--- title: "Striking findings from 2025" description: "Here’s a look back at 2025 through 12 of our most striking research findings." date: "2025-12-09" authors: - name: "Anna Jackson" job_title: "Editorial Specialist" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/anna-jackson/" - name: "Jenn Hatfield" job_title: "Writer/Editor" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jenn-hatfield/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/12/09/striking-findings-from-2025/" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "China Global Image" - "Donald Trump" - "Global Religious Demographics" - "Higher Education" - "Immigration & Migration" - "News Habits & Media" - "Sports" - "U.S. Global Image" - "Vaccines" - "YouTube" --- # Striking findings from 2025 ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_featured.png?w=640) As we do every year, we’ve gathered data around some of the most pivotal news stories of 2025, including President Donald Trump’s [return to the White House](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/politics-policy/leaders/donald-trump/), the changing [U.S. immigration landscape](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/immigration-migration/) and the rapid rise of [artificial intelligence](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/internet-technology/emerging-technology/artificial-intelligence/) worldwide. Here’s a look back at 2025 through 12 of Pew Research Center's most striking research findings. This is just a small slice of the Center’s [research publications this year](https://www.pewresearch.org/publications/?_years=2025). ***Related:**** [Our favorite data visualizations of 2025](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/12/15/our-favorite-data-visualizations-of-2025/)* **After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the number of immigrants living in the United States is on the decline.** In January 2025, there were [53.3 million immigrants in the U.S.](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/21/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/), making up close to 16% of the country’s population. Both the number and the share were record highs. But by June 2025, the nation’s immigrant population decreased by more than a million, to 51.9 million. That decline has likely continued since, due to deportations, voluntary departures and fewer new arrivals. [![An area chart showing that the U.S. immigrant population peaked at nearly 16% in January 2025.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_1.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282449) Most immigrants [are in the U.S. legally](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/21/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/#what-is-the-legal-status-of-immigrants-in-the-u-s). As of 2023, 73% were either naturalized American citizens, lawful permanent residents or temporary lawful residents. The remaining 27% were unauthorized immigrants. **Views of the U.S. have worsened – and views of China have improved – across many of the 10 high-income countries we surveyed this year. **Across these countries, a median of 35% of adults now say they have a favorable opinion of the U.S., while 32% say the same about China. These shares are the [closest they’ve been since 2018](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/15/views-of-the-us-have-worsened-while-opinions-of-china-have-improved-in-many-surveyed-countries/). [![A line chart showing that, across high-income countries, views of the U.S. and China are far more similar than in recent years.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_2.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282441) There is a similar pattern when it comes to [confidence in U.S. and Chinese leaders](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/15/views-of-the-us-have-worsened-while-opinions-of-china-have-improved-in-many-surveyed-countries/#how-global-views-of-trump-and-xi-have-changed-over-time) to do the right thing regarding world affairs. A median of 22% of adults in the 10 high-income countries surveyed have confidence in Trump, while 24% express confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping. Their median confidence in former U.S. President Joe Biden was consistently higher than their confidence in Xi. **Seven-in-ten Americans now say the U.S. higher education system is generally going in the wrong direction – up from 56% in 2020.** Views of the nation’s colleges and universities [have turned more negative](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/15/growing-share-of-americans-say-the-us-higher-education-system-is-headed-in-the-wrong-direction/) among Republicans and Democrats alike. (In this analysis, Republicans and Democrats include independents who lean toward each party.) [![A line chart showing that 7 in 10 Americans now say U.S. higher education is going in wrong direction.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_3.png?w=620)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282444) Many Americans give these institutions [broadly negative ratings in specific areas](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/15/growing-share-of-americans-say-the-us-higher-education-system-is-headed-in-the-wrong-direction/#how-are-colleges-and-universities-doing-in-specific-areas). For example, 79% of U.S. adults say colleges are doing an only fair or poor job of keeping tuition costs affordable, and 55% say this about preparing students for jobs in today’s economy. **Americans have grown more critical of the widespread legalization of sports betting, and this is especially the case among young men.** [![A line chart showing that Men under 30 are far more likely today than in 2022 to view legal sports betting as bad for society.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_4.