MyBluebird, and InDrive among these target markets. About a third who used Maxim before, they kept using it as their main online platform transport.

A screenshot of a mobile phone and a cellphone

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Conclusion

The research highlights the nuanced differences in digital platform usage between Generation Z and Generation Y. By acknowledging and responding to these distinctions, businesses can tailor their products and services to effectively target these two vital consumer segments. This will not only enhance customer satisfaction but also contribute to the growth and innovation of various industries in the digital era.

(Snapcart)

14 September 2023

Source: https://snapcart.global/generational-differences-in-digital-platform-usage-a-comparative-analysis-between-gen-z-and-gen-y/

AFRICA

810-814-43-13/Polls

Cameroonians Say Government Must Do ‘Much More’ To Protect The Environment

Cameroon possesses abundant natural resources, including oil and gas, mineral deposits, high-quality timber, and an enormous range of flora and fauna. But if its natural and cultural diversity has earned it the title of “Africa in miniature,” the country also shares many of the environmental challenges present elsewhere on the continent (World Bank, 2023a; UNEP, 2023).

Deforestation claimed more than 1.5 million hectares between 2001 and 2020, threatening the country’s rich biodiversity (World Bank, 2022; Manigha, 2023). Population growth, urbanisation, and industrialisation drive land degradation and water and air pollution, exacerbated in the anglophone region by the country’s ongoing socio-political crisis (Bang, 2022).

Cameroon is also struggling with waste management, in particular plastic pollution. According to some estimates, the country generates about 600,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year (Landfill Solutions, 2022).

In 2012, Cameroon implemented a ban on the production, sale, and use of non biodegradable plastic bags. However, despite this ban, significant quantities of plastic bags are smuggled into the country across its 1,690 km border with Nigeria (Kindzeka, 2023).

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 questionnaire to explore Cameroonians’ experiences and perceptions of pollution, environmental governance, and natural resource extraction.

Findings show that most Cameroonians are concerned about pollution in their community. They rank deforestation, human waste management, and trash disposal as their most important local pollution problems. They consider environmental protection a responsibility they share with their national and local governments but say the government must do “much more” on this issue.

A majority of citizens say the benefits of natural resource extraction, such as jobs and revenue, outweigh its costs, such as pollution, but most also call for tighter regulation of the industry to limit its negative impacts on the environment.

Key Findings:

More than seven in 10 Cameroonians (72%) say pollution is a serious problem in their community. o Citizens cite deforestation (23%), human waste management (23%), trash disposal (22%), and pollution of water sources (19%) as the most important environmental issues in their community. o Three-fourths (76%) of respondents say plastic bags are a major source of pollution in Cameroon.
Cameroonians believe the primary responsibility for reducing pollution and keeping communities clean falls on ordinary citizens (36%), the national government (26%), and the local government (21%).
A majority (57%) of citizens think the government is doing an inadequate job of reducing pollution and protecting the environment. Fully two-thirds (67%) say it needs to do “much more.”
If environmental-protection policies threaten jobs and incomes, 52% of citizens say the government should prioritise the environment, while 42% disagree.
A majority (57%) of Cameroonians say the benefits of natural resource extraction outweigh its negative impacts, such as pollution.
But more than eight in 10 (81%) want the government to tighten regulation of the resource-extraction industry to reduce its negative impacts on the environment. ▪ Majorities think that ordinary people have a voice in decisions about natural resource extraction (61%) and that local communities receive a fair share of the sector’s revenues (55%).

(Afrobarometer)

11 September 2023

Source: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad699-cameroonians-say-government-must-do-much-more-to-protect-the-environment/

810-814-43-14/Polls

Moroccans Endorse Women’s Political Participation But Not Equal Access To Jobs, Land

The Global Gender Gap Index considers Morocco to be among the countries with the widest gender gaps, ranking it 136th out of 146 countries (World Economic Forum, 2023). While Morocco ranked 90th in political empowerment, it performed worse on the other indicators: 141st in economic participation and opportunity, 130th in health and survival, and 115th in educational attainment.

Article 19 of Morocco’s Constitution highlights the country’s commitment to ensuring full gender equality (Constitute Project, 2011). The United Nations (2023) confirms that the country has made significant progress in gender equality, with a decrease in child marriages and improvements in girl-child education and women’s political leadership. However, economic and political gender gaps persist, fuelled by discriminatory laws and social norms. For example, women hold only 24% of parliamentary seats, and only 5.4% of firms have women in top management positions (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2023; World Economic Forum, 2023).

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) questionnaire to explore Africans’ experiences and assessments of gender equality.

Survey findings show that fewer than half of Moroccans endorse women’s right to equal opportunity in hiring and land ownership – issues on which women and men hold very different views. And while a majority say women should have the same chance as men of being elected to political office, almost half say women who run for office are likely to be criticised or harassed.

Even though women are just as educated as men, unequal opportunities and pay in the workplace is the most frequently cited women’s-right issue that the country must address. Gender gaps also persist in ownership of certain key assets and autonomy in financial decision making.

Women are less likely than men to approve of the government’s performance on promoting equal rights and opportunities and are considerably more likely to say the government need to do more.

Key findings

Educational achievement is fairly equal among men and women in Morocco.
With the exception of mobile phones and computers, women trail men in the ownership of key assets that the survey asked about: motor vehicles (24% vs. 57%), bank accounts (42% vs. 65%), televisions (68% vs. 84%), and radios (41% vs. 57%).
Women are more than twice as likely as men to defer to their spouses or other family members regarding financial decision making in the household (38% vs. 14%).
Fewer than four in 10 Moroccans (36%) say women should have the same rights as men to jobs, and only 42% say women should have equal rights to own or inherit land. o Women and men differ sharply in their views on equality in hiring and land ownership. o Moroccans cite inequality in workplace opportunities or pay as the most important women’s-rights issue that their government and society must address.
More than six in 10 Moroccans (62%) say women should have the same chance as men of being elected to public office. o But while 87% of citizens think a woman will gain standing in the community if she runs for office, 46% think it’s likely she will be criticised or harassed, and 35% say she will probably face problems with her family.
A majority (63%) of respondents say the government is doing a “fairly good” or “very good” job of promoting equal rights and opportunities for women. Women and less educated, rural, and poor citizens are less likely to approve of the government’s performance.
About four in 10 citizens (39%) say the government should do more to promote women’s rights and opportunities. o Women are about twice as likely as men to call for more government action in promoting women’s rights and opportunities (51% vs. 27%).

(Afrobarometer)

21 September 2023

Source: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad702-moroccans-endorse-womens-political-participation-but-not-equal-access-to-jobs-land/

810-814-43-15/Polls

Liberians Want Fair And Competitive Elections, But Mistrust Elections Commission

Liberians will head to the polls on 10 October 2023 to elect a president, 15 senators, and 73 members of the House of Representatives. This will mark the fourth cycle of presidential and legislative elections since the end of the country’s devastating civil war in 2003. The National Elections Commission (NEC) has granted accreditation to 1,030 individuals to vie for the 88 seats in the National Legislature (National Elections Commission, 2023a, b).

Incumbent President George Weah is seeking a second six-year term (Africanews, 2023). Among the 19 other candidates competing for the same position, only two are women, even though women comprise 50% of registered voters (National Elections Commission, 2023c, d).

While the election promises to be competitive, the campaign has been largely peaceful. Most political parties have signed the Farmington River Declaration 2023 committing to a nonviolent electoral process as the country seeks to strengthen its fragile democracy through peaceful, inclusive, free, fair, and transparent elections (United Nations, 2023).

The most recent Afrobarometer survey findings show that Liberians overwhelmingly support elections as the best way to choose their leaders even though a majority don’t think they ensure that their views will be represented. Most citizens describe the last presidential election as generally free and fair, but few trust the institution responsible for ensuring a high quality election.

Key findings

An overwhelming majority (92%) of Liberians support elections as the best way to choose their leaders.
About six in 10 (59%) say Liberia needs many political parties to ensure that voters have a real choice, a 9-percentage-point rebound from 2020.
Majorities say elections do not work well to ensure that members of the House of Representatives (61%) and senators (60%) reflect the views of voters. But more than half (55%) say elections do enable voters to remove from office leaders who do not do what the people want.
In general (not regarding the 2023 election), seven in 10 citizens (71%) say it is better if power sometimes changes hands in elections from one political party to another rather than having one party continuously govern the country. o More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents say that once an election is over, the losing side should accept defeat and cooperate with the government to help it develop the country, rather than focus on monitoring and criticising the government to hold it accountable.
Most citizens (85%) say the last national election, in 2017, was generally free and fair.
About one in five citizens (21%) say they feared intimidation or violence during the 2017 election, and one-fourth (25%) consider it likely that powerful people can find out how they vote.
Only 34% of Liberians say they trust the National Elections Commission (NEC) “somewhat” or “a lot,” while about two-thirds (65%) express “just a little” or no trust at all in the election-management body. o Trust in the NEC has declined by 10 percentage points since 2018.

(Afrobarometer)

26 September 2023

Source: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad705-liberians-want-fair-and-competitive-elections-but-mistrust-elections-commission/

WEST EUROPE

810-814-43-16/Polls

Britons Concerned About Climate Change, But Cost Of Living Is A Barrier To Action

Two in five Britons (41%) believe the economic costs of climate change will be greater than the measures to reduce it.
However, half say they’re too worried about the cost of living to think about the impact of climate change (52%), and a similar proportion say they would like to do more to reduce climate change and help the environment, but can’t afford to (51%)
Support is high for investing in renewables (77%) and improving the energy efficiency of homes and businesses (75%); less so for investing in nuclear (49%)
Around half think the government’s decision to grant 100 new oil and gas licenses will have a positive impact on the economy (47%) and on Britain’s dependence on other countries for energy (55%).

However, the cost of living continues to impact on feelings about taking action to reduce climate change. Half of Britons say they are too worried about the cost of living to think about the impact of climate change (52%) or would like to do more to reduce climate change but cannot afford to (51%). Only 3 in 10 (29%) say they often find sustainable lifestyle choices cheaper.

Looking at steps the UK could take to reduce climate change, three quarters of Britons support investing more in renewable energy (77%) or improving the energy efficiency of homes and businesses (75%) as a way of reducing how much the UK relies on imported energy. And 3 in 5 would say they would still support these policies even if they led to an increase in bills or taxes (60% and 58% respectively). The public is less positive about investing in nuclear energy, although on balance more support than oppose it (49% support, 20% oppose). Similarly, 43% support re-starting or increasing the UK’s own production of fossil fuels while 29% oppose.

Following Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the Government would be releasing 100 new licenses for companies to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea this week, around half think this will have a positive impact on reducing Britain’s dependence on other countries for energy (55%) and on Britain’s economy itself (47%).

More than two in five agree reducing car usage will positively impact climate change – but support for measures that make car usage more expensive is limited

With the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) across all London boroughs coming into effect next week, new polling by Ipsos reveals limited support among Britons for measures to make it more expensive for drivers to use their cars.

More than 2 in 5 (44%) agree that reducing the use of cars will have a positive impact on climate change (compared to 33% who think it will not make much difference ). However, looking at policies to reduce car use, just under half (46%) say they oppose making it more expensive for people to drive, compared to 31% who support such measures. By contrast, three quarters (74%) of Britons say they would support policies to make it easier to travel by public transport, for example through reduced prices of by investing in more routes. Fewer than 1 in 10 (7%) oppose the expansion of public transport.

Rachel Brisley, Head of Energy and Environment at Ipsos in the UK, said:

Recent polling starkly illustrates the reality of balancing the energy trilemma of security, affordability and sustainability. The cost of living crisis remains top of mind for the British public impacting their ability to take action to reduce climate change even though most would like to do more. Incentives like making public transport easier to use are more popular than penalties such as making it more expensive to drive. And the importance of energy security is highlighted by more than half of Britons thinking new oil and gas licenses will help reduce our dependence on other countries for energy. Balancing these concerns will continue to be a challenge for policymakers as well as the public as we transition towards Net Zero.

(Ipsos MORI)

3 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/britons-concerned-about-climate-change-cost-living-barrier-action

810-814-43-17/Polls

Dissatisfaction With Government On Immigration At Highest Level Since 2015

Two-thirds of the public (66%) are dissatisfied with the way the Government is dealing with immigration, according to the Immigration Attitudes Tracker from Ipsos and British Future – the highest level in the tracker’s history. Just 12% say they are satisfied.

Dissatisfaction with the way the current government is dealing with immigration has increased since July 2022 to its highest level (66% net dissatisfied) - Ipsos and British Future

Only a fifth (22%) of Conservative supporters are satisfied with the Government on immigration while most Conservatives (56%) are dissatisfied – a quarter (26%) ‘very dissatisfied’. Almost three quarters (73%) of Labour supporters are dissatisfied with how the Government is dealing with immigration (8% are satisfied).

The top reason given for dissatisfaction with the Government is the failure to stop Channel crossings, but responses are divided by politics. For Labour supporters who are unhappy with the Government on immigration, ‘Creating a negative or fearful environment for migrants’ (46%) and ‘Not treating asylum-seekers well’ (45%) are equally important reasons for dissatisfaction as ‘Not doing enough to stop channel crossings’ (46%). Among Conservative supporters, however, 82% cite ‘Not doing enough to stop Channel crossings’ as a reason for their dissatisfaction, and only 9% ‘creating a negative or fearful environment for migrants’.

At a time of high net migration, the new tracker survey finds that 48% of the public now supports reducing immigration (up from 42% in 2022), compared to 44% who would prefer numbers to stay the same (22%) or increase (22%). Support for reducing immigration is still nearly 20 points lower than in 2015, the first year of the tracker, when 67% of the public backed reductions.

The proportion of people wanting to see immigration reduced has increased to just under half (49%), while those wanting an increase remain at a smilar level to July 2022 (22%) - Ipsos and British Future

Similarly, more people (43%) think that immigration has had a positive impact on Britain than the 37% who feel its impact has been negative, though negativity has increased by 8 points from 29% since 2022.

The proportion of people who think immigration has had a negative impact on Britain has increased since July 2022 (37%) although more are still positive (43%) - Ipsos and British Future

Attitudes today are divided by politics. Two-thirds of Conservative supporters (67%) now favour reducing migration, compared to only 38% of Labour supporters who favour reductions. More than half (56%) of Labour supporters say immigration numbers should increase (28%) or stay the same (28%), compared to 30% of Conservatives who say numbers should either increase (16%) or stay the same (14%).

Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, said:

The Government’s approach to immigration, particularly asylum and small boats, is disappointing everyone – but for different reasons. Liberals think it is inhumane, while hardliners think it isn’t achieving what has been promised. What they all have in common is the feeling that the Government isn’t doing a good job.
Attitudes to immigration are nuanced but the sharp divide along party political lines means we should expect a noisier, more heated immigration debate as Britain heads towards a General Election.
But politicians won’t rebuild public trust by raising the volume of the debate – that will take workable solutions, particularly on asylum, that balance control and compassion.

The research finds 7 in 10 people (71%) say they do not trust the Conservative Party to have the right policies towards migrants crossing the Channel, with just 21% saying they trust Rishi Sunak’s party. The Labour opposition is trusted by 32% of the public to have the right policies on Channel crossings, yet it is distrusted by 53%.

Some 52% of Conservative supporters say they do not trust their own party on Channel crossings. But Labour supporters do trust their own party on the issue: 60% say they trust Labour to have the right policies, while 28% do not.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said:

Immigration has been rising up the political and public agenda this year, particularly due to unhappiness with the government’s handling of channel crossings, which makes these latest findings timely. We can see that increasing attention reflected in rising concern about numbers and the impact of immigration, although it’s still the case that attitudes remain more positive than before the EU referendum.
But there is no simple answer to meeting voters’ demands on this issue, as views are split and often nuanced. For example, Britons also continue to support migration for specific sectors of work (especially health and social care), while control over who comes in is often as, if not more, important as the total numbers.
But with an election on the horizon and attention on the issue of immigration and asylum unlikely to go away, there isn’t much trust in either of the main parties to get the balance right.

The new survey also finds that support for migration for specific jobs remains largely steady. More than half the public would like to see the number of migrant doctors (53%) and nurses (54%) increase, while less than 1 in 7 favour reductions (13% for doctors and 14% for nurses); for care workers 46% would like to see numbers increase, 28% would rather numbers stayed the same and only 17% would like to see them reduced. Nearly three-quarters of skilled worker visas last year were for health and care roles¹.

For other jobs the picture is similar. Only 18% of the public would like to reduce the numbers of migrants coming to work as seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers, while 43% would prefer the number to increase (30% say numbers should stay the same); 24% want fewer migrant lorry drivers while 66% would rather numbers stayed the same (35%) or increased (31%); and 24% would prefer fewer migrants coming to work in construction, while 66% think numbers should stay the same (33%) or increase (33%).

The tracker survey also asked about migration for study, as it forms a large proportion of net migration figures. Some 37% of the public are happy for international student numbers to stay the same and 22% would prefer them to increase, while 31% favour reductions.

(Ipsos MORI)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/immigration-tracker-september-2023

810-814-43-18/Polls

Almost 9 In 10 Say Britain Needs A Fresh Team Of Leaders

6 in 10 say Conservatives out of date – the highest figure Ipsos has recorded for the party since this question was first asked in 2011.
Labour lead at 20 points – though public split on whether party is ready for government

Chart showing 86% of Britons agreeing that Britain needs a fresh team of leaders

Voting intention

Voting intention: Labour lead stands at 20 points. Labour 44% (-1 from July), Conservatives 24% (-4), Lib Dems 12% (nc), Greens 8% (+2), Other 11% (+2pts).
46% of those with a voting intention have ‘definitely decided’ who they are going to vote for. 50% say they may change their mind. Current Conservative voters are as likely to change their mind (48%) as current Labour voters (47%).
This figure is not unusual at this stage – for example in August 2014 56% said they may change their minds – but normally over the course of an election campaign more make up their minds.

Leader satisfaction ratings

8 in 10 Britons are dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country. 12% are satisfied, giving a net score of -68, matching the worst under Rishi Sunak and similar to the -69 just before Liz Truss left office last year
22% are satisfied with the job Rishi Sunak is doing as PM (-4 from July) and 66% are dissatisfied (+3). His net satisfaction score of -44 is his lowest as PM and rivals those of Boris Johnson (-45) and Theresa May (-44) immediately before they left office.
Keir Starmer registers a net satisfaction rating of -22 with 29% satisfied with the job he is doing as Labour leader (-2 from July) and 51% dissatisfied (-2).

Starmer vs Sunak in-depth

Keir Starmer is seen as the most capable PM by 36% and Rishi Sunak by 32%. Starmer’s 4-point lead is similar to July where he led by 5 points (36% to 31%).

Looking deeper, Starmer leads Sunak on a range of leadership traits: Leader image ratings for Starmer and Sunak

Compared to December, Rishi Sunak’s ratings are either the same or have dipped, particularly on being a capable leader (down 7), sound judgement (down 6), understanding Britain’s problems (down 7), and being out of touch (up 10) and more style than substance (up 9).
However Keir Starmer has also only really improved on one metric since December – being good in a crisis (up 5) – otherwise his scores show little change, while have got worse on being out of touch (up 14) and being more style than substance (up 7), and have also dipped on being more honest than most (down 5).

Labour and the Conservatives in-depth

86% think Britain needs a fresh team of leaders, +6 points from May 2023, and higher than the 76% who felt this in March 2010. However the public are split on whether Labour is ready for government (38% agree and 43% disagree). This has got slightly worse for Labour since July when 43% thought they were ready, and is the first net negative score Labour has received on this metric since July 2022.
69% disagree that the word competent is an accurate way to describe the current Conservative government. Just 16% say it is accurate. This is even worse than earlier this year (in March 62% disagreed they were competent).
63% do not believe that the Conservatives deserve to be re-elected (again up from 56% in May), 21% agree they do (-2 pts). After a slight improvement in May this is back to where they were in December last year.
61% consider the Conservatives ‘out of date’, up 7 since March and the highest score the party has registered on this measure since Ipsos started asking the question in 2011. 61% said the same about Labour in October 2016 under Jeremy Corbyn but 42% say that about Labour today (although that is still worse for Labour than in March).

Labour leads on most other positive party image metrics, such as understanding the problems facing Britain (by 46% to 24%), being fit to govern (by 34% to 21%), and looking after the interests of people like me (by 34% to 16%) Party image ratings

Next General Election

61% expect Labour to be the largest party at the next General Election. There has been a slight increase in those expecting an outright Labour majority (27%, up 7 since May), while 34% say Labour will be the largest party in a hung parliament (down 9). Just 27% expect the Conservatives to be the largest party, with just 9% expecting a Conservative majority.
One in four (26%) think the next General Election should take place before the end of this year, rising to 37% amongst current Labour voters and falling to 9% amongst current Conservatives. A majority want the election next year (33% January to June and 22% July to December). 14% want the election as late as possible (January 2025), including 3 in 10 current Conservative voters (31%).

Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos, said:

There is little sign that the challenges facing the Conservatives have got any easier over the summer: unhappiness with the government’s performance remains high, Rishi Sunak’s ratings are slipping as more see him as out of touch, and the party’s image as a whole is a long way down from when they were winning elections over the previous decade. As we enter the conference season Labour will be much the happier, with a solid lead and ahead of the Conservatives on most key metrics.
But viewed in isolation Labour and Keir Starmer’s ratings are only lukewarm – Keir Starmer has also seen a rise in those thinking him out of touch, and while the party has removed some of the negativity towards it several of the more positive image scores are not that much different from a decade ago. So, while the Conservatives are clearly struggling against a strong public sense that it is time for a fresh team in charge, Labour haven’t completely convinced Britons that they are the answer to that question either – but despite that they are still the public’s favourites to win.

(Ipsos MORI)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/almost-9-10-say-britain-needs-fresh-team-leaders

810-814-43-19/Polls

Just One In Ten Members Of The Public Think The Government Has The Right Policies In Place For The NHS

The Health Foundation has partnered with Ipsos to deliver a programme of public polling research examining expectations and perceptions of health and social care. Every 6 months, we poll a representative sample of the UK public using the UK KnowledgePanel – Ipsos’ random probability online panel.

The findings from the fourth survey show:

The public remain sceptical about the quality of services provided by the NHS - only a third (33%) of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally. This is consistent with public opinion recorded in November 2022, but still notably lower than in May 2022 and November 2021 (43% and 44%, respectively). Addressing the pressure on or workload of NHS staff (40%) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS (39%) are seen as the top priorities.
The majority of the public feel that the NHS needs an increase in funding (80%), with only 17% agreeing that the NHS does not need further funding and should operate within its current budget. Although opinion on how any increase in budget should be funded is varied, the most popular single mechanism remains an additional tax earmarked specifically for the NHS (31%).
People continue to feel negatively about the state of social care. Just over one in ten (12%) think social care services in their local area are good, while a greater proportion disagree (33%). Notably, 31% of people neither agree nor disagree and 25% say they don't know, highlighting a lack of public awareness of social care services compared to the NHS (on whether local NHS services are good, 26% neither agree nor disagree and 2% don't know).
Confidence in government policy on social care also remain very low - only around one in twenty (6%) agree that government has the right policies for social care and nearly two thirds (63%) disagree. Echoing the public’s priorities for the NHS, some of the top priorities for social care include improving pay and conditions for social care staff (42%) and increasing the number of staff in social care (32%).
Almost two-thirds (64%) of the public feel that the overall level of health and wellbeing in the UK has worsened over the last 12 months (only 8% thought it got better). Although people are somewhat less pessimistic about the health and wellbeing of the nation compared to six months ago, expectations are still negative overall with the public largely unconvinced that the government is taking action to improve the population’s health. Just 16% of the public think the government has the right policies to improve public health, while half (49%) disagree.

(Ipsos MORI)

27 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/just-one-in-ten-members-public-think-government-has-right-policies-place-nhs

810-814-43-20/Polls

Most Britons Oppose Banks And Building Societies Closing Customer Accounts For Reputational Reasons

Earlier this year, Nigel Farage’s Coutts account was closed by the bank after an internal report described him as a “disingenuous grifter” with “xenophobic, chauvinistic, and racist views”. The resulting controversy led to the resignation of NatWest CEO Alison Rose, the launch of an FCA probe into “de-banking” across the sector, and headlines about whether the ex-UKIP leader is more deserving of a bank account than serial killer Rose West.

But do the public think banks and building societies should be allowed to close customer accounts for reputational reasons?

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Along political lines, Conservative voters are more likely to think banks should not be allowed to close accounts for PR purposes (89%), with 6% saying the reverse. Labour voters are mostly agreed (64%) but a quarter believe banks should be allowed to shut down accounts due to reputational risk (26%). Both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer have criticised NatWest over the closure of Farage’s account.

