Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Despite a general consensus that women should have the same rights as men, people in many nations around the world say gender inequalities persist. Many say that men get more opportunities than equally qualified women for jobs that pay well and that life is generally better for men than it is for women in their countries.
With the spate of primary races testing the power of the Tea Party movement, the mid-term elections topped the news, but a Katrina anniversary and the faltering economy were close behind. Meanwhile, the New York mosque controversy quieted but didn’t vanish last week.
In a week in which economic news nearly hit a three-month high, cable talk shows were dominated by the resignation of a federal employee whose comments on race were taken out of context by a conservative website. Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Mexico, the debate was about the merits of plugging the BP oil well with a “topkill” or a “bottom kill.”
In addition to the topics discussed above, the survey included questions about a variety of other issues, including how people think others around the world perceive their nation; which countries are considered the top providers of international aid and disaster relief; attitudes regarding isolationism and international engagement; views on the use of military force; Russian […]
Summary of Findings No one story dominated the public’s news interest last week, as several story lines – including the debate over a mosque near Ground Zero in New York and the recall of hundreds of millions of eggs – vied for Americans’ attention. About two-in-ten (19%) say they followed the debate over plans for […]
The oil spill that won’t stop gushing became the story that won’t stop growing as the Gulf disaster coverage, fueled by a Presidential admission and a failed effort to cap the leak, reached new heights last week. No other subject—including a political controversy, a skittish stock market, the immigration issue or tensions in the Korean peninsula—came close to matching the spill’s coverage.
The environment is a major issue in every nation surveyed, with at least half in all countries considering global climate change a serious or very serious problem. But the intensity of that concern varies widely, and divides along ideological lines in the U.S. and across the Atlantic. A majority of respondents in most countries feel […]
U.S. President Barack Obama remains popular across much of the world. Majorities or pluralities in 16 of 22 countries surveyed express at least some confidence in the American president to do the right thing regarding world affairs. In five of six predominantly Muslim countries, however, more than half lack confidence in Obama; only in Indonesia […]