Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world: a median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of him. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating.
Prior to the most recent Ebola outbreak in the western parts of the continent, a median of 32% across the seven African nations polled feared infectious disease as the top danger. In the Middle East, the top danger is ethnic and religious hatred.
Publics across the globe see the threat of religious and ethnic violence as a growing threat to the world’s future, with concern especially strong in the Middle East.
Recent events have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the U.S., but survey results show that Muslim Americans overwhelmingly reject extremism.
The publics of the world broadly embrace key tenets of economic globalization but fear the disruptions and downsides of participating in the global economy. In rich countries as well as poor ones, most people endorse free trade, multinational corporations and free markets. However, the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey of more than 45,000 people finds they are concerned about inequality, threats to their culture, threats to the environment and the threats posed by immigration. And there are signs that enthusiasm for economic globalization is waning in the West.
The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they were a year ago.