On the question of whether banks have become too politically motivated, two in five say they have (40%), and just 4% think they could stand to be more politically motivated. A quarter (25%) believe they have struck the right balance.

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Most Tory voters (57%) think banks are currently too political, while 2019 Labour voters are more likely to say they’re getting the balance right (35%) than to think they’re too political (28%) - although a third (32%) are unsure either way.

Britons don’t support de-banking customers on political grounds – unless they’re members of extremist groups

We also asked the public about the specific circumstances where a bank or building society should be permitted to close an account.

Broadly, people think banks should be allowed to do so if the customer is a member of an extremist group (63%), has been convicted of serious crimes (63%), or is suspected of criminal behaviour or having criminal ties (53%). In each case, Conservative and Labour voters are more or less agreed.

Beyond fanatics and lawbreakers, three in five (62%) support stripping accounts from people who are rude or abusive to staff.

So what do Britons consider a poor reason for de-banking someone? Just 5% of the public think institutions should be allowed to remove accounts from people who support a particular political party, while the same proportion say they should be allowed to do so because someone voted to leave the EU.

Tory and Labour voters are mostly agreed on both counts. While 9% of the public think de-banking a customer who does not share the bank’s values should be permitted, it’s a tendency, 2019 Labour voters (13%) are twice as likely to hold this belief as Conservative voters (6%).

Most of the public think banks should not be allowed to shut an account because the holder openly opposes LGBTQ+ rights (13% allowed) - but just 5% of Conservative voters agree, compared to a quarter of Labour voters (23%). And when Britons are asked if refusing to use someone’s preferred gender pronouns is a good enough reason to close a customer’s accounts, it’s a similar story: 12% of the public think it is, next to 7% of Tory voters and a fifth of Labour voters (19%).

(YouGov UK)

5 September 2023

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/economy/articles/47274-most-britons-oppose-banks-and-building-societies-closing-customer-accounts-for-reputational-reasons

810-814-43-21/Polls

Do Student Loan Repayments Count As ‘Tax’

The public are divided

A recent report on tax rates highlighted how a graduate earning £35,000 a year pays almost double the average tax of someone with the same income from rent on property. However, this finding is predicated on the inclusion of student loan repayments in a graduate’s effective tax rate.

But do student loan repayments actually constitute tax? For many years now they have been collected alongside taxes as deductions from graduates’ payslips, and Martin Lewis has described the new rules introduced this year as effectively constituting a graduate tax.

So what do the public think?

As it turns out, they are divided. YouGov tested two different question wordings, with both getting similar results.

Asking “Do you think that the money that graduates repay from their student loans constitutes 'tax'?” resulted in a very close split, with 36% saying that it does and 38% feeling that it does not. (We will hereafter refer to this question as Question A)

Our other question “Do you think that the money deducted from graduates’ salaries to pay off student loans constitutes 'tax'?” resulted in a slightly wider difference, with 36% again saying that it does but 42% answering that it does not. (We will hereafter refer to this question as Question B)

Graduates feel differently on the matter to non-graduates. Depending on the question asked, 52-54% of Britons with a degree say that student loan repayments do count as tax, compared to 33-35% who disagree.

By contrast, among non-graduates, there is a tendency to think that student loan repayments are not the same as tax, by 39% to 28% in Question A and 46% to 28% in Question B.

(YouGov UK)

12 September 2023

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/46055-do-student-loan-repayments-count-tax

810-814-43-22/Polls

Sunak Net Favourability Falls Again To New Low Following Net Zero Announcements

YouGov polling on 21-22 September finds Rishi Sunak’s net favourability rating now stands at -45, his lowest score to date.

Some 68% of Britons currently have an unfavourable view of the prime minister (from 67% in late August), the highest figure since becoming prime minister, while only 23% have a favourable view (from 26%), his lowest to date .

While the prime minister will have been hoping to receive some benefit from his net zero announcements, his reputation among Tory voters remains effectively unchanged (they continue to be divided on the party leader, by 48% to 47%) as well as with Labour voters (who continue to overwhelmingly dislike him, at 90%).

What is notable, however, is that the PM’s recent actions seem to have taken their toll on his perception among 2019 Liberal Democrat voters. While already unpopular with this group (prior polls had only around a quarter thinking positively of him), this figure has plummeted, with now only 12% of Lib Dem voters holding a favourable view. Since the last poll, the number with an unfavourable view has risen from 73% to 85%.

Opinion towards the Conservative party remains unchanged, including among Liberal Democrat voters, had a negative view of the party than its leader. This latest poll brings Sunak’s reputation among the Lib Dems almost into line with their views of his party.

Keir Starmer has not seen any benefit. Three in ten Britons have a favourable view of the Labour leader (30%, from 35% at the end of August), while 55% have an unfavourable opinion (from 54%). This gives the leader of the opposition a net favourability rating of -25.

Starmer continues to be less popular than his party, of which 37% of Britons have a positive view and 52% a negative one (a net score of -15).

(YouGov UK)

22 September 2023

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/47388-sunak-net-favourability-falls-again-to-new-low-following-net-zero-announcements

810-814-43-23/Polls

72% Of French People Think That The Education System Is Deteriorating

Ipsos asked the French about their opinion of the education system in the country. They judge it quite negatively, 52% of French people even think it is bad, and only 20% consider it "good", against respectively 36 and 33% in the world.

« Parents are somewhat less critical, but in France those who think that the education system is poor still outnumber those who consider it to be performing well (43% against 31%) " says Amandine Lama, Global Director of Innovation, Ipsos Public Affairs.

The French also doubt that their education system contributes to reducing social inequalities: only 42% of them think this is the case, compared to 51% for the overall average of countries.

Nearly one in two citizens in the world (46%) consider that the situation in which the education system finds itself is deteriorating compared to the period when they were in school. The French are among the most nostalgic and critical, since they are 72% to believe that the situation has deteriorated, against only 12% to consider it better.

When asked about the main challenges faced by the education system in France, the French prioritize overcrowded classes (53%), obsolete educational programs (32%), and security issues (31%).

Moreover, in 28 of the 29 countries studied, respondents tend to think that having a degree is very important for success in life. The French are more divided on this point than the overall average (48% of them agree, compared to 60% in all countries).

Teaching, a profession insufficiently valued

The French generally think that being a teacher means working hard: 58% of French people think so, against 33% who disagree with this idea.

The France is also one of the countries where people would least recommend becoming a teacher (the second worst score in the EU after Hungary), with 27% of people recommending it.

A relative majority of French people believe that teachers are not sufficiently paid (47%), but more generally that they are not sufficiently respected (73%; worst score in Europe with Hungary).

Impact of AI and technology

If the impact of new technologies, and in particular AI is considered rather positive on the education system on a global scale, the French are much more reluctant.

France is the country where respondents are most likely to think technological advances will have a negative impact on education in the future (29% vs. 18% globally), and the country where citizens are most likely to support banning AI in schools (48% vs. 29% globally). An opinion that is even shared by the youngest (51% of French people under 35 in favor of the ban).

Logically and even if this observation instead of surprising, the French are therefore also the least convinced by the importance of training teachers in AI, they are only 43% to consider that it is a necessity, against 65% of the global average. The finding is similar when it comes to training students in the use of AI: 49% think it is important, compared to 70% of the global average.

(Ipsos France)

4 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/fr-fr/global-education-monitor-2023

810-814-43-24/Polls

65% Of Women Want Psychological Support In Case Of Personal Or Professional Difficulties

Nearly 8 out of 10 employees say they are satisfied with their work, a figure that has been stable since 2011. Their confidence in their professional future remains high (75%). This figure continued to increase between 2012 (64%) and 2018 (73%). After a decline in 2019 (70%), it starts to rise again in 2020.

The assessment of their quality of life at work by employees has increased from year to year: 32% considered it good in 2012, they are 41% in 2023. 72% of employees are satisfied with the level of flexibility offered by their company, a figure up 4 points compared to 2020.

The vast majority (65%) of employees (62% of women and 68% of men) say they are in good health. This figure, which is still high, has been falling steadily since 2011 (71%). A slightly more marked decline among women: 70% of them declared themselves in good health in 2011, 67% in 2018 and 65% in 2022. While for the same period, this rate among men remained around 70% (72% in 2011, 70% in 2018 and 69% in 2022).

Female employees are more likely than men to say they are in poor physical health (41% vs. 34%), despite better medical follow-up. And nearly half of them (44% vs. 32% for men) declare themselves in poor psychological health (+4 pts vs 2022).

A perception of their psychological health conditioned by a growing concern among women

The female employees surveyed say they are increasingly worried about the financial situation of their household (42% vs. 33% for men, and +7 pts vs. 2022), and are more concerned about the future of their children (41% vs. 33% for men, and +9 pts vs 2022). They are also more worried about the situation of the world (82% vs. 71%) and the environment (80% vs. 69%).

More than one in two female employees (55% vs. 45% of men) say they have suffered from psychological disorders in the past 12 months: anxiety disorders (37%), mood disorders/depression (experienced by 30% of female employees), burnout/burnout (25%), trauma and stress disorders (21%).

One third of the employees concerned (women and men) attribute this poor state of psychological health to professional origins, a third to personal origins and a third to both. When it comes to personal reasons, however, women stand out very clearly on the financial aspect: 39% (vs. 26% of men) link their poor mental health to their financial situation. This situation can be explained by part-time work, which concerns 17% of women (vs. 7% of men) and the situation of single parenthood. This situation, which concerns 25% of families in France is assumed in 85% of cases by a woman (INSEE). Regarding professional reasons, women mention the intensity and working time (65% vs. 59% of men, and +7 points compared to 2022) as well as the deterioration of social relations at work (41% vs. 38%).

Perspectives on the psychological health of employed women

Women are over-represented in the professions of Health and Social Action (67% of employees in the sector are women [2]), a sector in which employees declare themselves in poorer health than the average.

Indeed, 47% of them consider their physical health to be poor (vs. 37% for all sectors combined), and 45% consider having a poor state of psychological health, compared to 38% for all employees. Employees in this sector suffer more from chronic fatigue (51% vs. 40%), and sleep disorders (37% vs. 31%), and even speak of "work-related emotional exhaustion" for 45% of them (vs. 34%).

Finally, this sector is also the one in which the share of employees who have been prescribed sick leave is the highest: 63% against 50% all sectors combined, a figure up 10 points compared to 2022[3].

Psychological support at work: women's expectations

Faced with the increase in psychosocial risks, women are particularly waiting for support from their employer. 65% of them want psychological support in case of personal or professional difficulties (vs. 57% of men). Women are also more interested in stress management solutions (70% vs. 55% of men). They are also waiting for support in the event of serious illnesses (71%) and when they return to work after sick leave (64%, up 6 points compared to 2022).

(Ipsos France)

22 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/fr-fr/65-des-femmes-souhaitent-beneficier-dun-soutien-psychologique-en-cas-de-difficultes-personnelles-ou

810-814-43-25/Polls

A Clear Majority Of The Electorate Considers "The Left" To Be A Weak Party

The Left Party won 2021.4 percent of the second votes in the 9 federal election, narrowly missing the five percent hurdle. The party was only able to enter the Bundestag thanks to three direct mandates won. Since then, the Left Party has received an average of around 5 percent of the vote in polls on voting intentions. Again and again one hears from the party of disputes over direction and a possible new party founded around the politician Sahra Wagenknecht.

In a recent survey by the international data & analytics group YouGov, 2,134 eligible voters aged 18 and over were interviewed from 15 to 20 September 2023 on topics related to the left. The results reflect the high-profile dispute between the socio-conservative wing around Sahra Wagenknecht and the other party members. According to the survey, only 19 percent consider the party to be united, while almost two-thirds of the electorate (63 percent) consider it divided. This is significantly more than, for example, the governing parties SPD (46 percent "rather divided" and "very divided"), FDP (36 percent), or the Greens (47 percent). Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of the German electorate say they are dissatisfied with the work of the federal government. Furthermore, a majority of voters in Germany consider the Left Party to be a rather weak or very weak party (63 percent), while 35 percent consider it to be very weak. This is by far the highest value compared to the other parties represented in the Bundestag: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (20 percent "very weak"), SPD (19 percent), FDP (17 percent), CDU/CSU (10 percent), AfD (12 percent).

A good third (36 percent) of German voters find it rather or very important that the Left Party is represented in the Bundestag. With the exception of the AfD (31 percent), the representation of all other parties is perceived as more important: SPD (61 percent), CDU/CSU (65 percent), FDP (46 percent), the Greens (45 percent). This shows major differences between the voters of the parties. More than half (53 percent) of Green voters consider it important that the Left Party is represented in parliament, while four out of ten (41 percent) of SPD voters do so. In the FDP electorate, on the other hand, it is only 24 percent and among AfD voters it is 15 percent.

Against this background, if one asks whether the German electorate would prefer Sahra Wagenknecht to found her own party or if the Left Party found a common path, 34 percent would be in favor of Sahra Wagenknecht founding the party, while 29 percent would prefer the party to work together. For this question, the proportion of "don't know" is comparatively high at 37 percent.

Sahra Wagenknecht's popularity is likely to have an influence on the popularity of the founding of a "Wagenknecht Party": Sahra Wagenknecht is the best known of all the politicians of the Left Party surveyed. Only 4 percent say they don't know them. In addition, she is also one of the most popular politicians of the Left Party. Other politicians of the Left Party, such as co-chair Martin Schirdewan, are not known to half of the electorate (50 percent), and co-chairs Janine Wissler (31 percent), Dietmar Bartsch (25 percent), Amira Mohamed Ali (35 percent), and Bodo Ramelow (16 percent) are also largely unknown. With 8 percent, Gregor Gysi has similar popularity ratings to Sahra Wagenknecht.

A graph with numbers and colors

Description automatically generated with medium confidence

The popularity ratings of left-wing politicians among those who claim to know them show Gregor Gysi as by far the most popular left-wing politician. Among all respondents who say they know Gregor Gysi, almost half (49 percent) find him rather or very good. Sahra Wagenknecht is somewhat or very good for 38 percent, closely followed by Bodo Ramelow (33 percent), followed by Dietmar Bartsch (27 percent), Amira Mohamed Ali (21 percent), Janine Wissler (19 percent), and Martin Schirdewan (16 percent).

One in five respondents (20 percent) stated that they could basically imagine voting for a Wagenknecht party ("Yes, definitely" and "Rather yes" - this is not a concrete voting intention, but the basic possibility of voting for a party, also called "potential". These values cannot be used to predict the success or failure of the party, especially since neither the party nor the party program currently exists). 63 percent, on the other hand, would rule out the election of a "Wagenknecht party" in principle ("No, definitely not" and "Rather no"). This figure is lower than for the Left Party: three out of four eligible voters cannot imagine voting for the Left Party (75 percent).

More than half (58 percent) of those who say they want to vote for the Left Party in the next federal election can also imagine voting for a "Wagenknecht party". Among those who say they want to vote for the AfD in the next federal election, the figure is 37 percent. In this group, far fewer can imagine voting for the left (12 percent).

Should Sahra Wagenknecht found her own party, 55 percent of eligible voters in Germany think that the Left Party will be weakened or completely dissolved, while among Left Party voters this figure is 56 percent.

When it comes to migration, a "Wagenknecht party" is perceived as much more right-wing than the Left Party or the Greens

Furthermore, the survey examined where the German electorate would position the parties represented in the Bundestag politically with regard to migration and where a possible "Wagenknecht party" would be positioned in comparison. Respondents were asked to rate where they see parties on an 11 scale from "Immigration has mainly positive influence on Germany" to "Immigration has mainly negative influence on Germany". On this migration spectrum, the "Wagenknecht Party" is positioned with a tendency to the right ("Immigration has mainly a negative impact on Germany"), with an average value of 6.5. The Left Party (mean: 4.8), the SPD (mean: 4.8) and the Greens (mean: 4.3) are positioned further to the left, i.e. more migration-friendly, on the spectrum. With an average score of 9.6, the AfD is perceived as very far to the right, i.e. critical of migration. The CDU/CSU (mean value: 6.4) and FDP (mean value 6.1) tend to be classified more right-wing, similar to a "Wagenknecht party".

(YouGov Germany)

29 September 2023

Source: https://yougov.de/politics/articles/47455-klare-mehrheit-der-wahlbevolkerung-halt-die-linke-fur-eine-schwache-partei

810-814-43-26/Polls

Only Seven Percent Germans Very Satisfied With The Federal Government

His net satisfaction, i.e. the difference between those who are very satisfied and very dissatisfied, is thus only -43. Economics Minister Robert Habeck, on the other hand, who lost a total of 21 points on the satisfaction scale in the last surveys in May and July, was able to stop his downward trend in September. His net satisfaction increases by five points, but remains at a low level of -43. Only about one in ten Germans (11%) say they are very satisfied with the work of the Green minister, while more than half (54%) rate his work very negatively.

Pistorius remains by far the most popular minister

As has always been the case since taking office, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius remains by far the most popular minister in September. He is the only minister in the traffic light government where the proportion of the very satisfied (27%) is about the same as that of the very dissatisfied (28%). His net satisfaction is therefore only slightly negative with a value of -1, which makes him stand out strongly from the rest of the cabinet. Across all the other ministers, the picture of a very dissatisfied population emerges. After Pistorius, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil achieved the best score of -26, while the two Green ministers Lisa Paus (-45) and Steffi Lemke (-47) scored the worst on the satisfaction scale. Although Health Minister Lauterbach was able to stop his decline with a slight increase (3 percentage points) compared to the July wave compared to the last survey, he still remains in the middle of the ministerial ranks with a net satisfaction of -34.

Graph shows the satisfaction ratings for the ministers

(Ipsos Germany)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/de-de/nur-sieben-prozent-sehr-zufrieden-mit-bundesregierung

810-814-43-27/Polls

It Is Becoming More Widespread, But There Are Still Many Misconceptions About Temporary Agency Work

In the second phase of its comprehensive, multi-phase U& Attitude (U& Attitude) market study, the research company surveyed 3000,<> people among the Hungarian working age population about their work-related attitudes, satisfaction and market knowledge. The national sample represents the target group according to basic demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, region and educational attainment. According to the study, one-fifth of respondents have personal temporary agency experience, and two-fifths have only heard of this form of employment.

Misconceptions and fears

A quarter (26%) of temporary agency workers would recommend this form of employment to their acquaintances. There is a strong misconception about the service that it involves less pay, high commissions and usually high vulnerability.
Lending as a form of employment has long been part of the labour market, yet there is a lack of information on some issues. This solution is also regulated by law, so the temporary worker is entitled to the same salary and leave as his full-time colleague of the same position. The temporary agency does not deduct commission, but takes a lot of administrative burden off its shoulders.

– says Csongor Juhász, CEO of Prohuman.

Those engaged in intellectual work are more satisfied

Another important result of Ipsos' market study is that Hungarian employees typically report positive work experiences, with seven out of ten satisfied with their work. A significantly better proportion can be measured among white-collar professionals (76%).
The greatest satisfaction comes from the perceived stability and safety of workplaces, and secondly from clean work processes and working atmosphere. At the other end of the scale, criticism of pay and benefits is also preceded by the lack of the option of home office. There are understandable obstacles to this among manual workers, but intellectual white-collar workers also strongly criticized Hungarian employers about the possibility of working days at home.

Work is not just a necessary evil

For Hungarian employees, the feeling of a job well done (87% agree) and value creation (73%) are of paramount importance. On the other hand, it is essential to be able to differentiate, separate and find a healthy work-life balance (85%). Only a quarter of the Hungarian working population thinks of work as a necessary evil.

The phenomenon of guest work is less accepted for the time being

In the field of guest work, the third research phase of Ipsos provided interesting lessons. The B437B survey of a total of 2 HR decision-makers found that nine out of ten managers had heard about the possibility of employing third-country workers, but only one-tenth of positive respondents had personal experience. 39% have not yet considered hiring third-country workers, and 45% would rather not take advantage of this option – even if HR service providers offer it.

Further challenges in HR

According to managers responsible for personnel and labour decisions, finding a good workforce is currently the number one challenge (87% agree), especially in shortage occupations it is difficult to fill vacancies or replace those leaving. Retaining the workforce is also a high-energy consumption (84% mention) in the profession. The difficulties of acquisition and retention are mainly due to the difficulty of meeting salary expectations, and it is a great challenge to maintain employee motivation during this period. In addition to competitive service fees, speed is the main expectation of HR service providers on the Hungarian market.

(Ipsos Hungary)

21 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/hu-hu/egyre-elterjedtebb-de-meg-mindig-sok-tevhit-munkaero-kolcsonzes-korul

NORTH AMERICA

810-814-43-28/Polls

The Politics Of Religion

Everything else being equal, the more religious the individual in the U.S. today, the higher the probability that the individual identifies with or leans toward the Republican party. I called this the “R and R rule” in my 2012 book on religion, found the phenomenon alive and well in my 2014 review of Gallup data, and now, nine years later, Gallup’s data confirm that this religiosity gap is more evident than ever.

Americans’ political identity is a powerful correlate of a wide range of Americans’ attitudes and behaviors, including, in particular, a wide range of attitudes about hot-button political and social issues. And we know that political identity is related to views of the national economy, views of the nation’s institutions, happiness, perceptions of the nation’s most important problems, and a variety of other measures. It is thus not surprising that political identity would also be related to religion.

One key measure we use in analyzing this politics and religion relationship is the absence of religious identity -- those who, when asked by a survey researcher about their religious identity, reply that they have none. “Nones” have risen from essentially zero in some Gallup surveys in the 1950s to above 20% in recent Gallup surveys (and higher than that in some other firms’ surveys). Not surprisingly, researchers have zeroed in on this phenomenon, and the term “nones” has entered the popular vocabulary (as exemplified by books with titles like The Nones: Where They Came, From Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (by Ryan P. Burge), None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the U.S. and Canada (by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme) and The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated (by James Emery White).

An aggregate of five recent Gallup surveys conducted from May 2021 through May 2023 confirms the extent to which Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to be nones. Twenty-six percent of nones identify with or lean toward the Democratic party, compared with just 11% of nones who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.

Looked at differently, across the combined 2021-2023 data, equal proportions of Americans identified as Democratic or Democratic-leaning (46%) or Republican or Republican-leaning (46%). Yet, the group of Americans who are religious nones split 63% Democratic versus 26% Republican -- far different from the population at large.

Other measures of religiosity Gallup tracks show the same general R and R relationship. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to report that religion is important in their daily lives, and Republicans are more likely than Democrats to report attending religious services.

Partisan Gap in Nones Increasing Over Time

The magnitude of this religion gap has increased over the years, to the point where I think it is fair to say that a significant part of the explanation for the “rise of the nones” lies with changes among Democrats, not Republicans.

I looked at this relationship on a year-by-year basis using our annual May GPSS Values surveys, a valuable exercise because the same questions have been asked in basically the same survey context every May since 2001. The percentage of Republican nones has edged up over the last 10 years or so, but the percentage of Democratic nones has increased significantly more. In short, the relatively small partisan gaps in none identification seen two decades ago have increased substantially over the years.

Republicans Less Likely to Be Nones, but Much More Likely to Be Protestants

Mathematically speaking, if Democrats are more likely to be nones than Republicans, Democrats have to be less likely to identify with one or more other religious groups to make up for it. The two largest religious groups where this could play out are Protestants (about 46% of all national adults) and Catholics (about 24% of all national adults). The data are clear that it is the Protestants who take the brunt of the rise of the nones among Democrats, not Catholics.

The differences are striking. Fifty-six percent of Republicans identify as Protestants, compared with just 38% of Democrats. That compares to the 11% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats who, as noted above, identify as nones. By contrast, the percentage of each party identifying as Catholic is roughly equal. Unlike Protestants, Catholics have maintained a roughly stable percentage of the American population over time and, as seen here, have remained largely immune from the partisan divide evident among Protestants and nones. Explanations for this phenomenon are tied up with -- among other factors -- the impact of immigration on the composition of the Catholic population.

Searching for Explanations

Figuring out why the basic R and R relationship exists provides a fascinating and important challenge for social scientists. Not surprisingly, we have seen a cascade of books, papers and other publications focused on theories and explanations for this aspect of American social and political life.

As is true with any correlation between two variables, the first question becomes one of causality (as taught in beginning statistics classes, correlation is no proof of causation). It could be that those Americans who -- for whatever reason -- are personally religious pick and choose a political identification that best fits their underlying religious beliefs. Or, conversely, it could be that Americans who -- for whatever reason -- are either Republican or Democratic in their political orientation tailor their religious beliefs to their politics. Or it could be that a third underlying factor -- say, one’s ethnic or racial background, or the geographic location of one’s residence, or simply one’s family heritage -- is the underlying causal factor that causes one to both be religious and to be Republican, or to be less religious and to be Democratic.

