When it comes to happiness, money matters
The different direction of economic fortunes since the Great Recession has had a major impact on life satisfaction in countries around the world.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Our 2014 Global Attitudes survey in 44 countries asked which among five dangers was considered to be the “greatest threat to the world.” Many in the Middle East said religious and ethnic hatred was the greatest threat, while Europeans tended to choose inequality. Africans are more concerned with AIDS and other infectious diseases, while scattered countries, many with good reason, chose the spread of nuclear weapons or pollution and environmental problems as the top danger.
As they continue to struggle with the effects of the Great Recession, most people in advanced economies are pessimistic about the financial prospects of the next generation. In contrast, emerging and developing nations are more optimistic that the next generation will have a higher standard of living.
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.
People in emerging economies are considerably more satisfied with their lives today than they were in 2007.
The latest Pew Research Center News IQ quiz measures the public’s awareness of key facts in the news: from questions about conflicts around the world to the current minimum wage and the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
In recent years, high-profile protest movements have erupted in several emerging and developing countries, roiling, and sometimes overturning, the political status quo in Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Ukraine, Brazil, Thailand and other nations. Millions have demonstrated, and activists have pioneered new forms of online engagement.
Six years after the beginning of the Great Recession, amid an uneven global economic recovery, publics around the world remain glum. In most nations, people say their country is heading in the wrong direction and most voice the view that economic conditions are bad,