Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Survey Report As the United Nations opens its 68th General Assembly session, publics around the world continue to have a positive impression of the international organization. Clear majorities in 22 of the 39 countries surveyed say they have a favorable view of the UN, including thumbs-up from Security Council permanent members Britain, France and the […]
Christians number 2.2 billion, or about one-in-three (32%) people worldwide. About half of all Christians are Catholic (50%). An estimated 37% of Christians belong to the Protestant tradition, broadly defined to include Anglicans as well as independent and nondenominational churches. The Orthodox Communion, including the Greek and Russian Orthodox, make up 12% of Christians. And […]
Survey Report As the current chair of the G20 and host of the organization’s upcoming Leaders’ Summit, Russia has asserted itself on the world stage. Yet, in the court of public opinion, Russia gets a mixed verdict. In a global survey by the Pew Research Center, a median of just 36% among publics in 38 […]
Survey Report Publics around the world are concerned about the effect of global climate change and international financial instability, with majorities in many of the nations surveyed saying these are major threats to their countries. But Islamic extremism is also a serious concern, particularly in the United States, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, relatively […]
When Benedict XVI was elected pope in 2005, religious observance among Europeans had been in decline for decades, and he set out to stem the tide of secularization. How successful was he? Pew Research polls indicate that during his papacy, religious observance among Catholics in France, Germany, Spain and Italy remained low but fairly stable.
Overall, global attitudes toward America are positive. In 28 of 38 nations, half or more of those surveyed express a favorable opinion of the U.S. Europeans generally give the U.S. high ratings, especially in Italy, where 76% now have a positive view of America, up from 74% last year and 53% in 2007. Greece is […]
Washington, D.C. — A new study by the Pew Research Center finds that the already high level of restrictions on religion in the Middle East and North Africa – whether resulting from government policies or from social hostilities – continued to increase in 2011, when most of the political uprisings known as the Arab Spring […]
The U.S. government receives largely positive reviews for how it treats its own people. When respondents are asked whether the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia and Iran respect the personal freedoms of their people, the U.S. government achieves the highest ratings, with a median of 70% across the countries surveyed saying the American government respects the […]