University of Pennsylvania political scientist Michele Margolis, in her 2018 book, From Politics to the Pews, makes the case that political identity is the primary causal factor in determining Americans’ religious identity, more so than the other way around. Her analyses, and our own Gallup discoveries on the extraordinary power of political identity in shaping Americans’ worldview, make this a quite plausible explanation.

This leads to the idea of an antireligion “backlash” -- the hypothesis that Democrats have moved away from religion in reaction to the increasing visibility given to the association between religion and Republican and conservative politics. Sociologists Michael Hout and Claude Fischer in 2002 concluded a review of the evidence by saying, “This political part of the increase in ‘nones’ can be viewed as a symbolic statement against the Religious Right.” University of Connecticut sociologist Ruth Braunstein has more recently reviewed in great detail various manifestations of how this backlash theory could be playing out in the U.S. today.

The key takeaway is the possibility of a spiral or self-fulfilling prophecy effect -- the idea that as religion becomes identified with Republican and conservative politicians and positions, it will continue to drive Democrats and liberals away from religion, amplifying the pattern by which Republicans increasingly dominate the group of those who remain religious. This, in turn, may mean that we are seeing a general pullback from religion in part because religion (like so much else in American life today) has become politicized.

This could work the other way around, as Braunstein points out in her review. Democrats could, in theory, react to what they see among those on the Religious Right by organizing their political beliefs around progressive values (the Religious Left) -- one of three “narrow backlashes” Braunstein describes. There is not a lot of evidence supporting the idea that this is occurring. But this line of thinking raises the possibility of future patterns different than the increasing defection of Democrats from religious identity we have been seeing up to this point.

Final Thoughts

One explanation for the connection between Protestant religion and Republican politics is that it benefits both sides of the equation. Protestant religious leaders can gain fame, influence and authority when they are connected to political positions and political leaders. (Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the very large First Baptist Church of Dallas, begins his online biography with an explicit reference to his political outreach: “Dr. Robert Jeffress is Senior Pastor of the 16,000-member First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, and a Fox News Contributor.”) Politicians, for their part, covet the support of highly religious Protestants, and Republican political candidates make repeated pilgrimages to evangelical churches and to religious events in efforts to gain the support of these highly religious voters. So, there are compelling reasons why the R and R connection may continue in the months and years ahead.

But this connection between religion and politics carries within it a singular paradox. Most religions, including Christianity, the dominant religion in the U.S., argue for social cohesion and love for one’s neighbor, while politics carries within it the fundamental structure of disagreement, conflict, argument, and castigation of one’s opponents. How this plays out in the future is a matter of fascinating theological and practical concern.

All of this matters, because religion matters in society. The evidence is clear that more religious people have higher levels of wellbeing and happiness. And religion has a number of other positive functions in society, including its influence on morality and pro-social behavior, its influence on charity and giving back to the community, and its contribution to social cohesion and solidarity. A continuing decrease in overall religiosity in American society, like the continuing decrease in faith in other American institutions, can have significant consequences for the health and viability of the country going forward.

(Gallup USA)

1 September 2023

Source: https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/510464/politics-religion.aspx

810-814-43-29/Polls

Majority Of Americans Say U.S. Is One Of The Greatest Countries In The World

The share of Americans who say the United States stands above all other nations in the world has declined modestly over the past four years, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. There has also been an increase in the share who say other countries are better than the U.S.

A bar chart showing that, since 2019, modest decline in share of adults who say the U.S. is the best country in the world.

Opinions about the nation’s global standing have changed slightly since 2019. That year, 24% said the U.S. is the single greatest nation, 55% said it is one of the best countries, and 21% said other countries are better than the U.S.

Much of this recent change in attitudes has come from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Four years ago, 40% of Republicans said the U.S. stands above all other nations, compared with 31% today. And the share of Republicans saying other countries are better has nearly doubled, from 9% to 17%.

At the same time, Democrats and Democratic leaners have grown slightly more likely to say there are other countries that are better than the U.S.: In 2019, 31% said this, compared with 36% today.

Age divides in attitudes about U.S. persist

A bar chart that shows half of Democrats ages 18 to 29 say other countries are better than the U.S.

As has been the case for more than a decade, views of how America compares with other countries differ by age. Roughly four-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 (43%) say other countries are better than the U.S. – the highest share of any age group.

Age differences are evident within both partisan coalitions. Half of Democrats under age 30 say other countries are better than the U.S., as do 40% of those 30 to 49. By comparison, just 25% of Democrats 50 and older say this.

Among Republicans, 28% of adults under 30 say other countries are superior to the U.S., compared with 12% of those 50 and older. And younger Republicans are considerably less likely than older Republicans to say the U.S. is the greatest nation: 16% of those ages 18 to 29 say this, compared with 26% of those 30 to 49, 36% of those 50 to 64 and 41% of those 65 and older.

How partisans’ views of U.S. standing have changed over time

Republicans have long been more likely than Democrats to see the U.S. as the single greatest nation, while Democrats have been more likely to say there are other countries that are better. Still, the most frequent response among both Republicans and Democrats continues to be that the U.S. is one of the world’s greatest countries, along with others.

A bar chart showing that partisan differences in U.S. views of America’s global standing.

The share of adults saying the U.S. stands above all other countries dropped significantly in telephone surveys conducted between 2011 and 2019. While the decline in views of the United States’ global standing was concentrated among Democrats during these years, the decline over the past four years is concentrated among Republicans.

(PEW)

29 August 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/29/majority-of-americans-say-us-is-one-of-the-greatest-countries-in-the-world/

810-814-43-30/Polls

Why Some Americans Prefer To Go To Religious Services In Person And Others Prefer To Watch Virtually

A pie chart showing that, among Americans who do both, most prefer attending religious services in person over watching virtually.

The survey asked these respondents open-ended questions about why they prefer one kind of service over another. The responses show that Americans who prefer in-person services value the sense of connection, fellowship and community those services provide. People who prefer virtual services often cite convenience and health concerns.

Why some Americans prefer in-person religious services

Among those who prefer in-person religious services, the most common reason respondents give is a stronger sense of connection and community with fellow participants. About half (52%) say this – more than three times the share who name any other reason.

One respondent puts it this way: “Watching online is a great option when you are unable to attend – but joining together with other believers is how we truly fellowship. You cannot get that from watching from afar.” Another says, “There is something powerful about being in community with other believers and getting that personal connection and fellowship. In person is much more uplifting and impactful.”

An additional 14% of those who prefer in-person services say that those services are more personal. As one respondent puts it: “It’s more up close and personal. You can answer questions. You can participate in the service to get a better understanding.” Another says, “In-person interaction gives me an opportunity to ask questions with the visiting scholar, [and] meet community members, and kids have better interaction with their peers.”

A bar chart showing that a sense of connection and community most popular reason why Americans prefer attending services in person over participating virtually.

Another 8% of these respondents cite the quality of the worship practices at in-person services, saying that things like communion and singing can’t be replicated online:

“As a Catholic, you cannot receive communion at home.”

“For over 60 years I have been a church musician (organist/pianist) so congregational singing is very meaningful to me. Also, I think it is important to see, talk to and encourage my fellow believers.”

“I enjoy taking part in the service; i.e., singing hymns, taking communion and seeing other church members in person.”

Smaller shares say they prefer in-person services because there are fewer distractions (6%), because they are better able to feel the spirit or presence of God (6%) or because attending in-person is a divine or scriptural commandment (4%).

Why some Americans prefer virtual religious services

There are too few respondents who prefer virtual religious services to provide precise data on their reasons for doing so. However, several respondents allude to the comfort and convenience of watching services online or on TV. One explains, “It gives me more freedom and extra time to multitask and do some other things.”

Others also mention the safety provided by virtual services. For example, “I don’t have to get dressed to go to the church. I can watch and listen more than once, and I don’t have to worry about being infected with others’ germs.”

What draws people to online religious services from congregations other than their own?

Fully 10% of U.S. adults say they attend religious services both in person and watch them virtually and say they watch virtual services offered by a different congregation than the one they attend in person most often.

The most common reason people in this group cite for watching virtual services from a different congregation is a preference for specific sermons, messages or teachings. One respondent points to “the message. The pastors I follow teach God’s truth. They don’t doctor, nuance or sugarcoat the parts you don’t like.” Says another, “The sermon is so uplifting when you’re feeling down. It gives you a sense of peace.” Another says, “The services are beautiful and the reflections during the homily are timely and inspire personal examination.”

A bar chart showing that strong sermons, specific leaders are most commonly cited reasons why Americans watch congregations other than their own virtually.

Others mention the characteristics of specific pastors, speakers or other leaders:

“The priest at that church is captivating and I prefer him even though it’s not our church.”

“The pastor’s charisma and how he speaks.”

“I watch [pastor’s name] daily. He preaches the Bible and relates it well with current events. He is able to explain the Bible so even those who do not study the Bible are able to understand. He is sincere about bringing unsaved [people] to Jesus.”

“I watch [pastor’s name] because he is so positive and a wonderful person to watch.”

Other reasons these respondents mention include that the services they watch preach the “true word of God” and adhere closely to scripture, that the services are educational and that it is enjoyable to listen to a new or different perspective.

(PEW)

6 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/06/why-some-americans-prefer-to-go-to-religious-services-in-person-and-others-prefer-to-watch-virtually/

810-814-43-31/Polls

Most Americans Say Being A Man Helps A Person Get Ahead In The U.S.

More Americans say being a man helps than hurts a person’s ability to get ahead in the United States these days, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. By contrast, more Americans say being a woman hurts rather than helps.

Views about whether being a man or a woman helps or hurts have not changed much since we asked these questions in 2019 and 2020. And as in the past, there are significant differences among key demographic groups in people’s perceptions of the advantages or disadvantages of being a man or woman in the U.S. today.

Does being a man help or hurt a person’s ability to get ahead in the U.S.?

Some 67% of women say being a man helps a person’s ability to get ahead at least a little, including 48% who say it helps a lot. By comparison, 52% of men say being a man helps, and 28% say it helps a lot.

Gender gaps on this question persist among White adults, but there are no differences between Black or Hispanic women and men on whether being a man helps. (The number of Asian women and men surveyed is too small to analyze their responses separately.)

Women younger than 30 are more likely than women ages 30 and older to say being a man helps a person get ahead (76% vs. 64%). There are no age differences among men on whether being a man helps or hurts.

Similarly, women with different levels of education have varying views of whether men have an advantage based on their gender. Women with a bachelor’s degree or more education are more likely than those with some college or less education to say that being a man helps (79% vs. 61%). Among men, there are no differences in views by these education levels.

There are also partisan differences on whether being a man helps or hurts a person’s ability to get ahead. Among Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP, 43% say being a man helps, 22% say it hurts and 34% say it neither helps nor hurts. By comparison, 77% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party say being a man helps.

There are wide gender gaps on this question among Republicans and smaller gaps among Democrats. Some 54% of Republican women say being a man helps a person get ahead, compared with 34% of Republican men. In turn, Republican men are more likely than Republican women to say being a man hurts (28% vs. 15%). Among Democrats, majorities of men and women say being a man helps, but women are more likely than men to say this.

Does being a woman help or hurt a person’s ability to get ahead in the U.S.?

An opposing bar chart showing 68% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say being a woman hurts a person’s ability to get ahead in the U.S., 17% say it helps and 15% say it neither helps nor hurts. 31% of Republicans and Republican leaners say being a woman hurts, 33% say it helps and 35% say it neither helps nor hurts. Views within each party differ by gender.

There are also large differences across demographic groups in views of whether being a woman helps or hurts someone’s ability to get ahead.

A majority of women (58%) say being a woman hurts, but fewer than half of men (40%) agree.

Among both White and Black Americans, women are more likely than men to say being a woman hurts a person’s ability to get ahead. However, there are no differences on this question between Hispanic women and men. (The number of Asian women and men surveyed is too small to analyze their responses separately.)

Among women and men alike, younger adults are more likely than older adults to say that being a woman hurts when it comes to getting ahead in the U.S. these days.

Some 70% of women younger than 30 say being a woman hurts in this respect, while 55% of women ages 30 and older say the same. And half of men younger than 30 say this, compared with 37% of men 30 and older.

Women with more education are also more likely than those with less education to say that being a woman hurts when it comes to getting ahead. While 68% of women with at least a bachelor’s degree say this, 53% of those with some college or less education say the same. There are no differences by education level among men.

When looking at party affiliation, Republicans’ views are mixed. Similar shares of Republicans say being a woman helps (33%) and hurts (31%) a person’s ability to get ahead, while 35% say it neither helps nor hurts. Among Democrats, a majority (68%) say being a woman hurts when it comes to getting ahead.

There are again large gender differences among Republicans and smaller ones among Democrats. Republican women are about twice as likely as their male counterparts to say that being a woman hurts (43% vs 21%). In turn, 41% of Republican men say being a woman helps, compared with 23% of Republican women. Among Democrats, majorities of men and women say that being a woman hurts, but women are more likely than men to say this.

(PEW)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/12/most-americans-say-being-a-man-helps-a-person-get-ahead-in-the-us/

810-814-43-32/Polls

Public Has Mixed Views On The Modern American Family

Trends in marriage and fertility along with shifting social norms and important legal changes have reshaped the American family.

A pie chart showing views about the future of marriage and family in the U.S., with 40% of Americans saying they are pessimistic while about a quarter say they are optimistic.

Public views of the family are complicated. Americans are more pessimistic than optimistic about the institution of marriage and the family.

And there is no consensus on how some of the broad trends that are driving family change will impact the country in the future. Majorities say fewer people marrying these days and more couples living together without being married won’t have a positive or negative impact.

There’s baseline support for a variety of family arrangements, but the public still favors some types of families over others. Families that include a married husband and wife raising children are seen as the most acceptable. At the same time, relatively few Americans say marriage and parenthood are central to living a fulfilling life.

For this report, we surveyed Americans on:

The future of the family

Views of different family types

Views of divorce and open marriages

Family responsibility

What makes for a fulfilling life

The survey included 5,073 U.S. adults and was conducted April 10-16, 2023, using the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.¹

Views of the future of family life

A stacked bar chart showing positive, neutral and negative views about the impact of family trends in the U.S. About half of Americans have negative feelings about less children being raised with 2 married parents, while half or more say they as view trends such as lesser people getting married and cohabiting as neither negative nor positive for the U.S.

Overall, 40% of Americans say, in thinking about the future of the country, they are very or somewhat pessimistic about the institution of marriage and the family. Only 25% are very or somewhat optimistic, and 29% say they are neither optimistic nor pessimistic.

The survey asked about some key trends in family life and what impact they might have in the future. The one that was viewed most negatively by far was the trend toward fewer children being raised by two married parents. About half of adults (49%) say this will have a negative impact on the country, while 11% say the impact will be positive.

Nearly half or more say other trends – such as people having fewer children or marrying later in life – will have neither a positive nor negative impact.

Related:

About 8 in 10 women in opposite-sex marriages say they took their husband’s last name

A growing share of Americans say they’ve had fertility treatments or know someone who has

For more detail, including demographic data, on views of the future of family life, refer to Chapter 1 of this report.

Views of different family types

A stacked bar chart showing that majorities of Americans find a variety of family arrangements acceptable, but degree of acceptance varies from 93% saying a husband and wife raising children together is somewhat or completely acceptable to 53% saying a gay or lesbian couple raising children together without being married is acceptable.

Many Americans are accepting of a range of different family arrangements. Most say an opposite-sex couple raising children, whether married or not, is an acceptable arrangement. And majorities say the same about single parents and about gay or lesbian couples with or without children.

There are differences in the degree of acceptance, however. Nine-in-ten adults say a husband and wife raising children together is completely acceptable. In contrast, 60% say a single parent raising children on their own is a completely acceptable arrangement. And fewer than half (47%) say the same about a married gay or lesbian couple raising children.

For more detail on views of family arrangements, refer to Chapter 2 of this report.

Factors that lead to a fulfilling life

bar chart showing what Americans think is extremely or very important for a fulfilling life, with 71% saying having a job/career they enjoy is extremely or very important, while about a quarter say having children or being married is extremely or very important.

Americans most often point to job satisfaction and close friends – rather than being married or having children – when asked what factors contribute to a fulfilling life. Some 71% say having a job or career they enjoy is extremely or very important for people to live a fulfilling life, and 61% say the same about having close friends.

Only about a quarter say having children (26%) or being married (23%) is equally important.

For more detail on these findings, refer to Chapter 5 of this report.

How attitudes about family life vary across different groups

Views of a range of issues related to the modern family vary widely by:

Age: Across age groups, younger adults (ages 18 to 29) are less pessimistic about the future of marriage and the family. They’re also more accepting of family arrangements involving gay and lesbian couples. Older adults (ages 65 and older) are the most likely to say being married is extremely or very important in living a fulfilling life.

Race and ethnicity: White adults are more pessimistic than Black and Hispanic adults about the future of marriage and the family, but also more accepting of a variety of family types. When it comes to families that include gay or lesbian couples, White and Asian adults tend to be more accepting than Black or Hispanic adults.

Partisanship: Party divides on these questions are deep and consistent. Republicans and those who lean to the Republican Party express more pessimism than Democrats and Democratic leaners about the future of marriage and the family, and are more likely to view broad trends that are shaping family life as negative. Republicans are also less accepting than Democrats of any family arrangement that doesn’t involve a married husband and wife raising children together. The partisan gaps are particularly large when it comes to family arrangements that involve gay or lesbian couples with children.

Additional key findings from the survey:

The public has mixed views of the impact falling fertility rates are having on society. On balance, Americans are more likely to say people having fewer children has a positive rather than negative impact on women’s careers and job opportunities and on the environment. But more say this trend has a negative rather than positive impact on the future of the Social Security system and the economy more broadly. To learn more, refer to Chapter 1, “The future of the family.”

Americans are skeptical about open marriages. Half of adults say marriages where both spouses agree that they can date or have sex with other people are unacceptable. A third say these marriages are acceptable. Young adults are more open to this type of arrangement than older age groups: 51% of 18- to 29-year-olds say open marriages are acceptable. To learn more, refer to Chapter 3, “Views of divorce and open marriages.”

When it comes to divorce, more say unhappy couples tend to stay in bad marriages too long (55%) than say they get divorced too quickly (43%). Men are more likely than women to say unhappy couples split up too quickly. Adults younger than 30 are among the most likely to say these couples stay together too long.

People’s experiences in their own family weigh more heavily than other factors in shaping their view of what makes a good family today: 68% of adults say what they experienced growing up in their family had a great deal or a fair amount of influence on their views of what makes a good family arrangement. Smaller but still substantial shares point to their religious views and what they’ve seen from their friends or their friends’ families. To learn more, refer to Chapter 2, “Views of different family types.”

Majorities say adult children have a great deal or a fair amount of responsibility to provide caregiving (66%) and financial assistance (55%) to an elderly parent who needs this type of support. Much smaller shares say parents have at least a fair amount of responsibility to provide financial assistance to their adult children (31%) or to save money to hand down to their children after they die (32%). To learn more, refer to Chapter 4, “Family responsibility.”

(PEW)

14 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/14/public-has-mixed-views-on-the-modern-american-family/

810-814-43-33/Polls

Americans Are More Pessimistic Than Optimistic About Many Aspects Of The Country’s Future

A bar chart showing that Americans are more pessimistic than optimistic about some aspects of U.S. society.

Smaller shares are pessimistic about other aspects of the country’s future. Still, more Americans feel pessimistic than optimistic about:

The United States’ ability to ensure racial equality for all people, regardless of race or ethnicity (44% are pessimistic, compared with 28% who are optimistic)

The country’s ability to get along with other countries (41% vs. 30%)

The institution of marriage and the family in the country (40% vs. 25%)

Views on these items differ considerably by party and, in some cases, by race and ethnicity and by age.

A dot plot showing that Republicans are more pessimistic than Democrats about aspects of the country’s future, except when it comes to racial equality.

By double-digit margins, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they are pessimistic about:

The institution of marriage and the family in the country (56% of Republicans are pessimistic, compared with 25% of Democrats)

The United States’ moral and ethical standards (75% vs. 54%)

The country’s education system (67% vs. 53%)

The country’s ability to get along with other countries (48% vs. 35%)

The only topic Democrats are more pessimistic about than Republicans is racial equality. More than half of Democrats (54%) are pessimistic about the United States’ ability to ensure racial equality for all people. In contrast, 34% of Republicans are pessimistic about this and 33% are optimistic.

Views about moral and ethical standards and about the institution of marriage and the family also differ by age. Adults ages 65 and older are more pessimistic than younger age groups in both areas.

Across racial and ethnic groups, White adults are the most pessimistic group when it comes to:

The United States’ moral and ethical standards: 71% of White adults feel pessimistic about this, compared with 55% of Asian, 50% of Black and 50% of Hispanic adults.

The country’s system of education: 64% of White adults feel pessimistic, compared with 50% of Hispanic, 48% of Asian and 45% of Black adults.

The country’s ability to get along with other countries: 45% of White adults feel pessimistic, compared with 36% of Hispanic adults and 34% each among Black and Asian adults.

A different pattern emerges when it comes to the country’s ability to ensure racial equality in the future. About half of Black (51%) and Asian (49%) adults say they feel pessimistic about this, while less than half of Hispanic (44%) and White (43%) adults say the same.

(PEW)

18 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/18/americans-are-more-pessimistic-than-optimistic-about-many-aspects-of-the-countrys-future/

810-814-43-34/Polls

Americans’ Dismal Views Of The Nation’s Politics

Americans have long been critical of politicians and skeptical of the federal government. But today, Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon.

Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests, flooded with campaign cash and mired in partisan warfare. Elected officials are widely viewed as self-serving and ineffective.

A comprehensive new Pew Research Center study of the state of the nation’s politics finds no single focal point for the public’s dissatisfaction. There is widespread criticism of the three branches of government, both political parties, as well as political leaders and candidates for office.

Notably, Americans’ unhappiness with politics comes at a time of historically high levels of voter turnout in national elections. The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of the highest-turnout U.S. elections of their respective types in decades.

But voting in elections is very different from being satisfied with the state of politics – and the public is deeply dissatisfied.

Just 4% of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very well; another 23% say it is working somewhat well. About six-in-ten (63%) express not too much or no confidence at all in the future of the U.S. political system.

Positive views of many governmental and political institutions are at historic lows. Just 16% of the public say they trust the federal government always or most of the time. While trust has hovered near historic lows for the better part of the last 20 years, today it stands among the lowest levels dating back nearly seven decades. And more Americans have an unfavorable than favorable opinion of the Supreme Court – the first time that has occurred in polling going back to the late 1980s.

A growing share of the public dislikes both political parties. Nearly three-in-ten (28%) express unfavorable views of both parties, the highest share in three decades of polling. And a comparable share of adults (25%) do not feel well-represented by either party.

Candidate choices are underwhelming. As the presidential campaign heats up, 63% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the candidates who have emerged so far. Setting aside the presidential campaign, there has been a downward trend in views of the quality of all political candidates. Just 26% rate the quality of political candidates as very or somewhat good, down about 20 percentage points since 2018.

Majorities back age and term limits and eliminating the Electoral College. Reflecting the public’s frustration with the federal government and political leaders, large shares of Americans support various changes to the political system, including for such long-standing proposals as establishing term limits for members of Congress and scrapping the Electoral College. Age limits – for both federal elected officials and members of the Supreme Court – draw broad support. But there is little appetite in the public for increasing the size of the U.S. House or modifying the allocation of Senate seats.

Chart shows how Americans feel when they think about politics

The new study of Americans’ views of the state of the political system is primarily based on a survey conducted July 10-16, 2023, among 8,480 adults, with additional data from a survey conducted June 5-11, 2023, among 5,115 adults. Both were conducted on Pew Research Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.

A little more than a year before the presidential election, nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics, while 55% feel angry. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics, and even fewer (4%) are excited.

Chart shows Americans’ top descriptions of the current state of politics

The survey also provides people several opportunities to describe in their own words their feelings about the political system and elected officials. When asked to sum up their feelings about politics in a word or phrase, very few (2%) use positive terms; 79% use negative or critical words, with “divisive” and “corrupt” coming up most frequently.

We also asked people to identify the strengths of the political system, as well as its weaknesses. Among the positive responses, roughly one-in-ten point to the structures of U.S. government, including its system of checks and balances (12%), freedoms and democratic values (9%) and the opportunity to vote in elections (8%).

Yet it is telling that a majority of Americans are unable or unwilling to identify strong points of the nation’s political system. While about a third gave no answer, another 22% write “nothing” – meaning that in their view, the political system does not have any strengths.

Explore this report

This overview covers key takeaways from our study of Americans’ attitudes about the political system and political representation. For more in-depth analysis, we encourage you to explore the full report. All chapters are listed out in the table of contents and at the bottom of the page.

These views and other negative sentiments are widely shared among older and younger Americans, White, Black, Hispanic and Asian adults, people who are highly engaged in politics and those who are less engaged. And in most cases, the partisan differences in these attitudes are relatively modest.

In an era defined by partisan polarization, the parties share little common ground politically. But they do share a deep unhappiness with the current state of politics.

The impact of partisan polarization

Ordinary Americans are more polarized than in the past. Partisan divisions on issues are wider than they were a few decades ago, and many Americans hold deeply negative views of those on the “other side” of politics.

Yet the public also is highly critical of the impact of partisan polarization on politics.

More than eight-in-ten Americans (86%) say the following is a good description of politics: “Republicans and Democrats are more focused on fighting each other than on solving problems.”

Chart shows majorities of Americans say partisan fighting gets too much attention, while issues and policy get too little

Asked to describe in their own words the biggest problem with the political system, 22% of Americans volunteer partisan polarization or lack of partisan cooperation. Only critiques of politicians (31%) are mentioned more frequently.

Most people (57%) also believe that conflicts between Republicans and Democrats receive too much attention these days. And 78% say there is too little focus on important issues facing the country.

Persistent concerns over money in politics

The public’s belief that special interests and campaign donors have too much influence on politics is not new. Since the 1970s, large majorities have said that the government “is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves,” rather than for the benefit for all the people.

Yet money in politics emerges again and again as a major source of public frustration.

Chart shows Most Americans are critical of the role of money in politics; 72% favor limits on political spending

Most say the cost of campaigns keeps good candidates from running. An overwhelming majority (85%) holds the view that “the cost of political campaigns makes it hard for good people to run for office.”

Members of Congress are widely seen as mixing financial interests with their work. About eight-in-ten Americans (81%) say members of Congress do a very or somewhat bad job of “keeping their personal financial interests separate from their work in Congress.”

Americans feel major donors have too much influence. Large majorities say big campaign donors (80%) and lobbyists and special interests (73%) have too much influence on decisions made by members of Congress.

People in members’ own districts, by contrast, are widely viewed as having too little influence (70% say this).

A sizable majority (72%) – including comparable majorities in both parties – support limits on the amounts of money individuals and organizations can spend on political campaigns. And 58% believe it is possible to have laws that would effectively reduce the role of money in politics. (Explore this further in Chapter 5.)

Views of the parties and possible changes to the two-party system

Chart shows Since the mid-1990s, the share of Americans with unfavorable views of both parties has more than quadrupled

Neither party is particularly popular with the public. Only about four-in-ten adults have a favorable view of the Democratic Party (37%), while about as many (36%) have a favorable impression of the Republican Party.

An increasing share of Americans express negative opinions of both parties. Currently, 28% of the public has an unfavorable opinion of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

That is little changed from a year ago, but nonetheless is the highest share expressing dislike of both parties in nearly three decades. In 1994, just 6% of Americans viewed both parties negatively.

Many people are open to the idea of having more political parties: 37% say the phrase “I often wish there were more parties to choose from” describes their views extremely or very well. Nearly half of independents and those who identify with other parties (47%) – including 56% of Democratic-leaning independents – say this. (Views of the two major parties, the party system and support for additional parties are discussed in more detail in Chapter 4 and Chapter 9.)

Chart shows Many Americans are open to having more parties; about a quarter say it would make it easier to solve problems

However, there is considerable skepticism that having more parties would make it easier for the country to solve its problems. About a quarter (26%) say it would make it easier to solve problems, while nearly as many (24%) say it would make it harder; a quarter say it would not have much impact.

The survey includes a number of proposals to change the way politics is run in this country. Some have attracted majority public support for many years, including ending the Electoral College system, placing term limits on members of Congress, automatically registering all citizens to vote and requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote. (Opinions about proposals for changing the political system are covered in Chapter 10.)

Large majorities of Americans also support:

Age limits for federal elected officials. Amid widespread concern over the advanced age of many political leaders, including President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and some members of Congress, 79% of the public favors putting a maximum age in place for elected officials in Washington, D.C. These views also are widely shared across partisan lines.

Age limits for the Supreme Court. Nearly as many Americans (74%) support putting age limits in place for justices of the Supreme Court. Democrats (82% favor) are more supportive of creating age limits for the justices than are Republicans (68%).

Chart shows broad public support for term limits for Congress, age limits for federal elected officials and Supreme Court

Another proposal that would dramatically affect the Supreme Court – increasing the number of justices – attracts considerably less support from the public.

Slightly more Americans oppose (51%) than favor (46%) increasing the number 0f justices on the court. There is a wide partisan gap in these views: Democrats (66%) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (27%) to favor expanding the court.

Other important findings

Recent presidential campaigns viewed as too long, not informative. Americans are not just unhappy about the current state of politics; they also take a critical view of recent presidential campaigns. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say recent nominees have not been good candidates, while large majorities also say the campaigns have not focused on the right issues or been informative, and 72% say they “lasted too long.” (Chapter 8)

Chart shows Democrats worry that personal rights may vary by state, Republicans that the federal government is doing too much on issues better left to the states

Growing public concerns over different dimensions of federal-state relations. A majority of Americans (54%) are extremely or very concerned that “the rights and protections a person has might be different depending on which state they are in,” up from 43% just a year ago. Increasing shares also express concerns about the federal government doing too much that is better left to the states, as well as state governments not being willing enough to work with the federal government. (Chapter 2)

Elected officials are held in extremely low regard. When asked why local and national elected officeholders run for office, relatively small shares of Americans say they run to serve the public or address issues they care about. By contrast, majorities say all or most politicians are motivated by selfish reasons, including 63% who say all or most ran for office to make a lot of money. (Chapter 7)

Majority says voting can affect the country’s direction. Nearly six-in-ten (57%) say voting by people like them can affect the country’s future direction, though just 20% say it can affect this a lot. Adults younger than 50 are less likely than older people to say voting can have at least some effect on the country’s future direction. (Chapter 5)

(PEW)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-dismal-views-of-the-nations-politics/

810-814-43-35/Polls

Majority Of Americans Continue To Favor Moving Away From Electoral College

The Electoral College has played an outsize role in some recent U.S. elections. And a majority of Americans would welcome a change to the way presidents are elected, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Public opinion on this question is essentially unchanged from last year, though Americans’ support for using the popular vote to decide the presidency remains higher than it was a few years ago.

Explore Americans’ views of the political system

This article draws from our major report on Americans’ attitudes about the political system and political representation, conducted July 10-16, 2023. For more, explore:

The report chapter on Americans’ views of proposed changes to the political system

The full report

The current electoral system in the United States allows for the possibility that the winner of the popular vote may not secure enough Electoral College votes to win the presidency. This occurred in both the 2000 and 2016 elections, which were won by George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively.

Partisan views over time

A line chart showing that most Democrats support moving to a popular vote for president, while Republicans are more divided.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are far more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to support moving to a popular vote system for presidential elections (82% vs. 47%).

The share of Democrats saying this is nearly identical to last year but higher than in January 2021, a few weeks before President Joe Biden was sworn into office after winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

Republicans are fairly divided on this question: 52% support keeping the current Electoral College system, and 47% support moving to a popular vote system. GOP support for moving to a popular vote is the highest it’s been in recent years – up from 37% in 2021 and just 27% in the days following the 2016 election.

Party and ideology

A bar chart showing that conservative Republicans stand out for their support for maintaining the Electoral College.

Nearly nine-in-ten liberal Democrats (88%) and about three-quarters of conservative and moderate Democrats (77%) say they would prefer presidents to be elected based on the popular vote.

Ideological differences are wider among Republicans. A clear majority – 63% – of conservative Republicans prefer keeping the current system, while 36% would change it.

The balance of opinion reverses among moderate and liberal Republicans (who make up a much smaller share of the Republican coalition). A majority of moderate and liberal Republicans (63%) say they would back the country moving to a popular vote for president.

Age

Younger adults are somewhat more supportive of changing the system than older adults. About seven-in-ten Americans under 50 (69%) support this. That share drops to about six-in-ten (58%) among those 65 and older.

Political engagement

Political engagement – being interested in and paying attention to politics – is associated with views about the Electoral College, particularly among Republicans.

A dot plot showing that highly politically engaged Republicans are least likely to support moving to a popular vote for president.

Highly politically engaged Republicans overwhelmingly favor keeping the Electoral College: 72% say this, while 27% support moving to a popular vote system.

Republicans with a moderate level of engagement are more divided, with 51% wanting to keep the system as is and 48% wanting to change it. And a clear majority of Republicans with lower levels of political engagement (70%) back moving to a popular vote.

Differences by engagement are much less pronounced among Democrats. About eight-in-ten Democrats with low (78%) and medium (82%) levels of engagement favor changing the system, as do 86% of highly engaged Democrats.

(PEW)

25 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/25/majority-of-americans-continue-to-favor-moving-away-from-electoral-college/

810-814-43-36/Polls

Black Americans’ Experiences With News

A bar chart showing Most Black adults say
news about Black people
is more negative than
news about other groups

Black Americans see a range of problems with how Black people are covered in the news, and few are hopeful that will change in the foreseeable future, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of nearly 5,000 Black adults.

On several questions, Black Americans are far more likely to view news coverage of Black people in a negative rather than positive light:

Almost two-thirds of Black adults (63%) say news about Black people is often more negative than news about other racial and ethnic groups; 28% say it is about equal and 7% say it is often more positive.

57% say the news only covers certain segments of Black communities, compared with just 9% who say it covers a wide variety of Black people.

Half say coverage is often missing important information, while only 9% say it often reports the full story.

43% say the coverage largely stereotypes Black people, far higher than the 11% who say it largely does not stereotype. An additional 43% say both of these things happen about equally.

Black Democrats and Republicans have largely similar views on how Black people are covered in the news

These critical views of coverage of Black people are widely shared within the Black population, regardless of age, gender and even political party affiliation.

The survey asked Black Americans if they ever come across news that is racist or racially insensitive about Black people in some way. About four-in-ten (39%) say they see this kind of racially problematic news extremely or fairly often, and an additional 41% say they sometimes see such news.

Few Black Americans have high hopes that Black people will be covered fairly in the futurethat Black people will be covered fairly in the future

Those who report coming across racially problematic news coverage of Black people at least sometimes see a few different reasons for this. About half (51%) say outlets pushing agendas is a major factor, and 45% say the same about journalists not being informed. Others say racist views among people at the news outlet (42%), the speed of the news cycle (37%) and a lack of Black staff at the news outlet (36%) are major reasons for racist or racially insensitive coverage.

Just 14% of Black Americans are highly confident that Black people will be covered fairly in their lifetimes, saying that is extremely or very likely to happen. Far more (38%) think that is not too likely or not at all likely to happen, while an additional 40% say it is somewhat likely. (More details on Black Americans’ views of how Black people are covered in the news are in Chapter 1.)

How can news coverage of Black people improve?

Black Americans identify a few steps that could improve what they see as flawed coverage. And one factor consistently stands out – making sure that journalists are informed about the issues affecting Black people.

The survey asked about the importance of several practices for journalists when covering Black people, finding that:

76% of Black Americans cite coverage of all sides of an issue as extremely or very important.

A similar percentage, 73%, say it is extremely or very important for journalists to understand the history of the issues in the story.

A majority (59%) say journalists personally engaging with the people they cover is of high importance.

Roughly half (48%) see having journalists advocate for Black people as extremely or very important.

Many Black Americans say educating all journalists would help make news about Black people fairer

Among those who report at least sometimes seeing racist or racially insensitive coverage about Black people, nearly two-thirds (64%) identify educating all journalists about issues impacting Black Americans as an extremely or very effective way of making coverage fairer.

Substantial shares also say including more Black people as sources (54%) and hiring more Black people as newsroom leaders (53%) and as journalists (44%) at news outlets would be highly effective. Details on these findings are in Chapter 2.

These are some of the key findings of the Center’s nationally representative survey of 4,742 U.S. Black adults conducted from Feb. 22 to March 5, 2023. We undertook this study to take a closer look at the relationship between Black Americans and news in the United States.

In 1967, the Kerner Commission – undertaken by President Lyndon Johnson’s administration to investigate the causes behind urban riots – took a harsh view on the news media’s stance toward Black Americans. The commission’s report cited sensationalist and divisive coverage as well as inaccurate and unfair representations of Black communities, concluding that “the journalistic profession has been shockingly backward in seeking out, hiring and promoting” Black people, and “the press has too long basked in a white world looking out of it, if at all, with white men’s eyes and white perspective.”

More than half a century later, there is continued discussion of many of the themes raised in the report. This new study asks Black Americans themselves about their experience with news today, including views around portrayals of Black people in news stories, representation in newsrooms, and where they go and whom they trust for information.

The focus on the Black population allowed the Center to tailor the study to the experiences of Black Americans rather than comparing them to other groups. It also provided a greater opportunity to look deeply at differences and similarities among groups within the Black population.

To get a deeper understanding of Black Americans’ experiences with and views about the news, we also held a series of nine online focus groups of U.S. Black adults, enabling participants to elaborate on their views. Quotes from these participants are included throughout this report. The methodology includes more details about the survey and focus groups.

Quotes from focus groups on problems in news coverage of Black people:

“There’s not a lot of African American coverage unless it’s February or it’s criminal.” –Black woman, 60

“[News about Black people] is not accurate. They overemphasize the bad, and not some of the good things that are happening in the community, or if they do talk about the good things, it’s just a blurb and they want to focus on the one thing [that] was just terrible.” –Black woman, 55

“I feel like they make us look stupid at times … I have a feeling that any time that I see [a Black person being interviewed on the news] it’s always those people that I feel like that have a hard time speaking correctly or I guess their vocabulary is very limited. And I feel like they do that on purpose.” –Black man, 29

Views about newsroom representation

Many Black Americans see instances when it is important for the news they get to come from Black journalists – particularly in getting news related to race and racial inequality. And as noted earlier, many see hiring more Black journalists and newsroom leaders as ways to improve coverage of Black people. But few think their news in general needs to come from Black journalists, nor do they automatically trust a story because it comes from a Black journalist.

Nearly half of Black Americans think that Black journalists do a better job than other journalists at covering issues related to race and racial inequality (45%) and also at understanding them (44%). Roughly similar percentages say Black journalists do about as well as other journalists in these areas, while much smaller shares say Black journalists do a worse job (5% each).

For many Black Americans, then, it is crucial that the news they get about issues related to race and racial inequality comes from Black journalists. Four-in-ten Black Americans say this is extremely or very important, and an additional 28% say it is somewhat important.

At the same time, just 14% of Black Americans say it is highly important that any news they get, regardless of topic, comes from Black journalists. And a similarly small share (17%) say Black journalists are better than other journalists at reporting the news accurately.

Black Americans take a number of factors into account when assessing the credibility of a news story – but the journalist’s race is not a dominant one. Relatively few Black adults (15%) say that a journalist being Black is an extremely or very important factor in deciding whether a story is trustworthy. That lags well behind other factors, including the sources cited (53% say this is extremely or very important in determining a story’s credibility), whether it is reported by multiple outlets (50%), and the news outlet itself (46%).

Read Chapter 3 for detailed views on newsroom representation.

Quotes from focus groups on the importance of getting news from Black journalists:

“I always love seeing Black journalists do their thing, but I can get the news from any source, to be honest. It doesn’t have to be a Black person delivering me the news. … The news is the news regardless of who delivers it. … Certain topics you kind of want that perspective of [a Black journalist]. A traffic accident, you got that, but then if it’s something more involved like a racial incident I wanna see a Black perspective of it.” –Black man, 61

“In our local newspaper, like I said, I don’t trust it and there are definitely not Black writers employed with that newspaper. … If they were hiring Black people then that would tell me something more about the newspaper itself and their sort of values, so I don’t have that.” –Black woman, 40

Similarities and differences within the Black population

Concerns about how Black people are covered in the news are widespread across the Black population. For example, Black adults across age groups largely see coverage in a far more negative than positive light, and Black men and women view issues around Black news coverage in very similar ways. There are some differences by education, with Black adults who have more formal education expressing more negative opinions about news coverage of Black people.

Black Democrats and Republicans have largely similar
views on how Black people are covered in the news

But the consensus extends to two groups that typically agree on very little when it comes to views of the news media – Democrats and Republicans. While Republicans in general tend to be much more skeptical of journalists, Black members of the two party coalitions are largely in agreement on identifying problems in news coverage of Black people:

Among Black Democrats and those who lean Democratic, 59% say news about Black people covers only certain segments of Black communities, along with 55% of Black Republicans and Republican leaners. Much smaller shares in both groups say the news covers a wide variety of Black people (9% and 11%, respectively).

53% of Black Republicans say coverage is often missing important information, as do 50% of Black Democrats. Far fewer (8% and 9%) say the news often reports the full story.

And 46% of Black Republicans say coverage largely stereotypes Black people, virtually identical to the 44% of Democrats who say the same. Just 11% in each group take the positive view that the news largely does not stereotype Black people.

Views about the news media broadly are more reflective of the overall partisan divide on this issue, with Republicans consistently less trusting of journalists. Nearly half of Black Democrats (48%) have a great deal or fair amount of trust in national news outlets, compared with 32% of Black Republicans. The gap is similar – 52% vs. 37% – on trust in local news outlets. (Read Chapter 5 for more on where Black Americans go and whom they trust for news and information.)

There is a large amount of consensus across different age groups about shortcomings in how Black people are covered. And low percentages across all age groups – including the youngest (ages 18 to 29) and the oldest (65 and older) – say it is highly likely that Black people will be covered more fairly in their lifetimes.

Across education and income levels, however, Black adults are less in agreement about news coverage of Black people. While these groups are much more negative than positive in their views of news coverage of Black people, those with more formal education and higher incomes tend to be particularly negative.

Roughly two-thirds of Black Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree (68%) say news they see or hear about Black people covers only certain segments of Black communities, versus 49% of those with a high school diploma or less education.

Three-quarters of Black Americans with the highest income level (75%) say news coverage of Black people is often more negative than about other racial and ethnic groups, versus 57% of those in the lowest income group.

Differences also emerge within the Black population in views about the role of Black journalists in how people get news. Black Democrats, younger adults, and those with higher levels of education and income often see greater value in getting news from Black journalists.

54% of Black adults ages 18 to 29 say Black journalists are better than other journalists at covering issues related to race or racial inequality, versus 37% of those 65 and older.

54% of Black adults with at least a bachelor’s degree say Black journalists are better at understanding them, compared with 35% of those who have a high school diploma or less.

The importance of Black identity in views about the news

Some of the largest differences within the Black population are based on their sense of Black identity – how important being Black is to how they think about themselves. On a number of issues, wide gaps emerge between Black Americans who say their racial identity is extremely or very important to them and those who say it is less important.

Black Americans who say being Black is important to their identity are far more supportive of journalists advocating for Black people

One example of this divide involves views about what journalists should do when covering Black people. The vast majority of those who say being Black is highly important to their identity (82%) say it is extremely or very important for journalists to understand the history of the issues in the story when covering Black people. That number falls to 55% among those who say being Black is less important to them (i.e., it’s somewhat, a little or not at all important).

Similarly large differences exist between the two groups over whether journalists should personally engage with the people they cover (69% vs. 40%) and whether they should advocate for Black people (59% vs. 28%). And the same pattern applies to questions about the role of Black journalists: Those who say being Black is highly important to how they think about themselves are more likely to value the impact of Black reporters (read Chapter 4 for details).

Sources of news and information

As with the public broadly, Black Americans stay informed about current issues and events through a range of sources. At least a third of Black Americans say they get news extremely or fairly often from local news outlets, national news outlets, social media sites, and friends, family or acquaintances. Large majorities get news from each of these sources at least sometimes.

In addition, about a quarter of Black Americans (24%) say they get news from Black news outlets extremely or fairly often, with another 40% saying they do so sometimes. In the survey, Black news outlets were defined as outlets created by Black people that focus on providing news and information specifically for Black audiences.

Social media is among the most common sources of news for Black Americans, but relatively few have high trust in it

Social media may be one of the most common ways that Black Americans stay informed, but Black Americans do not trust the news they get there as much as many other types of sources – a pattern similar to views among the broader U.S. population. About one-in-five (18%) say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the accuracy of the information from social media, far smaller than the shares who say the same about local and national news outlets (48% and 44%, respectively).

Black Americans who at least sometimes get news on social media are more likely to say they prefer news outlets over social media for several specific types of information, including basic facts or in-depth information about an issue or event (details are in Chapter 5).

Next: 1. Views on how Black people are covered in the news

(PEW)

26 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/09/26/black-americans-experiences-with-news/

810-814-43-37/Polls

Asian American Voters Prioritize Candidates’ Policy Positions Over Their Racial Identity

At the same time, a 68% majority of Asian registered voters say it’s extremely or very important to have a national leader who can advance the concerns of the U.S. Asian community, according to a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey conducted from July 2022 to January 2023.

These findings are especially relevant as the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches. Two candidates of South Asian ancestry, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, are running for the Republican nomination.

Asian Americans continue to be underrepresented among elected officials in the United States compared with their share of the country’s population. As of the beginning of the 118th Congress, 16 House members and two senators claim Asian ancestry.

Asian registered voters tend to prefer the Democratic Party: 62% are Democrats or lean Democratic, while 34% are Republicans or GOP leaners. Most Asian origin groups are majority Democratic. However, more Vietnamese registered voters identify as Republican than Democratic (51% vs. 42%).

What issues do Asian American voters care about the most?

About four-in-ten Asian American registered voters (41%) say inflation is the most important issue facing their local community – by far the most common issue cited during this extended survey period, which ended in January.

Economic inequality (16%) is the second-most mentioned issue, followed by violent crime (11%) and racism (9%). These concerns follow reports of violence against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A heat map showing the issues Asian American registered voters say are the most important in their community, by Asian origin group. 41% of Asian registered voters say inflation is the most important issue, followed by 16% who say economic inequality and 11% who say violent crime. Less than 10% cite other issues. These views are held across most Asian origin groups.

Among the six largest Asian origin groups, inflation is consistently cited as the biggest issue facing Asian American voters’ communities. In addition, the ranking of issues is largely similar across origin groups, though some minor differences emerge:

Japanese registered voters (28%) are more likely than Chinese (15%), Filipino (15%), Indian (13%) and Vietnamese (9%) voters to view economic inequality as the biggest issue facing their community.

15% of Indian registered voters say climate change is the most important issue facing their community. This is higher than the share saying the same among Filipino (7%), Chinese (6%), Japanese (6%) and Vietnamese (5%) voters.

How do Asian American voters’ views differ by political party?

Views of top issues diverge sharply by party among Asian American registered voters:

A bar chart showing the difference in views between Asian American registered voters who are Republicans and Democrats on the most important issue facing the community they live in. Republicans are more likely to cite inflation in their community's top issue, by a 26-point difference, while Democrats are more likely to cite economic inequality, by a 13-point difference.

Asian Republican voters are more likely than their Democratic counterparts to view inflation as the most important issue facing the community they live in. Even so, it is the most cited top issue for both groups.

Asian Democratic voters are more than twice as likely as Republicans to say economic inequality is the biggest issue facing their community.

Economic inequality is the second-most cited issue among Asian Democratic voters. Among Asian Republican voters, violent crime is the second-most cited issue.

How do Asian American voters’ views differ by nativity?

A bar chart showing the difference in views between Asian American registered voters who are born in the U.S. and born abroad on the most important issue facing the community they live in. U.S.-born Asian adults are more likely to say economic inequality is the most important issue facing their community, by a difference of 10 points.

Views of top issues also vary somewhat by nativity among Asian American registered voters – that is, based on whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad.

Asian registered voters born in the U.S. are slightly more likely than immigrants to view economic inequality as the most important issue facing their community. However, importance of issues varies less by nativity than by party among Asian Americans.

(PEW)

26 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/26/asian-american-voters-prioritize-candidates-policy-positions-over-their-racial-identity/

810-814-43-38/Polls

The Data On Women Leaders

Below, we’ve charted the most up-to-date data on the share of women in top U.S. political, business and higher education positions over time.

At the start of the 118th Congress in 2023, there were 25 women serving in the U.S. Senate, just shy of the record 26 women senators sworn in on the first day of the previous Congress. (The count for the previous Congress includes Vice President Kamala Harris and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Both were sworn in on the first day and left the Senate shortly after.)

Of the 25 women senators:

16 are Democrats and nine are Republicans.

22 are White, two are Asian American and one is Hispanic. No Black women currently serve in the Senate, nor do any American Indian or Alaska Native women.

The first-ever woman in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton, D-Ga., who was appointed to the seat as a political maneuver in 1922 and served just one day. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., who served in the Senate from 1978 to 1997, was the first woman senator who was elected for a full term without having a spousal connection to Congress.

A graph showing the growth of women

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On the first day of the 118th Congress, 124 women were voting members in the House of Representatives, making up 28% of the chamber’s voting membership. In addition, four women serve as nonvoting delegates to Congress, representing American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Of the women voting representatives sworn in on the first day of the session:

91 are Democrats and 33 are Republicans.

26 are Black, 18 are Hispanic, seven are Asian American, two are Native American and one is multiracial.

Jeannette Rankin, R-Mont., was the first woman to be elected to Congress, taking office in 1917. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is the only woman to have served as speaker of the House. She was speaker from 2007 to 2011, served as the minority leader in the Republican-controlled House from 2011 to 2019 and was elected speaker again from 2019 to 2023.

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Women make up 29.9% of state senate seats and 33.7% of state house or assembly seats. Three women serve as state senate president, and another 13 as senate presidents pro tempore. An additional eight are speakers of state houses.

In 2019, Nevada became the first state with a majority-women state legislature. Women currently hold a 62% majority of the Nevada state legislature – the largest percentage of any state. West Virginia has the smallest share, at 11.9%.

The first women to serve in a state legislature were Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly and Frances Klock, all Republicans who were elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1894.

A graph showing the growth of women

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To date, 49 women have served as governors in 32 states. In 2023, eight Democratic and four Republican women serve as governors.

Wyoming Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross was the first woman governor. She assumed office by a special election in 1924 to succeed her deceased husband. Ella Grasso, a Connecticut Democrat, was the first woman governor elected without spousal connections, in 1975.

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President Joe Biden’s Cabinet includes 12 women out of the 25 positions he has designated as Cabinet or Cabinet-level. That is the highest share of women in history, at 48%. Former President Bill Clinton’s second-term Cabinet had the second-highest share of women, at 41%.

Under Biden, three of the top Cabinet posts – the vice president, secretary of treasury and director of national intelligence – are each held by women for the first time. Biden’s Cabinet includes four White women, four Black women, one Asian American woman, one Hispanic woman, one American Indian woman and one multiracial woman.

The first woman in a Cabinet-level position was Frances Perkins, appointed as secretary of labor by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. To date, seven women have served as labor secretary, more than in any other Cabinet or Cabinet-level position.

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The share of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies reached an all-time high of 10.6% in 2023, with 53 women heading major firms.

Katharine Graham of The Washington Post Co. was the first woman CEO to make the Fortune 500 list, in 1972.

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The share of women sitting on the boards of Fortune 500 companies has been gradually increasing for decades, from 9.6% in 1995 to 30.4% in 2022.

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In 2022, 32.8% of university presidents were women, more than triple the share in 1986.

Frances Elizabeth Willard became the first woman college president in 1871, heading the Evanston College for Ladies in Illinois, which later merged with Northwestern University. In 1974, Lorene L. Rogers was the first woman to lead a major research university (University of Texas), and Judith Rodin in 1994 became the first permanent woman president of an Ivy League institution (University of Pennsylvania).

(PEW)

27 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/the-data-on-women-leaders/

810-814-43-39/Polls

Trudeau’s Approval Drops To Three-Year Low; Party Trails By 12-Points In Vote Intention

While the Bank of Canada holds steady – for now – on the borrowing rate, there appears to be little end in sight to a 15-month slump in Liberal political fortunes. The popularity of both the governing party and its leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have been on a consistent slide, and the latest results of a public opinion survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute do nothing to reassure a shrinking Liberal base.

This bleeding of support benefits the Conservative Party directly, with CPC vote intent now at 39 per cent, a 12-point advantage over the Liberals.

More critically, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is now seen as best prime minister by twice as many as those who say the same of the actual prime minister (32 versus 17 per cent) and is additionally viewed by a plurality (41 per cent) as best to manage the economy.

As many Canadians consider whether the grass is greener on the blue side of the fence, given the option, most would prefer a different arrangement in parliament than the Liberal minority, with NDP support, that Canada currently has. Two-in-five (38%) say a Conservative majority would be the best government for Canada going forward, slightly more than the proportion who prefer the ongoing NDP-Liberal supply-and-confidence set-up (35%). Equal numbers prefer a Liberal majority (13%) as a Conservative minority (15%).

Conversely, though a Conservative majority is the most preferred choice, it is also the most feared one. When presented with the same options and asked to evaluate which one would be worst for the country, more than two-in-five (43%) say a Conservative majority. A similar number (38%) believe a Liberal majority would be the worst possible government Canada could have over the next four years.

More Key Findings:

Fewer than half (45%) of 2021 Liberal voters currently say that Trudeau is the best option of the federal leaders to be prime minister. Comparatively, 77 per cent of past Conservative voters say Poilievre would be best.

The Liberal Party currently does not lead in vote intent in any region of the country canvassed in this survey. The LPC holds an advantage over the CPC in only one – Quebec – where it sits second behind the Bloc Québécois.

Conservative and Liberal vote intention has inverted in the 905 belt of Greater Toronto. Comparing data from last September, the Liberal Party has dropped 17 points in vote intention from 47 to 30 per cent, while the CPC has jumped 10 points from 36 to 46 per cent.

Those Canadians who are suffering most financially – a group that say they’re worse off this year than they were last year, and they expect this to continue to worsen into next year – are most likely to say the CPC is best on economic issues (56%). Just nine per cent of them trust the Liberals on this file, while 22 per cent say there’s no good option to help them.

About ARI

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.

Note: Because its small population precludes drawing discrete samples over multiple waves, data on Prince Edward Island is not released.

INDEX

Part One: Top issues

Part Two: Federal party leaders

Trudeau approval drops to three-year low
Poilievre sees modest gain in personal appeal
Singh, Blanchet both more favourably viewed
Who would make the best prime minister?
On economic issues, Poilievre preferred

Part Three: What kind of government do Canadians want?

Canadians divided between current minority and CPC majority as best result
CPC majority most feared result, followed by Liberal majority

Part Four: Vote intent

Regional results
Urban centres
Age and gender
Vote retention favours CPC

Part One: Top issues

As summer days dwindle and the cooler winds of autumn descend upon Canada (to the appreciation of many smoke- and fire-ravaged communities), the Bank of Canada took a break from applying heat to money markets. The BoC held its key policy rate at five per cent, as premiers in two of Canada’s largest provinces appealed on behalf of their residents for a halt to interest rate increases. Though inflation continues to simmer, Ontario premier Doug Ford highlighted the effect rising interest rates have had on mortgages and other borrowing costs. B.C. premier David Eby worried another rate hike could worsen inflation rather than help further.

The cost of living and inflation continue to be the given the highest priority by Canadians, unifying people across the political spectrum. Health care and housing affordability are also key priorities. Past Conservative voters emphasize economic issues, with others point to climate change as the issue they care most about:

Part Two: Federal party leaders

Trudeau approval drops to three-year low

As many Canadians suffer as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, so too do Justin Trudeau’s political fortunes. His personal approval has fallen to a three-year low of 33 per cent.

The prime minister and his government were heavily criticized after making assurances that housing affordability was a top priority but offering no new plans to address the issue following a three-day ministers retreat in August. Trudeau’s disapproval rises above three-in-five (63%) this quarter, a nine-point jump since the end of 2022:

Trudeau has seen his approval fall among women over the age of 54, who typically represent a source of stalwart support for the prime minister. Since he was re-elected with a minority government in 2021, Trudeau’s approval among all demographics has dropped, with a notable exception among men aged 18- to 34-years-old. Given the prime minister’s recent lack of personal popularity among this latter group, it is too early to tell whether this represents an anomaly in the trend line, or the beginning of a recovery among this segment:

Poilievre sees modest gain in personal appeal

Meanwhile, there has been a slow but positive trend this year for the leader of the Conservative party, Pierre Poilievre. He has gained favourability to the point where now two-in-five say they view Poilievre positively. Negative views of the leader of the opposition have remained consistent in the year since he won the Conservative leadership election, with approximately half of Canadians voicing this sentiment:

Singh, Blanchet both more favourably viewed

The leaders of the third- and fourth-most popular parties from the 2021 election are viewed more favourably than the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. More than two-in-five have a positive view of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. In Quebec, half say they view Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet favourably (see detailed tables).

Who would make the best prime minister?

As Trudeau begins his third year as the leader of a minority government, few believe he is the best prime minister available. By a near two-to-one margin, Canadians choose Poilievre (32%) as the best option for prime minister over Trudeau (17%). Nearly as many believe Singh (16%) would be best to lead the country as the current PM. Notably, “none of the above” (26%) is the second-most popular option.

No demographic chooses Trudeau as the best prime minister at a plurality level, though among women older than 54, he (28%) and “no one” (28%) tie as the top pick. Two-in-five men aged 35 and older believe Poilievre is the best possible person of the three main party leaders to hold the country’s top job:

Past supporters of Trudeau’s party seem lukewarm on the man they helped elect to a third term in office. More than two-in-five (45%) say Trudeau is the best choice for PM, but that leaves more than half who are either unsure (10%) or say Singh (12%), Poilievre (7%) or none of the above (26%) are better options. Past NDP voters are more likely to believe their current party leader is the best pick for prime minister (50%), but not by much. Meanwhile, three-quarters (77%) of those who voted Conservative in 2021 say Poilievre represents the best choice to lead the country:

On economic issues, Poilievre preferred

The Bank of Canada took a break this month from its recent cycle of rate hikes, despite inflation still hovering above its intended target of two per cent. Recent economic data showed that Canada’s economy may be responding to previous rate increases. Unemployment is up, and Canada’s economy contracted in the second quarter, the first time it had done so since the onset of the pandemic. The short-term concern may be Canada is heading for a recession.

There is also trouble in Canada’s broader economic story. While Canada’s economy has grown in recent years, much of it has been fueled by rapid population growth. This has meant that Canadians’ standard of living, measured by GDP per capita, has declined at the same time, leaving Canada lagging behind other advanced economies.

Against this backdrop, and after eight years of Liberal government, just one-in-five (21%) believe Trudeau and the Liberals are the best equipped of the major political parties to handle the economy. Twice as many (41%) instead say it is Poilievre and the Conservatives.

Majorities of men older than 34, and pluralities of all other demographics except women aged 18 to 34, would hand the reins of the economy to Poilievre, given the choice:

Those who are most pessimistic about their own financial situation are even more likely to say that Poilievre and the CPC are their preferred leadership on economic issues. More than half (56%) of Canadians who say they are worse off now than they were at this point last year, and expect to see things worsen for them in the coming year, choose Poilievre and the CPC. Just nine per cent among this group trust Trudeau and the Liberal Party to lead them out of their challenges:

Liberals, New Democrats voice less confidence in their leadership on economy

The Liberal and NDP have maintained a minority government through a supply-and-confidence agreement signed six months after the 2021 election in advance of the new government’s first budget. As past supporters of those two parties evaluate the results of this cooperation, they offer perhaps mixed reviews. More than half of those who voted Liberal (54%) say Trudeau and the Liberals are the best choice to handle Canada’s economy, leaving a sizable group who select other options. Half (50%) of past NDP voters believe Singh and the NDP are the best choice.

Past CPC voters are far more certain. More than four-in-five (85%) believe Poilievre and the Conservatives are the best option for economic stewardship:

Part Three: What kind of government do Canadians want?

Canadians divided between current minority and CPC majority as best result

Assuming the supply-and-confidence agreement persists, the Liberal minority government is at its half-life. Looking forward, it seems however most Canadians would prefer an alternate arrangement. Given the choice, two-in-five (38%) say a Conservative majority would provide Canada with its best government over the next four years, more than who say the same of the current situation in parliament (35%). Another 15 per cent would like to see a Conservative minority government, while 13 per cent would prefer a return to a Liberal majority.

Those in Saskatchewan (61%) and Alberta (60%) are more likely than those in other provinces to believe a CPC majority would be the best government to lead the country. A plurality in B.C. (38%), Quebec (40%) and Nova Scotia (39%) support a continuation of the current NDP-Liberal agreement:

There appears to be reluctance from past Liberal voters to hand over full control of Canada’s government to their party for a term. Three-in-ten (30%) who voted Liberal in 2021 believe a Liberal majority would be the best government for Canada over the next four years. More (52%) among that group say the current arrangement, where the Liberals are supported by the NDP, is the better choice.

Comparatively, there is much less hesitancy from those who voted Conservative in 2021. Four-in-five (82%) among past CPC supporters say a Conservative majority would provide the best government to Canada:

CPC majority most feared result, followed by Liberal majority

While Conservative supporters heavily prefer their own party winning a majority government in the next federal election, this proposition causes heavy consternation for others. Indeed, the most feared result for a future election is exacly that – a CPC majority. More than two-in-five (44%) say this, including the largest proportion of respondents in B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. For others (38%) a Liberal majority is most troublesome. This group is largest in both Alberta and Saskatchewan:

As one might expect, past Conservatives tend to say a Liberal majority would be cause for alarm, and past Liberals and New Democrats say the same of that result for the CPC:

Part Four: Vote intent

These factors result in the continuation of a positive trend for the opposition Conservatives, with the official opposition party gaining two more points this quarter, at the cost of Liberal support. The CPC now hold a 12-point advantage in vote intention. This is by far the largest lead the party has held since the previous election in 2021. It is also the highest the Conservatives have risen in vote intent since March 2018, in the wake of a trip by Trudeau to India, described as a political “disaster”. Trudeau returns to the country for the first time since 2018 in the coming week.

Regional results

The CPC advantage has been built in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in recent years. Now, it extends to Ontario and British Columbia. A 12-point edge in both of those provinces helps to produce the 12-point national lead. Compared to last year at this time, the Liberals are down six points in Ontario and four in B.C.:

Urban centres

Canada’s urban centres have represented the Liberal Party’s path to victory in recent elections, with few exceptions. The governing party is now splitting votes close to evenly in both Metro Vancouver and the Toronto core, a trend that spells trouble for its electoral fortunes if it persists. The biggest difference by far for the Liberals and Conservatives, however, is a swapping of positions in the Toronto suburbs:

Age and gender

The CPC continues to hold a distinct advantage among male voters. Perhaps the most difficult group to pin down currently, however, are young men, who embraced Poilievre early, but appear to have cooled off compared to last September. The challenge for the Liberal Party now appears to be a loss of support among women of all ages. Trudeau’s party is chosen third among young women, well behind both the NDP and CPC. The Liberals maintain a lead among older women, though that too has diminished – down nine points compared to last September:

Vote retention favours CPC

If an election were held at the time of fielding, 86 per cent of past Conservatives say they would cast the same vote now as they did in 2021, while few would depart. The same can not be said of 2021 Liberal voters. Two-thirds (65%) among this group say that they would support their Liberal candidate again, but 16 per cent say they would switch to the NDP, and approximately one-in-ten (9%) would vote for the opposition Conservatives. Similar movement is noted among past NDP voters:

This retention rate of approximately two-thirds represents a persistent challenge for the Liberals, who have seen a steady erosion of support since the last federal election. Both the Conservatives and NDP have chipped away at the government’s past voters:

(Angus Reid Institute)

7 September 2023

Source: https://angusreid.org/trudeau-poilievre-best-prime-minister-liberals-conservatives-approval/

810-814-43-40/Polls

Two-In-Five Canadians Say They Face Discrimination Based On Their Ethnicity Or Race

Is Canada a racist country? A country accepting of many cultures and languages? A country that embraces difference?

As with so many issues confronting the Canadian population in 2023, answers to these questions depend on who is asked.

The latest data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute – the third in a series of reports on Canada and the Culture Wars – find that while the vast majority are of the view the country has made at least some progress reducing racism over the last few generations (73%) – only a minority (28%) describe that progress as “significant”.

Take the Canadian Culture Mindsets Quiz here

Two-in-five Canadians (38%) say they face discrimination in Canada at least sometimes (28%) if not often (10%).

These proportions rise to 50 per cent among Indigenous respondents, and 78 per cent among visible minorities, with Caucasians less likely to say they’ve had this experience. There is, however, one exception.

Those found in the Defiant Objector group on ARI’s Canadian Cultural Mindset spectrum, a group that is 78 per cent Caucasian (the highest level among all five groups), are much more likely than all other groups to say they face discrimination because of their race or ethnicity. Half (50%) say this, while no other group exceeds 36 per cent. This comes as residents in the Lower Mainland have voiced outrage over posters advertising “whites-only” groups for children. Organizers stated that the group is for children who are “tired of being a minority” in the places they live. Similar sentiments are evident within the Defiant Objector population. This group is also twice as likely as the rest of the population to say that being Black, female, or Indigenous are sources of privilege, while they’re one-quarter as likely to say the same of being white.

Overall, half of Canadians (51%) say that being white is a source of privilege in Canada. Perhaps, for this reason, many are supportive of Employment Equity programs designed to increase representation among those they’re less likely to see as having an inherent advantage. This includes majority support for assisting visible minorities (55%), Indigenous people (56%), women (59%), and those who have a disability (61%). Three-in-10 (30%) say nobody should receive this type of assistance.

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More Key Findings:

Appropriation is a source of contention in Canada. For example, two-in-five (42%) say it is unacceptable to wear a Halloween costume that represents another race or ethnicity from one’s own. That said, 78 per cent say this among the Zealous Activists, dropping to just 14 per cent among Defiant Objectors.

Those who self-identify as visible minorities in Canada were asked what they prefer to be referred to as. Two-in-five say visible minority is fine (38%), 16 per cent say a hyphenated option, like “Chinese-Canadian”, while just six per cent prefer the broad terms BIPOC or racialized person. One-in-three say (35%) they don’t like any of this terminology.

A majority of all five groups on the Canadian Cultural Mindset spectrum feel that Canada has made progress in reducing racism in recent decades.

About ARI

INDEX

Part One: Experiences and perceptions of racism

Who faces discrimination
Have we made progress?

Part Two: Privilege and priority

Is being a white an advantage?
Employment equity

Part Three: Modern identities and appropriation

What would visible minorities prefer to be called?
Views on cultural appropriation

Part One: Experiences and perceptions of racism

Who faces discrimination

In a multicultural country like Canada, concerns over racial discrimination remain ever-present in the national discourse. In recent years the Angus Reid Institute has studied this in the form of Islamophobia, anti-Asian racism, and challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples living in Canada.

Broadly, two-in-five Canadians say they face discrimination in their day-to-day lives at least sometimes based on their race or ethnicity, with one-in-ten (10%) saying this happens to them often:

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Regular experiences of discrimination are much more common among those who identify as a visible minority in Canada (73%, see detailed tables) and those who self-identify as Indigenous (50%). Nearly one-in-three Black respondents say they often face discrimination:

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*Smaller sample size, interpret with caution

Note on methodology:

*Please note, while the views of self-described Indigenous people are reported here to provide valuable context, it should be noted that this sample is not necessarily representative of the Indigenous population of Canada as a whole. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples has identified systemic discrimination as a significant problem in Canada.

There is an exception with the non-visible minority group. Scanning the Canadian Cultural Mindsets, it is evident that the Defiant Objectors – a group that is 78 per cent white – are much more likely to say that they face discrimination based on their race or ethnicity compared to other groups (see detailed tables). This is likely due to their increased likelihood of being men between the ages of 35 and 54, as well as either past Conservative or PPC voters. Each of these are correlated with increased levels of feeling persecuted, as seen in the graphs below:

Have we made progress?

There was an uproar this week when a poster advertising a “Whites-only Moms and Tots” group in Port Coquitlam, B.C. went viral on social media. The city denounced the posters as “vile garbage” and bylaw officers were instructed to search for them and remove them. While anti-racist advocates were encouraged by the backlash to the posters, they provide evidence there are still incidents of racism and discrimination in Canada.

Canadians are largely optimistic about the progress that the country has made at reducing racism in recent generations. Three-in-ten (28%) overall, including close to one-quarter of Indigenous (22%) and visible minority (23%) respondents, say that Canada has made significant progress, while the largest group across all demographics say that this progress is being made, but is slighter:

This sense of progress is not equally distributed. Men are much more likely than women in all age groups to say that significant progress has been made, while women are more reserved in their assessment:

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All groups on the Canadian Cultural Mindsets spectrum tend to agree that progress has been made, but Zealous Activists and Quiet Accommodators are more muted in this feeling. Defiant Objectors hold a unique space as the most likely to say that things are both much better and much worse:

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Part Two: Privilege and priority

In recent years there has been a brighter spotlight put on Canada’s institutions and societal structures as awareness in the country has grown of systemic racism and privilege.

Is being a white an advantage?

In 1988, American women’s studies scholar Peggy McIntosh wrote a paper titled “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies,” a launch point in the modern conversation of privilege. Her paper detailed 46 examples of where she gained an advantage in society by being white, including “I am never asked to speak for all people of my racial group” and “I can go shopping alone most of the time, fairly well assured that I will not be followed or harassed by store detectives.”

More than three decades later, the concept is still much debated. Half (51%) of Canadians feel being white is a source of privilege, but there are more that believe it is an advantage to be attractive (58%). Two-in-five say being a man (45%) and being born in Canada (42%) gives you a leg-up in this country:

Three-in-five (59%) who identify as a visible minority feel being white is a source of privilege in Canada, a higher proportion than those who don’t identity this way (49%).

As western societies have explored and analyzed their institutions, processes and policies for systemic racism, a counter movement has developed which argues that movements such as affirmative action in the United States or employment equity in Canada are reverse racism against white people. This concept is perhaps evident in the views of the Defiant Objectors, who are more likely to say being Indigenous (31%) or Black (22%) is a privilege than being white (12%). They are also twice as likely to say women are privileged in society (23%) as to say men (11%):

Employment equity

Canada’s Employee Equity Act, first passed in 1986, requires federally regulated employers – such as banks, airlines, railroads, and crown corporations – to actively attempt to increase representation among Indigenous People, women, people with disabilities and visible minorities.

Majorities say the groups designated in the act deserve special consideration when it comes to employment:

Support for Employment Equity is higher among women compared to men by a significant margin. This is most true when comparing women’s views with those of men between the ages of 35 and 54:

Part Three: Modern identities and appropriation

The Employment Equity Act also provides the definition of a visible minority in Canada. The act defines visible minorities as those who are non-Indigenous, “non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”. The term itself is in the process of being re-evaluated, as previously “visible minorities” become majority populations in some Canadian jurisdictions. Some feel it is too generalizing as it homogenizes disparate racial experiences into one sub-category.

What would visible minorities prefer to be called?

Though two-in-five (38%) who identify as a visible minority say that is their preferred term, more would choose something else. One-in-six (16%) say they prefer to be identified with a hyphen, i.e. Chinese-Canadian. Emerging terms such as “racialized person” and BIPOC (i.e. Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) are selected by one-in-20 each. More than one-third (35%) eschew these common terms.

The Angus Reid Institute mirrors Statistics Canada’s use of the term visible minority, as census data is used to weight samples to reflect the Canadian population.

Views on cultural appropriation

A CBC documentary titled “The Pretendians” found that while Indigenous art has become a valuable market in Canada, many of pieces sold as Indigenous art are made by non-Indigenous artists. One study found 75 per cent of the art in tourist shops in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood appeared to be inauthentic.

This is just one example of “cultural appropriation”, broadly defined as when a cultural group, usually white or Western, takes practices, dress, art or food from another cultural group, usually non-Western or non-white, typically in an exploitive fashion. Cultural appropriation has been discussed in academia as far back as the the 1980s but has become a more colloquial term in recent years as Western countries reckon with structural racism, historic discrimination and past colonialism.

There are many areas where some argue that cultural appropriation does not exist, saying that throughout human history, cultures have borrowed and exchanged concepts and practices. However, others point out that the groups typically having their culture mimicked or borrowed were historically discriminated against for those same cultural practices and markers, which makes uses by members outside of those historical cultures feel like “a slap in the face.”

Respondents were offered a series of examples which could be viewed as cultural appropriation and then asked if they found them acceptable or not. Majorities of Canadians believe it is acceptable to sell the cuisine of another culture that isn’t your own (85%), be tattooed in foreign languages as a non-native speaker (82%), wear a sari as a non-Indian to an Indian wedding (74%), and for white people to wear their hair in cornrows (72%).

There is more disagreement over concepts such as non-Indigenous people profiting from Indigenous art (54% say acceptable) and wearing a cultural outfit on Halloween (50%), but still at least half of Canadians find these to be acceptable.

Blackface and brownface is widely viewed (75%) as unacceptable by Canadians. This comes after a cultural reckoning in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when streaming services removed scenes or whole episodes of sitcoms such as Golden Girls, The Office, 30 Rock, and Scrubs due to characters appearing in blackface.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized in 2019 after videos and photos emerged of him wearing blackface and brownface prior to his career in politics, who said he “didn’t think it was racist at the time, but now I see it was a racist thing to do.”

Those who identify as Indigenous or visible minority offer different views on the examples. Indigenous people are more likely (45%) than those who don’t identify that way to believe it is unacceptable for non-Indigenous artists to profit from Indigenous-inspired artwork though half (49%) disagree.

More who identify as visible minorities (20%) say it is unacceptable for white people to wear their hair in cornrows than those who don’t describe themselves that way (16%).

However, it is Canadians who don’t identify as visible minorities who are most likely to view blackface and brownface unacceptable (77%):

For nearly all the examples, Zealous Activists are the most likely Canadian Culture Mindset to believe they are unacceptable. They are the only group who believe a non-Indigenous artist profiting from Indigenous-inspired art is unacceptable at a majority level. Zealous Activists are also the only group who find themselves divided over whether a white person wearing cornrows is acceptable. And though majorities disagree, they are more than four times as likely to feel it is inappropriate for non-Mexican people to open Mexican restaurants (20%) and non-Japanese people to have Japanese characters tattooed on their body (21%) as Defiant Objectors (3% and 5% respectively):

(Angus Reid Institute)

27 September 2023

Source: https://angusreid.org/canada-culture-race-issues-appropriation/

810-814-43-41/Polls

Mental Health And MAID: Canadians Who Struggle To Get Help More Likely To Support Expanding Eligibility

As the debate over expanding eligibility to medical assistance in dying to include individuals whose sole condition is mental illness continues, there is much concern among Canadians over the state of mental health care in the country ahead of this weighty decision.

This concern is more elevated among those who sought care from the country’s mental health-care system in the past year. Overall, one-in-five (19%) Canadians say they’ve looked for treatment for a mental health issue from a professional in the last 12 months. In that group, two-in-five say they’ve faced barriers to receive the treatment they wanted. These obstacles appear to be more of an issue for women (45% of those who sought treatment say it was difficult to receive) and young Canadian adults aged 18-34 (51%).

With this in the background, the federal government is continuing deliberations on expanding eligibility for MAID to include those whose sole condition is mental illness. Majorities of Canadians support the previous rules governing MAID, first passed in 2016 (64%) and then updated in 2021 (60%), but there is more hesitation when it comes to this next step. Three-in-ten (28%) say they support allowing those whose sole condition is mental illness to seek MAID, while half are opposed (50%).

However, for those who have sought treatment for their mental health and found it difficult to access, there is elevated support. Two-in-five (41%) who have encountered barriers to mental health care believe those whose sole condition is mental illness should be able to receive MAID. Comparatively, 26 per cent of those who have not needed to use the mental health-care system in the past year say the same.

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More Key Findings:

Those who encountered barriers to receive mental health care are more likely to be in lower income households (36%) than those who found their access easy (24%).

When asked to describe their recent mood, Canadians are most likely to select “fatigued” (47%), “normal” (41%) and “anxious” (38%). One-quarter (27%) say they have been “happy” over the last couple of weeks.

Majorities of those who faced difficult access to mental health care (60%) and easy access (83%) say the treatment they received helped.

About ARI

About Cardus

Founded in 1974, Cardus is a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.

INDEX

Part One: The state of mental health in Canada

One-in-three have sought mental health support in past year
Mental health care access: Many have encountered barriers to treatment
Those with difficulties accessing system report feeling anxious, depressed at higher rates
Majority among those with difficult access say treatment improved their condition
High levels of concern with Canadians’ access to mental health care

Part Two: Mental health and MAID

Mental health care access and MAID expansion
Overall support for original law, trepidation over mental health elements
Opponents to eligibility expansion worry over deprioritization of treatment

Part One: The state of mental health in Canada

One-in-three have sought mental health support in past year

The onset of COVID-19, and the restrictions the virus brought, challenged Canadians on many fronts. In March 2022, half of Canadians said their mental health worsened during two years of the pandemic.

With the public health emergency over, and restrictions removed, most Canadians have returned to pre-pandemic routines. There has been a concurrent boost in Canadians’ mood. Canadians are more likely to say they have felt great (23%) or good (51%) mentally in recent weeks than 18 months ago.

Still, half (47%) say they feel fatigued, while approaching two-in-five (38%) say they’ve been feeling anxious in recent weeks (see detailed tables).

In this environment, one-in-three (33%) Canadians say they have sought support for mental health in the past year. Another one-in-ten (9%) say they felt like they needed assistance but didn’t seek it. A further one-in-five (20%) have looked for help for their mental health in the past. A minority – one-third (34%) – say they have never sought support for their mental health.

Men, and older Canadians, are more likely to be in the latter category. More than half (58%) of 18- to 34-year-old women say they have either sought support (45%) or felt like they needed to (13%) in the past 12 months, the most of any demographic.

As well, two-in-five (40%) say they know a close friend or family member who was looking for help with their mental health in the past year, providing further evidence of the significant number of Canadians who feel they need mental health support (see detailed tables).

While professional support (64%) was the most common mental health care Canadians sought, many also turned to the internet for more information (39%) or tried out one of the suite of wellness or meditation apps available (19%).

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For those who turn to the mental health-care system, counselling (62%), therapy (44%) and prescriptions (44%) are the most common requested services:

Mental health care access: Many have encountered barriers to treatment

To better understand the ease of access for Canadians to mental health care, the Angus Reid Institute developed the Mental Health Care Access Index. This index separates Canadians who encountered barriers to mental health care from those who say they found it easy to access to the services they sought (click here to see how the index was scored).

One-in-five (19%) Canadians sought support from mental health care professionals in the past year. Of that group, eight per cent – or more than three million adults – say they encountered difficulty to receive the care they needed. The remaining 11 per cent accessed the mental health care they needed with ease.

Four-in-five (81%) Canadians have not sought out mental health support from professionals in the public or private system in the past year:

When looking at just those who sought mental health care in the past year, two-in-five (41%) found barriers to the help they wanted. Canadians aged 18- to 34-years-old were more likely to encounter barriers than older ones, and women more likely to have difficulty accessing mental health care than men:

Those who report difficulties accessing mental health care are more likely to be lower income than those who found few barriers to the care they wanted.

Canadians are more likely to report difficulties accessing counselling and therapy than prescription drugs.

Few people say they or someone they knew encountered barriers to receive prescriptions for their mental health issue. That was not the case for counselling or therapy, where two-in-five say it was difficult for them, or someone they know, to access this treatment:

Those with difficulties accessing system report feeling anxious, depressed at higher rates

Canadians who report difficult access to mental health care are also more likely than others to describe their mood negatively. Seven-in-ten (70%) in the Difficult Access group say they’ve been anxious in recent weeks, while two-in-five (38%) say they’ve been depressed. Canadians who have had easy access to mental health care, and those who needed no access at all, are much less likely to use those terms to describe their recent feelings:

Majority among those with difficult access say treatment improved their condition

Regardless of whether their access was difficult or easy, majorities of Canadians who received treatment for their mental health in the past year say it made a difference. However, those who encountered few or no barriers are twice as likely to say it helped a lot (42%) than those who say it was difficult to get the mental health care they needed (21%):

High levels of concern with Canadians’ access to mental health care

Most Canadians – four-in-five – worry over the availability of resources and access to mental health care in the country and the state of Canadians’ mental health overall. That includes nearly all who have struggled to access mental health care in the past 12 months:

Part Two: Mental health and MAID

Health care has been under the microscope in recent years as provincial and federal governments have looked for solutions to fix a health-care system described as in crisis.

Related:

Mental health care in the country has also received intense scrutiny. During the 2021 federal election, the Liberals promised to launch a mental health transfer that would provide provinces and territories with $4.5 billion over five years to “expand the delivery of high-quality, accessible and free mental health services.” However, advocates worry that the focus on mental health has been lost, as the Liberals appear to have rolled the promised boost into the general health care funding agreement it struck with the provinces and territories earlier this year.

Against this backdrop, there has been an intensifying conversation regarding making Canadians whose only medical condition is a mental illness eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID). MAID was first legalized in Canada in 2016. The initial legislation allowed for MAID for those with a serious, incurable medical condition whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable. The latter requirement was removed in a 2021 update to the legislation.

In the pathway laid out in the 2021 legislation, eligibility was set to expand in 2023 to allow mental illness as the sole medical condition for the MAID application. This has been delayed to 2024 as the government looks to set out guidelines and best practices.

Mental health care access and MAID expansion

There is broad support for the 2016 law and the 2021 update among Canadians, but more opposition to the proposed expansion of eligibility to include mental illness as a sole condition. Note, the survey questionnaire asked Canadians about the eligibility for MAID as laid out in the 2016. Then it asked about the 2021 update as laid out in the legislation. Finally, it asked about the potential further expansion of eligibility to include mental illness as a sole condition. To read the questionnaire, click here.

Those who have needed professional assistance from the mental health-care system in the past year are much more likely than those who have not to support expanding eligibility to allow mental illness as a sole condition for a MAID application. Two-in-five (41%) who have encountered barriers to accessing mental health support they feel they needed say they support this proposed expansion of MAID eligibility:

This increased support for MAID among those who have encountered barriers to mental health care is also evident when respondents are presented with specific scenarios which may engender a request for MAID. While opposition outweighs support, Canadians who have had difficulties accessing the mental health-care system are more likely than others to support someone suffering from PTSD, depression or anxiety seeking MAID (see detailed tables for all scenarios presented).

Overall support for original law, trepidation over mental health elements

Across the country, there is broad support for MAID as it was laid out in 2016 and with the 2021 expansion to include those whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. Only in Alberta (45%) does support for either MAID framework fall below half:

There is much more opposition to the proposed expansion to include mental illness as an eligible sole condition for MAID. At most, one-third in B.C. (33%), Manitoba (35%) and Quebec (31%) say they support this change to MAID eligibility. But, in those three provinces and elsewhere, there are more opposed than in favour:

Majorities of men of all ages oppose expanding eligibility to include mental illness as an eligible sole condition for MAID. Women are more conflicted on the matter, but pluralities are in opposition:

Two-thirds (67%) of past Conservative voters oppose expanding MAID eligibility to individuals whose sole condition is mental illness. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said a government under his party would repeal MAID for those with a mental illness in the event a private member’s bill introduced earlier this year from Conservative MP Ed Fast fails to accomplish that goal. Past NDP voters are the most divided between support (37%) and opposition (40%) for this proposed MAID eligibility, while those who voted Liberal in 2021 are more opposed (42%) than in support (31%):

Four-in-five (82%) Canadians feel mental health care should be improved first before MAID eligibility is expanded to include those whose sole condition is a mental illness. That includes seven-in-ten (69%) of those who support this expansion of MAID eligibility:

Opponents to eligibility expansion worry over deprioritization of treatment

Half of Canadians (52%) worry that treating mental health will not be a priority MAID eligibility is expanded to include individuals whose sole condition is mental illness. This is a greater concern for those who oppose this proposed expansion of MAID eligibility:

(Angus Reid Institute)

28 September 2023

Source: https://angusreid.org/mental-health-care-access-maid-mental-illness/

AUSTRALIA

810-814-43-42/Polls

Inflation Expectations Dropped To 5.4% For The Month Of August – And Have Now Fallen To 4.9% In Mid-September

In further good news for those with a mortgage the RBA has now left interest rates unchanged for a third straight month in early September.

The latest information on weekly Inflation Expectations is available to view each week in the Roy Morgan Weekly Update video on YouTube.

The softening in Inflation Expectations in recent weeks suggest the RBA’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged during their three meetings in July, August and September may be the correct decision, however there are still significant pressures in the economy. Just this week the average retail petrol price in Australia increased to $2.04 per litre and has now been above $2 per litre for five weeks in a row for the first time in over a year since July 2022.

The next monthly ABS CPI estimate is set to be released next week on Wednesday September 27, 2023. The latest ABS monthly CPI estimate for July 2023 was 4.9%, down from 5.4% in the year to June 2023.

Monthly Inflation Expectations Index long-term trend – Expected Annual Inflation in next 2 years

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source: Interviewing an average of 4,800 Australians aged 14+ per month (April 2010 – August 2023).

Inflation Expectations were down in every State except Victoria in August

A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level shows a mixed bag for August with Inflation Expectations down in five States from a month ago, but unchanged in Victoria at 5.4% - in line with the national average.

Inflation Expectations eased slightly in New South Wales, down 0.1% points to 5.7%, and in Queensland, down 0.1% points to 5.6%, but were still above the national average in both States.

The measure also declined in the smaller States of Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. In South Australia Inflation Expectations were down 0.3% points to 5.3% and they were down a large 1.5% points to 5% in Tasmania – the largest change for any State during the month of August.

Inflation Expectations in Western Australia remain the lowest of any mainland State – where they have been for the last 11 months since October 2022 – and were down 0.7% points to 4.6%.

Inflation Expectations in Country Areas dropped to 5.8% (down 0.2% points from July) in August. The measure remains significantly lower in the Capital Cities, down 0.2% points to 5.2%.

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Inflation Expectations dropped 0.2% points to 5.4% in August, and the weekly indicator has continued to drop in the first half of the month to only 4.9% in mid-September – the lowest for over 18 months since February 2022:

“The ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations in Australia were down 0.2% points in August at 5.4%. This was the largest monthly fall since April 2023 (down 0.3% points to 5.3%) and this lowering trend has continued through the early weeks of September.

“The good news for borrowers is that the RBA has taken stock of the evolving economic situation in Australia and has now left interest rates unchanged for three straight months in July, August, and September at 4.1% and since then the weekly Inflation Expectations figure has dropped for the last two weeks to only 4.9% – the lowest since early last year.

“Although the drop in Inflation Expectations during August and September is good news, there are signs that it may prove to be short-lived. So far in September the Australian Dollar has hovered consistently below 65 US cents – including hitting a low of only 63.6 US cents.

“The immediate impact of the low Australian Dollar is being felt at the pump with average retail petrol prices averaging $2.04 per litre last week and above $2 per litre for the last five weeks. This is the first time since July 2022 petrol prices have been at a sustained high level above $2 per litre for more than a month.

“Petrol prices are one of the most visible signs of inflation and if they continue to remain at an elevated level above $2 per litre, or even rise further in the weeks and months ahead, this will clearly increase the general inflationary pressures in the economy.

“If these inflationary pressures in the economy continue to grow there will be renewed pressure on the RBA to increase interest rates again despite pausing and leaving interest rates unchanged at their last three meetings in July, August, and September.

“The next RBA meeting on interest rates will be new Governor Michele Bullock’s first in the top job. Although all the current signs are that the RBA is set to leave interest rates unchanged, as ANZ economists Adam Boyton and Blair Chapman noted in a research note today the RBA opted for a ‘hawkish pause’ in September as they continued to ‘monitor incoming data and how these alter the economic outlook and assessment of risks.’”

(Roy Morgan)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/inflation-expectations-dropped-to-5-4-for-the-month-of-august-and-have-now-fallen-to-4-9-in-mid-september

810-814-43-43/Polls

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Down 3.4pts To 76.4 – Lowest Since Mid-August

Driving this week’s decrease was less confidence about personal finances over the next 12 months which was responsible for about half the weekly decline.

Current financial conditions

Now under a fifth of Australians, 19% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to a majority of 54% (up 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.

Future financial conditions

Looking forward, now under a third of Australians, 28% (down 5ppts), expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year while a rising 36% (up 3ppts), expect to be ‘worse off’.

Current economic conditions

Only 7% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to over one-third, 35% (up 1ppt), that expect ‘bad times’.

Future economic conditions

Net sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term has deteriorated slightly this week with 10% (unchanged) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to over a fifth, 22% (up 3ppts), expecting ‘bad times’.

Time to buy a major household item

Sentiment regarding to buying intentions is relatively unchanged this week with 19% (unchanged) of Australians, who now say it is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items while a clear majority of 54% (up 1ppt), say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

ANZ Economist, Madeline Dunk, commented:

Block Quote

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was unable to build on its recent upward momentum, with the series falling 3.4pts last week. Each of the five subindices declined, and there was a particularly steep drop in the ‘Future financial conditions’ subindex. Confidence amongst those households paying off a mortgage declined by 8.1pts, while it fell 2.9pts for renters and 0.3pts for households who own their home outright.

Meanwhile, inflation expectations rose to 5.4%, reversing the falls seen in the previous two weeks. Inflation expectations are likely to be of interest to the RBA, especially given the recent strength in petrol prices which have averaged over AUD2/litre for the last six weeks.

(Roy Morgan)

26 September 2023

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9325-anz-roy-morgan-consumer-confidence-september-26

810-814-43-44/Polls

2.8 Million New Zealanders Now Read Newspapers And Almost 1.7 Million Read Magazines

These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source survey of 6,524 New Zealanders aged 14+ over the 12 months to June 2023.

New Zealand Herald read by over 1.7 million while Southland Times is the big improver

New Zealand’s most widely read publication is again the New Zealand Herald with a total cross-platform audience of 1,747,000 in the 12 months to June 2023 – almost five times as many as the second placed Dominion Post with a readership of 363,000.

There were two top ten titles to grow their total cross-platform audiences led by the fifth placed Waikato Times, up 16,000 (+8.6%) to 203,000 and the Taranaki Daily News, up 6,000 (+5.1%) to 124,000.

Filling out the top five are the Otago Daily Times in third place with an audience of 264,000 readers just ahead of The Press in fourth place on 250,000.

Other newspapers to increase their total cross-platform audiences during 2022-23 included the Manawatu Standard, up 22,000 (+23.4%) to 116,000, the Rotorua Daily Post, up 8,000 (+8.2%) to 105,000, the Southland Times, up 27,000 (+35.1%) to 104,000, the Sunday News, up 17,000 (+22.7%) to 92,000, the Nelson Mail, up 7,000 (+9.3%) to 82,000, the Gisborne Herald, up 1,000 (+1.4%) to 71,000 and the Ashburton Guardian, up 1,000 (+2.5%) to 41,000.

Top 10 Newspapers – Total 7 Day Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online)

Publication	Print		Digital (web or app)		*Total 7 Day Cross-Platform Audience (print, web or app)**
	June 2022	June 2023	June 2022	June 2023	June 2022	June 2023	% Change
	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	%
New Zealand Herald	510	477	1,560	1,535	1,800	1,747	-2.9%
Dominion Post	174	138	264	275	379	363	-4.2%
Otago Daily Times	94	84	229	214	287	264	-8.0%
The Press	129	130	175	173	251	250	-0.4%
Waikato Times	80	77	131	139	187	203	8.6%
Sunday Star-Times	155	138	45	61	190	187	-1.6%
Hawke’s Bay Today	77	65	123	122	178	171	-3.9%
Northern Advocate	62	53	110	113	154	147	-4.5%
Bay of Plenty Times	63	56	111	100	154	146	-5.2%
Taranaki Daily News	43	37	95	104	118	124	5.1%

*Cross-Platform Audience is the number of New Zealanders who have read or accessed individual newspaper content via print or online. Print is net readership in an average 7 days. Online is net readership online in an average 7 days.

Full Newspaper Readership Results available to view here.

New Zealand Listener, NZ Woman’s Day and Habitat all increase their print readership in 2022-23

New Zealand’s most widely read magazine is the driving magazine AA Directions which had an average issue readership of 338,000 during the year to June 2023.

One of the four magazines to increase their readership in the last year was the clearly second-placed New Zealand Listener with an average issue readership of 208,000, up 10,000 on a year ago.

The other three widely read magazines to increase their readership were NZ Woman’s Day which increased its readership by 25,000 to 145,000, Habitat, which was up 7,000 to 108,000 and Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine KiaOra which more than doubled its readership, up by a large 63,000 to 107,000 as New Zealand’s borders re-opened and flights began to return to pre-COVID conditions.

Other widely read magazines included TV Guide with a readership of 152,000, Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) on 127,000, NZ Gardener on 86,000, Dish on 83,000, Cuisine on 82,000 and NZ House & Garden also on 82,000.

Other magazines to grow their readership during the year to June 2023 included Fish & Game NZ, which more than doubling its readership and was up 36,000 to 71,000, NZ Life & Leisure, up 11,000 to 64,000, Consumer, up 7,000 to 59,000, Home NZ, up 17,000 to 58,000, Property Press, up 8,000 to 53,000, Good, up 10,000 to 47,000, National Geographic, up 10,000 to 47,000, Reader’s Digest, up 16,000 to 44,000, Your Home & Garden, up 8,000 to 43,000, NZ Fashion Quarterly, up 1,000 to 43,000, Metro, up 5,000 to 36,000 and Rugby News, up 11,000 to 31,000.

New Zealand’s Top 10 Magazines by Average Issue Print Readership

Publication	June 2022	June 2023	% Reach Change
	‘000s	‘000s	%
AA Directions*	345	338	-0.2%
New Zealand Listener*	198	208	0.3%
TV Guide*	152	152	0.0%
NZ Woman’s Day*	120	145	0.6%
Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition)*	132	127	-0.2%
Habitat*	101	108	0.2%
KiaOra (Air NZ inflight magazine)	44	107	1.6%
NZ Gardener*	89	86	0.0%
Dish*	91	83	-0.2%
Cuisine	84	82	0.0%

*Roy Morgan has measured additional readership for this magazine via Cross-Platform Audiences – see next section.

Full Readership Results for over 50 New Zealand Magazines available to view here.

AA Directions is on top but Fish & Game NZ and New Zealand Listener lead audience growth

AA Directions is still easily New Zealand’s most widely read magazine with a market-leading total cross-platform audience of 418,000– well over 150,000 ahead of any other magazine.

The second most widely read New Zealand Listener increased its total cross-platform audience by 9,000 to 245,000 while the third most widely read NZ Woman’s Day, up 11,000 to 196,000.

However, the largest increase over the last year was for Fish & Game NZ which more than doubled its print readership, and this powered an increase in its cross-platform audience of 24,000 to 136,000.

Other leading magazines with strong cross-platform audiences of over 130,000 include Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) on 170,000, TV Guide on 169,000, Dish on 158,000, Habitat on 147,000, NZ Woman’s Weekly on 140,000 and NZ House & Garden on 136,000.

Top 10 Magazines – Total Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online)

Publication	Print		Digital (web or app)		Total Cross-Platform Audience* (print, web or app)
	June 2022	June 2023	June 2022	June 2023	June 2022	June 2023	% Change
	‘000	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	‘000s	%
AA Directions	345	338	169	161	436	418	-4.1%
New Zealand Listener	198	208	71	68	236	245	3.8%
NZ Woman’s Day/ Now to Love	120	145	91	72	185	196	5.9%
Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition)	132	127	71	55	185	170	-8.1%
TV Guide	152	152	62	38	191	169	-11.5%
Dish	91	83	113	111	179	158	-11.7%
Habitat	101	108	73	55	157	147	-6.4%
NZ Woman’s Weekly/ Now to Love	76	76	91	72	154	140	-9.1%
Fish & Game NZ	35	71	81	80	112	136	21.4%
NZ House & Garden	86	82	90	66	162	136	-16.0%

*Cross-platform audience is the number of New Zealanders who have read or accessed individual magazine content via print or online. Print is average issue readership. Digital is average website visitation and app usage (if available) in last 7 days for weekly titles (New Idea, New Zealand Listener, NZ Woman's Day, NZ Woman's Weekly, Property Press, That's Life, Time, TV Guide) and last 4 weeks for all other non-weekly titles.

Full Newspaper Readership Results available to view here.

Canvas is easily the most widely read Newspaper Inserted Magazine in 2023

The New Zealand Herald’s Canvas(North Island) was clearly the most widely read Newspaper Inserted Magazine over the past year with a readership of 172,000 – over 25 per cent higher than any other magazine.

In a clear second place is the widely read Sunday Magazine with a readership of 137,000.

There was not much to separate the next three magazines – only 11,000 between the third most widely read Viva (North Island) with a readership of 116,000, Weekend (North Island) with a readership of 110,000 and Your Weekend with a readership of 105,000.

New Zealand’s Leading Newspaper Inserted Magazines by Print Readership

Publication	June 2022	June 2023	% Reach Change
	‘000s	‘000s	%
Canvas (North Island)	243	172	-1.7%
Sunday Magazine	145	137	-0.2%
Viva (North Island)	146	116	-0.7%
Weekend (North Island)	153	110	-1.1%
Your Weekend	122	105	-0.4%

Full Readership Results for over 50 New Zealand Magazines available to view here.

Michele Levine, Chief Executive Officer, Roy Morgan, says:

Block Quote

“The latest Roy Morgan readership figures for New Zealand show nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders, 2.76 million (65.8% of the population aged 14+), now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app).

“The leading newspaper is again the New Zealand Herald with a total cross-platform audience of well over 1.7 million and is read by almost five times as many people as the second placed Dominion Post – read by over 363,000.

“The last year has been a challenging one for New Zealand as the country gradually emerged from pandemic-era restrictions but soon faced a new challenge of high inflation. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) responded to the challenge of inflation by raising interest rates rapidly between October 2021 and May 2023 by a total of 5.25% from 0.25% to 5.5%.

“The twin pressures of inflation and rising interest rates have had an impact as New Zealand’s economy contracted in both the December qtr. 2022 (-0.6%) and the March qtr. 2023 (-0.1%) – this is the third straight year New Zealand has experienced at least one quarter of negative growth.

“However, despite the economic pressures of the last year there have been bright spots for several newspapers with nine increasing their cross-platform audiences over the last year including the Waikato Times (+8.6%), the Taranaki Daily News (+5.1%), Manawatu Standard (+23.4%), Rotorua Daily Post (+8.2%), Southland Times (+35.1%), Sunday Times (+22.7%), Nelson Mail (+9.3%), Gisborne Herald (+1.4%) and the Ashburton Guardian (+2.5%).

“Despite the challenges of the four years the audiences for New Zealand’s magazines are consistent and in the year to June 2023 almost 1.7 million New Zealanders (40.2% of the population aged 14+) read magazines whether in print or online either via the web or an app.

“The five most widely read magazines dominate both the print readership and cross-platform audience figures filling the top five spots in both rankings. AA Directions with a print readership of 338,000 and a total cross-platform audience of 418,000 is the most widely read magazine in New Zealand once again.

“In second spot on both rankings is New Zealand Listener with a print readership of 208,000 and a cross-platform audience of 245,000. However, the biggest increase among the top five magazines over the last year was for NZ Woman’s Day which increased its print readership by an impressive 25,000 to 145,000 and increased its cross-platform audience by 11,000 to 196,000.

“The other magazines to maintain their leading positions in the overall market include the TV Guide with a print readership of 152,000 and a total cross-platform audience of 169,000 and Australian Women’s Weekly with a print readership of 127,000 and a cross-platform audience of 170,000.

“There were two standout magazines worth highlighting that more than doubled their print readership over the last year. Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine Kia Ora increased its readership from 44,000 to 107,000 – an increase of 63,000 (up 143%) as New Zealanders returned to travel with COVID-19 restrictions easing.

“Fish & Game NZ has also experienced a rapid increase in print readership, up from 35,000 to 71,000 – an increase of 36,000 (+103%) in a year. The increase in print readership powered an increase in the total cross-platform audience for Fish & Game NZ to 136,000 and into the top ten of New Zealand’s most widely read magazines for the first time in ninth position.

“Despite the pressures faced by many so far during 2023 there are significant bright spots with many newspapers and magazines holding their own and increasing their audiences over the last year. These magazines and newspapers continue to provide interesting and relevant content that engages with their audiences and provides a direct line to hard-to-find consumers.”

(Roy Morgan)

19 September 2023

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/new-zealanders-newspapers-and-magazines-readership-june-2023

MULTICOUNTRY STUDIES

810-814-43-45/Polls

People Across 24 Countries Continue To View UN Favorably

The United Nations General Assembly will open its 78th session on Sept. 5 against a favorable backdrop. A median of 63% across 24 countries surveyed see the UN in a positive light, according to a spring Pew Research Center survey. Another 28% see it negatively. In most countries surveyed, a majority of the public has a positive opinion of the UN.

Views of the UN are especially favorable in Kenya, Poland, South Korea and Sweden, where about eight-in-ten express positive views.

In a few countries, however, negative opinions of the UN are more common than positive ones. In Israel, for example, 62% have a negative view of the organization, the highest share across all countries surveyed. The Israeli public has historically expressed unfavorable views toward the UN: At least 58% have viewed the organization negatively since this question was first asked in 2007.

Similarly, 50% of people in Japan have an unfavorable view of the UN. Japanese views of the UN have stayed generally negative since the summer of 2020, when 55% had an unfavorable view of the organization.

In a handful of countries – Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa – about a fifth or more of the public did not provide an opinion.

Favorable opinions of the UN over time

The UN’s favorability has generally remained stable across most countries surveyed in recent years, with a few exceptions.

In Hungary, where government leaders have expressed frustration with international criticism of domestic affairs, positive opinion has dropped 11 percentage points in the last year, to 50%. And in the U.S., favorable views have ticked down slightly to 58%. Conservative Americans, as well as adults ages 50 and older, are less likely to see the UN favorably than they were in 2022.

While data is available for most countries from 2022, the Center was unable to survey several middle-income countries from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, looking at changes from 2019 to 2023, opinions of the UN have improved significantly in some of these countries. In Nigeria, India and Kenya, for example, the shares who have favorable views of the multilateral organization have increased by double-digit points since 2019.

The 17-point increase in India may be due, in part, to the rise in the share who express any opinion. Just 12% did not respond to the question in 2023, compared with 44% in 2019.

What do people like about the UN?

In past surveys, publics have tended to credit the UN for promoting human rights, peace and economic development, while fewer have said it cares about the needs of everyday people or deals effectively with international problems.

In a 2020 Center survey, a median of 76% across 14 countries believed the UN promoted human rights, while a median of 51% said it dealt effectively with international problems.

Differing views of the UN within countries

In some countries, people who place themselves on the ideological left are more favorable toward the UN than those on the right. This pattern was also observed in 2022.

The divide is particularly stark in Israel, where those on the left are almost 50 points more likely to hold a positive opinion of the UN than those on the right. And Israelis on the left have grown even more favorable toward the organization over the past year: In 2022, 48% of those on the left had a positive opinion of the UN, compared with 64% who have the same view this year.

In the U.S., liberals are also much more likely than conservatives to see the UN positively (79% vs. 34%).

Only in Greece is the pattern reversed: 57% of people on the ideological right view the UN favorably, compared with 41% on the left.

In a handful of countries, people with more education are more likely than those with less education to see the UN favorably. In Germany, for example, 78% of those with at least a postsecondary education approve of the UN, compared with 64% of those with a secondary education or less.

(PEW)

31 August 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/ short-reads/2023/08/31/people-across-24-countries-continue-to-view-un-favorably/

810-814-43-46/Polls

Data Dive: How People Around The World Feel About Climate Change, A Survey Across 36 Nations

It’s happening again.

After people everywhere from Australia to India to America saw floods, fires and furious storms wreak havoc in 2022, Mother Earth is in for another devastating weather year.

The frequency and intensity of climate-change related disasters has become so commonplace it looks like some are now seeing it as the new normal.

But what’s occurring is far from normal.

June 2023 was the hottest June ever recorded since record-keeping began in 1850, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

And as summer in the Northern Hemisphere wears on, the records just keep melting away.

July 2023 was recently declared the hottest month ever recorded, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

And while data for August is still being calculated, it’s been yet another month filled with both oppressive heat and deadly wildfires.

Forget global warming, it’s been so sweaty lately the head of the United Nations warns we’re now in the era of “global boiling.”

Below, we look at what recent Ipsos Global Advisor polling reveals about how worried people are about climate change and what should be done about it.

Drastic times may call for drastic measures
There’s no silver bullet, but the vast majority are open to seeing less plastic.

Plastic is everywhere and everything from the making to the disposing of it emits greenhouse gases which ultimately contributes to climate change, points out the Center for International Environmental Law.

Our polling across 34 countries in August/September 2022 finds strong support for a global treaty that would ban unnecessary single-use plastics (75%, on average across 34 countries), as well as for a ban on plastics that can’t be easily recycled (77%).

“It’s not unusual to see alignment on attitudes of people around the world on certain sustainability issues, but the fact that so many are aligned on the need for strong, co-ordinated intervention on single-use plastics is a little surprising,” says Stuart Clark, Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos in Australia. “It stands out as an issue that many feel is both urgent and can be tackled successfully if we work together.” Ipsos | Data dive | climate change

The young will inherit the (boiling) earth
Many are clearly worried about plastics in general and, more specifically, some are also clearly concerned about the possible impact the changing climate could have on their lives in the years ahead.

Our polling conducted during the sweltering summer of 2022 found Gen Zers and younger Millennials, in particular, are anxious about the possibility of being displaced from their home as a result of climate change at some point between 2022-2047. Ipsos | Data dive | climate change

Inflation continues to loom larger
Even amid record-breaking heat, cost-of-living concerns have more people hot under the collar these days.

Despite the wild weather, worry about climate change and threats against the environment didn’t budge year over year. The extraordinary seems to have become ordinary.

Almost one in five (18%, on average across 29 countries) considered climate change a top concern for their country in August 2023 (versus 17% who said the same in August 2022). And 8% worried about threats against the environment in August 2023 (vs. 9% in August 2022).

Ipsos | Data dive | climate change

We’re all in this together
While climate change is just one of many issues, almost three in four (71%, on average across 29 countries) believe if everyone made small changes in their everyday lives this could have a big impact on tackling climate change.

Yet, as our Earth Day 2023 polling finds, that doesn’t mean people are letting governments and companies off the hook.

Almost three in five (59%) say that if businesses don’t act now to combat climate change then they are failing their employees and customers.

And 62% believe developed countries should pay more to solve the problem, with Peruvians and Colombians most in favour of the idea. Ipsos | Data dive | climate change

The future’s not ours to see … or is it?Back in 2019 few would’ve predicted a global pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and soaring prices were just over the horizon. The future is impossible to perfectly forecast.

Yet, after a series of serious weather events in 2022, 57% on average globally predicted (likely correctly) that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. And after coming off a particularly brutally hot summer last year, it makes sense that people Spain were the most likely to predict this year will be the hottest yet. Ipsos | Data dive | climate change

(Ipsos Global)

31 August 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/data-dive-how-people-around-world-feel-about-climate-change

810-814-43-47/Polls

In 29 Countries People More Likely To Think Their Education System Is Poor Than Good

People across 29 countries are more likely to describe the education system in their country as poor than good, the Ipsos Global Education monitor has found.

However, attitudes vary considerably between countries on how people think their education system is doing.

Singapore and Ireland have the highest proportion of people who are happy with their schools. While Hungary is the least satisfied, with two-thirds describing their education system as poor.

Key findings:

Across 29 countries, 33% describe the education system in their country as good, while 36% say it is poor.
However, parents of children who are at school are more likely to say it is good than poor.
People are more likely to say they would not recommend (45%) becoming a teacher than would (43%).
In 28 of the 29 countries surveyed, people tend to agree that having a degree is very important to succeed in life.
A third (35%) say they think AI will have positive effect on education, but in some western countries (France, US, Canada) people are more likely to think its impact will be negative.

Attitudes to education

One in three (33%) describe the education system in their country as good, with 36% describing it as poor.

However, looking at a global picture masks big differences between countries and regions. Singapore is the most positive country, with three in four (74%) saying their education system is good, including 27% who say it is very good. Ireland is second with 63% believing it is good and Australia third (57%).

At the other end of spectrum, Hungary is least satisfied with the level of education their students are receiving. Less than one in ten (8%) describe their education system as good and two-thirds (67%) say the standard is poor. Hungary is also the country most likely to say political/ideological bias is one of the biggest challenges facing education.

People in LATAM also have particularly low levels of positivity on the education available in their countries. After Hungary, Peru (10%), Chile (11%) and Argentina (15%) have the lowest number of people in their country who describe the education as good. While other LATAM countries in the survey – Brazil, Colombia, Mexico – have higher levels of satisfaction, people in those countries are more likely to describe their education systems as poor than good.

For many, not only is their country’s education system poor, the standard is declining. Almost one in two (46%) feel the education system in their country is getting worse compared to when they were at school. Three in four (76%) in Argentina say the country’s education is worse now, the highest of all 29 countries.

This sentiment is also particularly strong in Europe. In all but one of the European countries surveyed people are more likely to say their education system is worse than when they were at school. In Hungary, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Italy more than one in two say this is the case. Ireland is the only one of the European countries surveyed where people believe education is getting better, with 56% saying it is better now than when they were at school.

What do parents think of the education system?

Parents of children who are at school are consistently more positive about the education system in their country than those who do not have children in school. While the global public may not think their education system is performing well, parents are more positive. Four in ten (39%) parents of school age children say education in their country is good compared to a third of parents that describe it as a poor.

They are also more likely to say their education system was better when they were at school compared to those without children in school. Almost one in two (49%) of those who do not have children in school say the education system is worse than when they were a student (24% better), only 41% of parents say the same and 37% say it is better.

While on average people across 29 countries said outdated curriculum was one of the biggest challenges facing schools, parents said unequal access to education was the top worry. Parents are also more likely to cite inadequate infrastructure and insufficient use of technology as challenges.

Parents also feel that education can play a role in reducing inequalities. Fifty-eight per cent of parents think this is the case, while non-parents of school age children are divided on the issue.

A graph of a number of children

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Attitudes to teachers

Across 29 countries, people are more likely to say they would not advise someone to become a teacher than say they would. Majorities in six countries – Hungary, Japan, Poland, South Korea, France, Germany – say they would not recommend their children or a young person to take a job teaching.

Asia Pacific is, in general terms, the region where people are most likely to recommend teaching. India (79%), Malaysia (66%), and Indonesia (58%) are the countries where this sentiment is highest.

A graph of a teacher

Description automatically generated

Across the 29 countries surveyed, there is appreciation for how difficult the job of teaching is with two-thirds (67%) saying teachers work hard. This sentiment is highest in Brazil, the Netherlands and Singapore, with four in five saying this is the case.

In only one country (South Korea) are people more likely to say teachers don’t work hard than do.

While recognising teachers are hardworking, at a global level people are divided whether they get a paid enough. Forty-six per cent say teachers are adequately paid while 46% disagree. Belief teachers get paid enough is highest in India, Singapore, and Malaysia. In Argentina and Hungary three in four say teachers are not adequately paid.

Attitudes to AI in the classroom

People in 29 countries think technology in the classroom, such as AI, will have a more positive affect than negative one.

One in three (35%) think it will be positive while 18% believe it will have a negative impact. Support for AI in the classroom is highest in Indonesia, with 54% saying it will be a positive addition. LATAM is also supportive with many in Argentina (53%), Peru (49%) and Chile (48%) believing it will have a positive effect on learning.

In Canada, US and France, people are more likely to think AI will have a negative impact on schools. In these countries, people are also more likely to think AI should be banned in schools.

However, on average, people across 29 countries do not think AI should be banned from the classroom. More than four in ten (42%) think it should not be banned, while 29% do. Turkey (59%) and Malaysia (54%) are the countries most against a ban.

While people are more split on attitudes to AI and its role in the lives of students, there is more agreement that teachers should receive training on it.

Two-thirds across 29 countries think teachers should get training on how to use AI in their teaching methods, and seven in ten feel teachers should be showing students to use AI and receive training on how to spot whether students are using AI in school papers.

Attitudes among generations to education

Looking at people across different age groups attitudes to education, older people are more likely to think the education system is worse than when they were at school. The longer since people were at school the most likely to say school is worse today than when they studied. Fifty-seven per cent of Baby Boomers say that this is case and only one in four (25%) say it is better today. Forty-nine per cent of Gen X and 38% of Millennials think today’s education is worse than when they were at school.

Gen Z, the youngest generation surveyed, were more likely to say the education system was better today than when they were at school. Thirty-five per cent say it is better today and 30% worse.

Older people were the most likely to think schools do not contribute to reducing social inequalities. Forty-five per cent of baby boomers felt this was the case, while 46% thought they do.

The other generations were less divided with 55% of Millennials and 54% of Gen Z saying education can contribute to reducing inequalities.

While all age groups are more likely to feel AI should not be banned in schools, this feeling declines the older someone is. One in two (50%) Gen Z think it should not be banned and 35% of Baby Boomers feel this way.

(Ipsos Global)

5 September 2023

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-education-monitor-2023

810-814-43-48/Polls

Buddhism, Islam And Religious Pluralism In South And Southeast Asia, Survey In 6 Asian Countries

As some practices and philosophies related to Buddhism have become more commonplace in the United States and other Western countries, many Americans may associate Buddhism with mindfulness or meditation. In other parts of the world, however, Buddhism is not just a philosophy about mind and body – it is a central part of national identity.

In Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand – countries where at least 70% of adults are Buddhist – upward of nine-in-ten Buddhists say being Buddhist is important to being truly part of their nation, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of six countries in South and Southeast Asia.

For instance, 95% of Sri Lankan Buddhists say being Buddhist is important to be truly Sri Lankan – including 87% who say Buddhism is very important to be a true Sri Lankan.

Although most people in these countries identify as Buddhist religiously, there is widespread agreement that Buddhism is more than a religion.¹ The vast majority of Buddhists in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand not only describe Buddhism as “a religion one chooses to follow” but also say Buddhism is “a culture one is part of” and “a family tradition one must follow.”

Most Buddhists in these countries additionally see Buddhism as “an ethnicity one is born into” – 76% of Cambodian Buddhists hold this view, for example.

Buddhism and national law in Buddhist-majority countries

The importance of Buddhism in national identity is reflected in the prominence that all three countries’ laws give to Buddhism. Under Cambodia’s constitution, Buddhism is the national religion and the state is required to support Buddhist schools. Sri Lanka’s current constitution guarantees Buddhism “the foremost place” and assigns the government responsibility “to protect and foster” it. And a succession of Thai constitutions over the last century have increased the official preeminence of Buddhism, with the country’s most recent constitution requiring the state to “have measures and mechanisms to prevent Buddhism from being undermined in any form.”

According to the survey, most Buddhists in all three countries favor basing their national laws on Buddhist dharma – a wide-ranging concept that includes the knowledge, doctrines and practices stemming from Buddha’s teachings. This perspective is nearly unanimous among Cambodian Buddhists (96%), while smaller majorities of Buddhists in Sri Lanka (80%) and Thailand (56%) support basing national laws on Buddhist teachings and practices.

Religious leaders’ role in politics

When asked about the role of religious leaders in public life, Cambodian Buddhists again stand out as the most likely to favor an intersection between religion and government. For instance, 81% of Cambodian Buddhists say religious leaders should vote in political elections, a position taken by smaller proportions of Buddhists in Sri Lanka (66%) and Thailand (54%). (The Thai constitution bans Buddhist monks, novices, ascetics and priests from voting.)

But even in Cambodia, with its near-unanimous support for basing the law on Buddhist dharma, no more than half of Buddhists say religious leaders should participate in political protests (50%), talk publicly about the politicians they support (47%) or be politicians themselves (45%).

Islam’s role in Indonesia and Malaysia

In some ways, Buddhism’s links to national identity in these countries parallel the role of Islam in the neighboring Muslim-majority countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. Nearly all Muslims in both countries say being Muslim is important to be truly Indonesian or Malaysian. And Muslims in both countries commonly describe Islam as a culture, family tradition or ethnicity – not just “a religion one chooses to follow.” For instance, three-quarters of Malaysian Muslims say Islam is “an ethnicity one is born into.”

Since emerging from colonial rule in the 20th century, these two countries have followed divergent paths for the role of religion in government, but most Muslims in both nations favor making sharia the official law of the land. Muslims in Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, overwhelmingly support using sharia as the national law (86%). Most Malaysian Muslims also favored making Islamic law the official law of the land a decade earlier, in a 2011-2012 Pew Research Center survey of countries with large Muslim populations.²

Support for sharia is somewhat lower among Muslims in Indonesia, where the drafters of the 1945 constitution ultimately rejected proposed language that would have explicitly favored Islam but included language saying the state is “based upon the belief in the One and Only God.” The resulting compromise is sometimes classified as “mild secularism” with “relative (not absolute) separation between state and religion.” Today, 64% of Indonesian Muslims nevertheless say sharia should be used as the law of the land. A majority of Muslims in the country likewise supported making Islamic law the official national law when asked in 2011-2012.

Muslims in both Indonesia and Malaysia are more likely than Buddhists surveyed in neighboring countries to favor high-profile roles for religious leaders in politics. For example, most Muslims in Indonesia (58%) and Malaysia (69%) say religious leaders should talk publicly about the politicians and political parties they support, while roughly half or fewer of Buddhists in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand favor this level of religious interaction in politics.

Attitudes toward other religions

Alongside these three Buddhist-majority and two Muslim-majority countries, the survey also included Singapore, which has no religious majority and by some measures is the world’s most religiously diverse society. According to the most recent census, 31% of Singaporean adults identify as Buddhist, 20% are religiously unaffiliated (i.e., they say they have no religion), 19% are Christian and 15% are Muslim. The remaining 15% of the population includes Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists and people who follow Chinese traditional religions, among others. (For more on Singapore’s religious composition and how it has changed over time, read “Singapore’s changing religious identity.”)

Most Singaporeans (56%) say that having people of many different religions, ethnic groups and cultures makes their country a better place to live, while few Singaporeans (4%) say it makes their country a worse place to live. (Most other respondents, 37%, say such diversity doesn’t make much difference.) And on several measures of religious tolerance, Singaporeans express broadly accepting views toward other groups. For example, nearly nine-in-ten adults in Singapore say Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Chinese traditional religions are all compatible with Singapore’s culture and values.³

While Singapore sometimes stands out for the high levels of tolerance its residents express, adults in Malaysia and Sri Lanka (both 62%) are even more likely than those in Singapore (56%) to say that religious, ethnic and cultural diversity benefits their country. In general, tolerance for other religions is widely espoused in all six countries. Across all major religious groups, most people say they would be willing to accept members of different religious communities as neighbors. For instance, 81% of Sri Lankan Buddhists say they would be willing to have Hindu neighbors, and a similar share of Sri Lankan Hindus (85%) say the same about Buddhists.

And, overall, people in most of the countries surveyed tend to see other religions as compatible with their national culture and values. In Muslim-majority Malaysia, 67% say Buddhism is compatible with Malaysian culture and values. And even in Sri Lanka, where a civil war concluded a little more than a decade before the survey, 68% of the population says Christianity and Hinduism are compatible with Sri Lankan culture and values – including 60% of the country’s Buddhists (the majority community).

What are Chinese traditional religions and Indigenous religions?

The category of “Chinese traditional religions” is a fluid yet essential one. In several Southeast Asian countries, many people with Chinese ethnic backgrounds practice traditional ritual activities in temples that are devoted to Confucian, Mahayana Buddhist and Taoist deities, without necessarily seeing clear boundaries between them.

In other words, although Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist religious traditions are distinct from one another, the lines between them are fluid in practice. Furthermore, people who follow these practices may not claim a distinct religious identity.

Local beliefs and Indigenous religions refer to religions that are closely associated with a particular group of people, ethnicity or tribe. Such religious traditions may be less institutionalized than other religions that have a global presence, and the boundaries between Indigenous religions and other religions can be blurry.

Not only do religious groups largely accept one another as neighbors and fellow citizens, but in many cases, there also are signs of shared religious beliefs and practices across religious lines. For example, sizable majorities in nearly every large religious community in all six countries say that karma exists, even though belief in karma (the idea that people will reap the benefits of their good deeds, and pay the price for their bad deeds, often in future lives) is not traditionally associated with all the religious groups surveyed.⁴

In addition, many people pray or offer their respects to deities or founder figures that are not traditionally considered part of their religion’s pantheon. For example, 66% of Singaporean Hindus say they pray or offer respects to Jesus Christ, and 62% of Sri Lankan Muslims do the same to the Hindu deity Ganesh.

“Offering respects” to deities – often through gestures such as bowing one’s head or putting one’s hands together – is commonly understood in the region as the act of worshipping or venerating deities and can include a variety of practices, such as burning incense, making food offerings or making wishes to the deity. These are gestures of great respect or veneration, though they may not align with formal, Western perceptions of prayer or worship.⁵ (For more on the figures people pray or offer their respects to, read “Praying or offering respects to figures from other religions.”)

Clear divisions – and tensions – between religious groups

Despite these expressions of tolerance and religious mixing, religious identity also can be a firm line between groups in this part of the world.

In fact, many people across the countries surveyed say it is unacceptable for people to give up their religion or convert to another faith. In Indonesia, 92% of Muslims say it is unacceptable for a person to leave Islam, and 83% of Christians say it is unacceptable to leave Christianity for another religion.

Overall, Muslims are more likely than other religious communities to say conversion away from their faith is unacceptable. But this is also the position taken by two-thirds or more of Buddhists in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand – the study’s three Buddhist-majority nations.

In five of the six countries surveyed, nearly all adults still identify with the religion in which they were raised. Only in Singapore do a sizable share of adults (35%) indicate their religion has changed during their lifetime. (For additional information on religious switching in Singapore, read “Share of Singaporeans identifying as Christian or unaffiliated is increasing.”)

Moreover, in several countries, substantial shares see other religions as incompatible with their national culture and values. For instance, 45% of Sri Lankan Buddhists say Islam is incompatible with Sri Lankan values, while 38% of Indonesian Muslims say Buddhism is incompatible with Indonesian culture.

In some countries, there are also sizable shares of Muslims who say Buddhism is not peaceful, and conversely some Buddhists who say Islam is not peaceful. Malaysian Muslims are especially likely to see Buddhism as not peaceful (42%), while 36% of Thai Buddhists say Islam is not peaceful.

In some countries, substantial shares express negative feelings about Christianity and Hinduism. In Indonesia, for example, 21% of Muslim adults surveyed say Christianity is not peaceful.

These are among the key findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 13,122 adults in six countries in Southeast and South Asia. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand and on mobile phones in Malaysia and Singapore. Local interviewers administered the survey from June to September 2022, in eight languages. (Read the report’s Methodology for further details.)

This study, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation, is part of a larger effort by Pew Research Center to understand religious change and its impact on societies around the world. The Center previously has conducted religion-focused surveys across sub-Saharan Africa; the Middle East-North Africa region and many countries with large Muslim populations; Latin America; Israel; Central and Eastern Europe; Western Europe; India; and the United States.

The rest of this Overview covers various topics in more detail, including:

Different patterns of religious belief and practice across religious communities and countries

The deities to whom people pray or offer their respects

Funerary practices

Differing levels of religiosity by age

An exploration of religion in Singapore – particularly its changing religious composition and the beliefs of its religiously unaffiliated population

A deeper look at how religion and national identity intersect

Unique patterns of belief across a highly religious region

In general, the countries surveyed are highly religious by a variety of measures – including affiliation, beliefs and practices. For instance, nearly all respondents in five of the six surveyed countries identify with a religious group, and majorities in these same five countries say religion is very important in their lives – including 98% in Indonesia and 92% in Sri Lanka.

The lone exception on both these measures is Singapore, where 22% of adults do not identify with any religion, and just 36% of adults say religion is very important in their lives.

Even in Singapore, however, the vast majority of adults surveyed (87%) say they believe in God or unseen beings, and about seven-in-ten say they think karma and fate exist. These beliefs are common across all the countries in the survey, as is the notion that spells, curses or other magic can influence people’s lives. Roughly half or more adults in each country hold this view, including 55% in Singapore and 78% in Cambodia.

Rates of specific religious practices often are related to the religious makeup of each country. For example, overwhelming majorities in Cambodia (96%), Sri Lanka (92%) and Thailand (84%) say they burn incense; all three are Buddhist-majority countries, and Buddhists across southern Asia are more likely than Hindus, Christians or Muslims to burn incense. Meditation is also highest in the Buddhist-majority countries of Thailand and Sri Lanka (62% each), although Hindus across the region are more likely than Buddhists to say they practice meditation.

By contrast, daily prayer is most common in Indonesia and Malaysia, the two Muslim-majority countries in the survey. And, across the region, Muslims are more likely to say they pray at least once a day than are Hindus, Christians or Buddhists.

By multiple measures, religiously unaffiliated adults in Singapore are among the least religious or spiritual people in the region. But sizable shares of unaffiliated Singaporeans do express some religious or spiritual beliefs or follow some practices. (For a more detailed look at Singapore’s unaffiliated population, read “Who are the people in Singapore who don’t identify with a religion, and what do they believe?”)

Praying or offering respects to figures from other religions

In the countries surveyed, many religious beliefs and practices are shared by different religious communities. This includes a propensity to show respect for – or even to pray to – deities or religious figures commonly associated with another faith.

For instance, nearly one-in-five Singaporean Buddhists (18%) say they pray or offer their respects to Allah, while almost half of Malaysian Hindus (47%) say they pray or offer respects to Jesus Christ.

In general, Hindus are the most likely to pray or offer their respects to deities or founder figures not traditionally associated with their community, while Muslims are generally the least likely to do this. For example, in Singapore, 66% of Hindus and just 9% of Muslims say they pray or offer respects to Jesus Christ. In fact, Singapore’s religiously unaffiliated adults (16%) are more likely than the country’s Muslims to say they pray or offer respects to Jesus Christ.

Sri Lanka, an island nation south of India, also stands out as a place where people pray or offer respects to founder figures and deities – both the ones traditionally associated with their religion and those from other traditions. For instance, 48% of Sri Lankan Christians say they pray or offer their respects to Ganesh, the Hindu god of beginnings who is considered a remover of obstacles. But in the other countries surveyed, only about 5% of Christians do so. And 71% of the island’s Muslims say they pray or offer respects to Buddha, while very few Muslims in the other countries surveyed do this.

In addition to Buddha, Allah, Jesus Christ and Ganesh, the survey also asked about Mother Mary, Shiva, Guanyin and “protector spirits” in general. For more about people’s relationships with deities, spirits and religious founder figures, read Chapter 4.

Religious funeral practices

Rituals surrounding death are important to all the major religious groups in the countries surveyed.

For instance, most people in the Buddhist-majority countries of Cambodia (84%), Sri Lanka (80%) and Thailand (80%), as well as in Muslim-majority Indonesia (72%) and Malaysia (61%), say it would be very important to invite a religious leader to recite sacred texts or preach if they were planning the funeral of a family member or loved one.

Most people in the Buddhist-majority countries surveyed also say it would be very important to perform rituals for the relative in a temple or other house of worship, and to set up a shrine or altar for the deceased.⁶ Altars are especially valued by Buddhists in these countries: For example, 63% of Thai Buddhists say that setting up an altar would be very important, compared with just 6% of Thai Muslims who say the same about a shrine. Many people across religious groups also say it is very important to offer donations in the name of deceased relatives, including 71% of Christians in Indonesia, 61% of Muslims in Malaysia and 70% of Buddhists in Cambodia.

People in Singapore generally are less inclined than those in neighboring countries to say each of the four funerary rituals is very important, although more than half of Singaporeans say each ritual would be at least somewhat important if they were planning the funeral of a loved one.

Across the countries surveyed, rituals surrounding deceased loved ones do not end after the funeral. Most people in five of the six surveyed countries (with the exception of Malaysia) say someone in their household performs rituals on the anniversary of the death of a loved one, including 93% in Sri Lanka and 90% in Thailand. This type of ritual crosses religious lines, with Sri Lanka as a prime example: Roughly eight-in-ten or more Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Hindus in the country say someone in their household performs rituals on death anniversaries.

It also is fairly common across these countries to have a family gravesite where the remains of family members reside. Roughly half of respondents in five of the six surveyed countries (this time, with Sri Lanka as the exception) say this is the case. Among those who have a family gravesite, most people say they look after it by sweeping or cleaning it. It is generally less common for people to pay money to maintain a family gravesite.

By some measures, older adults are more religious than younger adults

Since this is the first time Pew Research Center has conducted an extensive, national survey on religion in most of these countries, opportunities for looking at how religious beliefs and practices are changing over time are limited.⁷ But differences between older and younger adults may provide clues into how each country is changing religiously.⁸

In five of the six countries surveyed, nearly universal shares of both younger and older adults identify with a religion. Only in Singapore are younger adults (ages 18 to 34) slightly more likely than older adults to be religiously unaffiliated (26% vs. 20%).

Across the countries surveyed, however, older adults are more likely than those ages 18 to 34 to be religious by a handful of standard measures – in line with the broad patterns seen in a 2018 Center analysis of the age gap in religiosity around the world.

For example, in Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, people ages 35 and older are more likely than younger adults to say religion is very important in their lives. (This is not the case in the two Muslim-majority countries surveyed, where there is little difference on this measure between age groups.)

Across most of the countries surveyed, older adults also are generally more likely than younger adults to say various religious activities would be very important for a loved one’s funeral.

For instance, roughly four-in-ten older adults in Singapore say that if they were planning the funeral of a family member or loved one, it would be very important to perform rituals in a temple, mosque or other house of worship for the soul of the deceased relative. Just one-third of younger adults in Singapore say this.

Still, across many religious activities and beliefs, older and younger people are largely similar. For example, similar shares of older and younger adults in all six countries say they use special objects for blessings or protection.

Moreover, in a few countries, older adults (ages 35 and older) are slightly less likely than younger adults to say they believe in unseen beings, like deities or spirits. For instance, 61% of older Malaysians say they think there are unseen beings in the world, compared with 67% of younger adults in the same country.

In several countries, younger Buddhist adults are more likely than older Buddhists to say it is acceptable for a person to leave Buddhism for another religion. For example, younger Thai Buddhists are twice as likely as those who are older to say that leaving Buddhism is acceptable (46% vs. 22%).

Among Muslims, only in Singapore are younger adults more likely than older Muslims to say it is acceptable to leave Islam for another religion (25% vs. 9%).

Sidebar: Regional economic growth has not led to widespread loss of religion

A theory in the social sciences hypothesizes that as countries advance economically and science takes a more prominent role in everyday life, populations tend to become less religious, often leading to wider social change. Known as “secularization theory,” it particularly reflects the experience of Western European countries from the end of World War II to the present, though it has its roots in earlier writings.

Recent academic research suggests that changes in religiosity stemming from economic development are more limited – tied to levels of religious identification or worship service attendance, rather than to the beliefs people hold – though others argue that secularization has increased dramatically in recent years. Pew Research Center’s previous work found only minimal support for secularization theory in India.

Data from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia finds a bit of a mixed bag – some cases in which higher economic development seems to go hand in hand with less religion, but many others where there is no such correlation. For example, Singapore’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is about four times as large as any other surveyed country’s GDP, and it has by far the largest share of religiously unaffiliated individuals. Singapore also has the smallest share of adults who say religion is very important in their lives.

However, adults in Singapore are just as spiritual or religious as those in neighboring countries by other measures. For example, 87% of Singaporean adults say they believe in God or unseen beings – a higher share than in Cambodia (78%) or Thailand (81%). Meanwhile, nearly identical shares of Singaporeans (55%), Indonesians (55%) and Sri Lankans (54%) say that spells, curses or other magic can influence people’s lives.

Moreover, all six countries surveyed have experienced strong rates of economic growth over the last 30 years. Global per capita GDP in 2022 is almost triple what it was in 1990, but the six surveyed countries each have seen their per capita GDP grow at a faster rate, nearly quadrupling (or more) over the last three decades. Even with these rates of growth, very few adults (except in Singapore) identify as religiously unaffiliated today.

Those who live in urban settings are broadly as religious or spiritual as those in rural locations. In Malaysia, for instance, 74% of both urban and rural residents say they believe in karma.⁹ Rural people are slightly more likely than urban residents to follow a few funerary practices. In Indonesia, for example, 35% of rural residents say setting up a shrine is very important when planning a family member’s funeral, compared with 27% among urban Indonesians.

There is a somewhat stronger association between educational attainment and religion. Several measures of religious commitment are less common among people who have received more education. For example, Cambodians who have received at least a secondary education are less likely than other Cambodians to say religion is very important in their lives (54% vs. 69%) or to say a shrine would be very important for a deceased relative’s funeral (64% vs. 76%).

But, again, there are a number of beliefs and practices that do not show a pattern in which more education is associated with lower levels of belief. For instance, belief in karma is roughly the same within each country, no matter a person’s level of education. And people who have more education are more likely than other adults to say they think there are unseen beings in the world, like deities or spirits. In Singapore, for example, 76% of college-educated adults believe there are unseen beings, compared with 65% of other Singaporeans.

Share of Singaporeans identifying as Christian or unaffiliated is increasing

Singapore differs from the other countries surveyed in that it has no majority religion, and thus no single religion that is clearly associated with Singaporean national identity.

It also stands out in another way: While nearly all adults surveyed in the other countries still identify with the religion in which they were raised, far fewer Singaporeans do (64%). This “religious switching” has led to declines especially in the share of Singaporeans who identify as Buddhist or as followers of Chinese traditional religions, and to increasing shares who are Christian or religiously unaffiliated.

Among Singaporean adults, 32% say they were raised Buddhist, which is significantly more than the share who identify as Buddhist today (26%). The gap is even bigger when it comes to the share who identify with Chinese traditional religions, such as Taoism, Confucianism or Chinese local religions: 15% say they were raised in these traditions, while just 6% identify with Chinese traditional religions today.

By contrast, the share of Singaporeans who identify as Christian today is higher than the share who say they were raised Christian (17% vs. 11%). The same is true for adults in Singapore who do not identify with any religion: 22% of adults say they are religiously unaffiliated today, compared with 13% who say they were raised with no religion.

A similar pattern can be seen in Singapore’s census records over the last few decades. (Read “Singapore’s changing religious identity” for an analysis of this census data.)

Yet the story of religious change in Singapore is not simply that Buddhists and followers of Chinese traditional religions are leaving their childhood faiths for Christianity or to have no religious affiliation.

For instance, while 13% of Singapore’s adults were raised Buddhist but no longer identify as Buddhist, the share in the country who currently identify as Buddhist has decreased by only 6 percentage points because 7% of Singaporean adults converted into Buddhism (either from a different childhood religion or from no religion).

And while 15% of the country’s adult population has left behind a childhood religion to become religiously unaffiliated, the share of Singaporeans who identify with no religion has had a net increase of only 9 points, because 6% of the adult population has moved in the opposite direction: They are people who were raised without a religious affiliation but have since joined a religion (mostly Buddhism or Christianity).

While continued religious churn and other factors will also affect Singapore’s future religious composition, the way in which current parents say they are raising their children suggests that Buddhists may continue to decline as a share of the overall population.

Only two-thirds of Buddhist parents say they are raising their children as Buddhist; roughly one-quarter of Buddhist parents (27%) say their children are being raised with no religion. By contrast, much higher shares of Singapore’s Muslim (99%) and Christian (90%) parents say they are raising their children as Muslims and Christians, respectively. And the survey finds that 85% of religiously unaffiliated parents are raising their children without a religion.

Sidebar: Singapore’s changing religious identity

According to the national census, the religious makeup of Singapore today is markedly different from 40 years ago.¹⁰ Alongside rapid economic growth, the religiously unaffiliated have increased from 13% to 20% of the adult population. However, this period has also seen Christians roughly double as a share of the national population, from 10% in 1980 to 19% in 2020.

After increasing between 1980 and 2000 (from 27% to 43%), Singapore’s Buddhist population has since decreased to 1990 levels (31%).

Meanwhile, the share of Singapore’s adults who identify with Chinese traditional beliefs (including Taoism) decreased from 30% in 1980 to roughly one-in-ten in 2000 and generally has held steady since then.¹¹

Since 1980, the percentages of Singaporeans identifying as Muslim, Hindu and other religions have remained fairly steady.

Who are the people in Singapore who don’t identify with a religion, and what do they believe?

In stark contrast with neighboring populations in which nearly everyone claims a religious affiliation, roughly one-in-five Singaporeans do not identify with any religion – a group sometimes referred to as the “nones.” Singapore’s “nones” are overwhelmingly of Chinese descent and mostly college educated.

By some measures, Singapore’s religiously unaffiliated population does not appear very religious or spiritual. For instance, only 3% of the country’s “nones” say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 36% of Singaporean adults overall.

But as a group, Singapore’s religiously unaffiliated do not completely disavow religious or spiritual beliefs and practices. Nearly two-thirds of the “nones” (65%) say they think karma exists, and 43% say that a person can feel the presence of deceased family members – roughly comparable to the shares of Muslims (47%) and Christians (43%) in Singapore who say the same.

When asked about planning a funeral for a family member or loved one, many of Singapore’s religious “nones” also place importance on activities that could be considered spiritual or religious.

For example, 52% of those who claim no religion say it would be important to perform rituals in temples for the soul of the deceased relative, and 46% feel it would be important to set up an altar for the deceased relative.

Everyone who took the survey was asked whether they believe in God and, separately, whether they think there are unseen beings in the world, like deities or spirits.

About four-in-ten religiously unaffiliated Singaporeans (41%) say they believe in God, and a slim majority (56%) think there are unseen beings in the world. Roughly six-in-ten Singaporean “nones” (62%) hold at least one of these beliefs.

“Nones” who are women are more likely than religiously unaffiliated men to believe in God and/or unseen beings (68% vs. 57%). Also, Singaporeans who were raised in a religion but are unaffiliated as adults are more likely to believe in God or unseen beings (66%) than Singaporeans who were raised with no religious affiliation and are still “nones” today (52%).

By nearly every measure included in the survey, the religiously unaffiliated who say they believe in God and/or unseen beings (“believing nones”) are more likely than other “nones” to connect with spiritual and religious concepts. For instance, the vast majority of “believing nones” also think karma exists (84%), but only 36% of Singapore’s other “nones” believe in karma. And the religiously unaffiliated who believe in God and/or unseen beings are much more likely than others to say that it would be important to perform rituals in temples for the soul of the deceased relative when planning a funeral (63% vs. 36%).

How those who link religious and national identities differ from others

Some regional scholars have noted increasing support for nationalistic movements centered on each country’s majority religion.¹²

As explained above, many members of the religious majority in each country (Buddhists in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia) say it is very important to be a member of their religious group to truly share their national identity. Many also say they want their society’s laws to be based on their religion’s teachings.

People who take one of these positions are especially likely to take the other. And those who express both views are referred to in this section as “religion-state integrationists.” (Broadly, religion-state integration can be understood as the opposite of “separation of church and state,” the principle that the power of the state should not be used to coerce or promote religion, which is legally or traditionally followed in the United States and some other countries.)

A majority of Muslims in Indonesia (57%) and Malaysia (69%) are religion-state integrationists, as are most Buddhists in Sri Lanka (72%) and Cambodia (75%). A sizable minority of Thai Buddhists (45%) also fall into this category.

‘Religion-state integrationists’ are especially religious

Religion-state integrationists stand out from other members of their religious communities in a variety of ways.

While the region overall is very religious, religion-state integrationists generally are even more religious than other people, across a host of measures.

Among Cambodian Buddhists, for example, those who say both that it is very important to be Buddhist to be truly Cambodian and that Cambodian law should be based on Buddhist dharma are much more likely than other Buddhists to say religion is very important in their lives (72% vs. 48%).

Attitudes relating to funerals show a similar divide. For instance, about three-quarters of religion-state integrationists in Indonesia’s Muslim community say inviting an imam or sheikh to recite sacred texts or preach is very important when planning a family member’s funeral, compared with roughly two-thirds of other Muslims in the country (77% vs. 64%).

(For more on this region’s general levels of religiosity, including among minority communities, read Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. For more on funeral practices, refer to Chapter 5.)

Religion-state integrationists also are:

More likely than other Buddhists or Muslims in their countries to support religious leaders’ involvement in politics.

Less likely to want neighbors from minority religions.

Slightly more likely to see threats to their religion from minority religious communities.

These relationships generally hold even when controlling for other factors, such as level of personal religiosity, age, gender and education. In other words, correlations between views on the relationship between religion and state and opinions on these other issues exist above and beyond the fact that religion-state integrationists are more religious. Cambodia’s religion-state integrationists sometimes defy the patterns seen across the other four surveyed countries.

Religion in politics

As one might expect, religion-state integrationists are somewhat more likely than others in their communities to support religious leaders’ direct involvement in politics.

In Thailand, for instance, Buddhists who link Buddhist and Thai identities and say Thai law should be based on Buddhist dharma are roughly twice as likely as other Buddhists to say religious leaders should be politicians (31% vs. 16%).

Even among Buddhist religion-state integrationists, however, around half or fewer say religious leaders should be politicians, talk publicly about the politicians they support, or participate in political protests. Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia are more inclined to favor religious leaders’ involvement in the political sphere.

Members of the majority religious community who strongly link their religion with the national identity also are more likely than others to say that disrespecting their country disqualifies someone from being truly part of their religion. Among Sri Lankan Buddhists, 73% of religion-state integrationists say that if a person does not respect Sri Lanka, they cannot be truly Buddhist – significantly more than the share of other Sri Lankan Buddhists who say disrespecting Sri Lanka disqualifies someone from being Buddhist (62%).

(For more on the role of religious leaders in politics, read Chapter 7. For more on what activities would disqualify someone from being part of a religious community, refer to Chapter 2.)

Views toward minority religions

Buddhist nationalism has been linked with antagonism and violence between Buddhists and religious minorities in countries dominated by Theravada Buddhism, including during the Sri Lankan civil war. Similarly, some scholars have asserted that there is a connection between rising “religious nationalism” and xenophobia in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

In general, people who say that it is very important to be a member of their religious community to truly share the national identity and that they want their society’s laws to be based on their religion are less likely to see other religions as compatible with their country’s culture and values. They are also less likely to accept followers of other religions as neighbors – although most religion-state integrationists say they would be willing to accept people from other religions as neighbors.

For example, among Indonesian Muslims, religion-state integrationists are less likely than other Muslims to say Christianity is compatible with Indonesian culture and values (53% vs. 63%) or to say they would accept Christians as neighbors (64% vs. 77%). This pattern broadly holds when asking about other religious communities, such as Hindus and followers of Chinese traditional religions.

However, Cambodian Buddhists stand out. There are no significant differences between religion-state integrationists and other Buddhists in Cambodia on any questions about the compatibility of other religions with Cambodia’s culture and values or potential neighbors.

(For more on attitudes toward other religious groups across the surveyed countries, read Chapter 6.)

Those who link religion and national identity and say their national laws should be based on religion are slightly more likely to say that the growing numbers of various religious minorities are a threat to Buddhism or Islam in their country.

For instance, three-in-ten Thai Buddhists who are religion-state integrationists say the growing number of Christians in Thailand is a threat to Thai Buddhism – more than the 21% of other Thai Buddhists who voice this opinion.

(These questions were designed to gauge demographic anxieties, regardless of whether or not these minority populations are actually growing within the countries surveyed.)

In general, religion-state integrationists also are somewhat more likely than other Buddhists or Muslims to say that tourists from other countries and the influence of China are threats to Buddhism and Islam in their country. However, they are no more likely to see extremists from their own community as a threat to Buddhism or Islam in their country. Among Sri Lanka’s Buddhists, for example, roughly three-quarters of both religion-state integrationists and others say that Buddhist extremists are a threat to Buddhism in Sri Lanka (73% and 75%, respectively).

Similarly, there is generally no difference between the groups within a country when asked whether the influence of the United States is a threat.

As with other topics, there are no significant differences on perceived threats to Buddhism in Cambodia between Buddhists who do or do not classify as religion-state integrationists. (For more on attitudes about perceived threats to Buddhism and Islam, refer to Chapter 6.)

(Ipsos Global)

12 September 2023

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/09/12/buddhism-islam-and-religious-pluralism-in-south-and-southeast-asia/

810-814-43-49/Polls

48% Across 31 Countries Say The Quality Of The Healthcare In Their Country Is Good – But The Picture Is Inconsistent

Mental health is the top health concern for people across 31 countries, moving ahead of previous years’ top concerns like cancer and coronavirus.

Drawing on five years of trend data, the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor explores changes in the biggest health concerns, how people perceive the quality of their country’s healthcare systems and the biggest challenges facing healthcare providers around the world.

Key findings

A Quarter Of Global Consumers Don't Feel Comfortable With Online Banking, A Study Across 48 Markets

Digging deeper into the data by market, India stands out in the APAC region, where almost two out of five consumers say they are dissatisfied with online banking (37%). This is particularly striking when compared to Singapore (20%), China (19%) and Hong Kong (17%), where the percentage is almost halved.

In the MENA region, Morocco (44%) and Lebanon (40%) lead the way, with nearly two in five consumers saying they don't feel comfortable using online banking. In wealthy Gulf countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (36%) and Saudi Arabia (35%), about a third of consumers do not feel comfortable with online banking.

The Nordic markets present a more comfortable picture with digital banking platforms. Denmark and Norway (11% each) show a low level of discomfort, with only one in ten consumers indicating it. Among the 48 markets, Finns feel least uncomfortable with online banking (10%).

In Western European countries such as Britain, Spain and Greece, about a quarter of consumers share similar reservations about digital banking (24-25%). In contrast, Eastern European countries, such as Slovakia and Poland, show a greater degree of calmness, with less than a fifth expressing concern (18% each).

Italians are not reluctant to use online banking: only 15% of the population say they do not feel comfortable using

In the US, two in five consumers continue to distrust online banking (38%). Surprisingly, younger demographic groups show greater discomfort (18-24: 53% and 25-34: 46%). This distrust decreases with age, with about two-fifths of those aged 35-44 (41%) expressing discomfort, falling to just three-tenths of those aged 45-54 (28%) and those over 55 (31%).

(YouGov Italy)

22 September 2023

Source: https://it.yougov.com/society/articles/47384-un-quarto-dei-consumatori-globali-non-si-sente-a-proprio-agio-con-lonline-banking