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282438) Overall, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country [is a bad thing for society](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/02/americans-increasingly-see-legal-sports-betting-as-a-bad-thing-for-society-and-sports/), up from 34% in 2022. And 40% say it’s a bad thing for sports, up from 33%. One of the biggest shifts in attitudes has occurred among men under 30. In this group, 47% say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society, an increase from 22% in 2022. For women under 30, the shift is smaller: 35% now see legal sports betting as bad for society, up from 25%. A substantial share of men under 30 (36%) also say they have [personally placed a sports bet](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/02/americans-increasingly-see-legal-sports-betting-as-a-bad-thing-for-society-and-sports/#who-has-bet-money-on-sports-in-the-past-year) in the past year. **Around seven-in-ten Americans (69%) say Trump is trying to exert more power than his predecessors, **according to a [Center survey from September](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/08/most-americans-think-trump-is-trying-to-exercise-more-power-than-previous-presidents/). [![Charts showing that about 7 in 10 Americans say Trump is trying to exercise more power than previous presidents.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_5.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282440) Most of those who say this view it as a bad thing for the country. Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say Trump is trying to exercise more presidential power than previous presidents *and* that this is bad for the country. Democrats overwhelmingly say Trump is trying to exert more executive power and that this is bad (83%). Republicans are more divided: About half (49%) say Trump is trying to exert more power, and among those who say this, more say it’s good for the country than say it’s bad. **A ****majority of parents with a child under 2 say their child watches videos on YouTube. **Some 62% of parents with a child under 2 say their child ever does this, up from 45% in 2020. A growing share of parents with a child under 2 also say their child [watches YouTube videos daily](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/10/08/how-parents-manage-screen-time-for-kids/): 35% say this, up from 24% five years ago. Daily use is also up among kids ages 2 to 4, according to their parents (51%, up from 38%). But it’s stable among children in other age groups. [![A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that a majority of parents say their children, including those under 2, watch videos on YouTube.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_6.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282446) **Google users who encounter a Google AI Overview are about half as likely as users who don’t to click on search results.** Users who landed on a Google search page with an AI summary [clicked on a search result 8% of the time](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/). Those who did *not *encounter an AI summary clicked on a search result 15% of the time, according to our analysis of data from U.S. adults who agreed to share their March 2025 web browsing activity. People who encountered the summaries – which Google introduced in 2024 – very rarely clicked on the sources cited, and they were more likely than those who didn’t see summaries to end their browsing session entirely. [![A bar chart showing that Google users are less likely to click on a link when they encounter search pages with Al summaries.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_7.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282448) **Republicans have become much less likely to say healthy children should be required to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to attend public school.** [Around half of Republicans](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/11/18/how-do-americans-view-childhood-vaccines-vaccine-research-and-policy/#views-of-mmr-vaccine-safety-and-school-requirements) (52%) now hold this view, down significantly from 79% in 2019. The share of Democrats who support school MMR requirements (86%) has not changed. [![A bar chart showing that Republican support for public school MMR vaccine requirements continues to slide.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_8.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282447) Our [](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/11/18/how-do-americans-view-childhood-vaccines-vaccine-research-and-policy/)[broader survey on childhood vaccines](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/11/18/how-do-americans-view-childhood-vaccines-vaccine-research-and-policy/) found that Republicans are divided over some aspects of vaccine safety. For instance, 32% of Republicans are highly confident that the childhood vaccine schedule is safe, while 31% are not too or not at all confident. A 71% majority of Democrats are highly confident. **Partisans ****differ sharply on which news sources they trust, especially when it comes to Fox News and CNN.** More than half of Republicans (56%) say they trust Fox News, but 64% of Democrats say they *distrust* it. The reverse is true for CNN: 58% of Democrats trust it, while the same share of Republicans distrust it. Fox News stands out among the [30 news sources we asked about](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/06/10/the-political-gap-in-americans-news-sources/#trust-and-distrust-in-news-sources-among-republicans-and-democrats) because it is the only one that a majority of Republicans trust. Democrats tend to trust a much broader range of sources. [![A diverging bar chart showing that Republicans and Democrats drastically differ in which news sources they trust and distrust.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_9.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282442) **For the first time in nearly two decades of our national surveys of U.S. Hispanics, most say Hispanics' situation in the country has worsened over the past year.** About seven-in-ten Latinos (68%) now express this view, [up sharply from 26% in 2021](https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/11/24/how-latinos-see-their-groups-situation-in-the-u-s/) during the Biden administration and 39% in 2019 during the first Trump administration. In the most recent survey, 9% of Latinos say their group’s situation is better than it was a year ago, and 22% say it’s about the same. [![A line chart showing a sharp increase in share who say U.S. Hispanics' situation has worsened.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_10.png?w=410)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282443) About a third of Latinos (32%) also say they’ve recently thought about [moving to another country](https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/11/24/how-latinos-see-their-groups-situation-in-the-u-s/#are-latinos-considering-leaving-the-country). Among those who have considered this, the most commonly cited reason is the political situation in the U.S. **Sub-Saharan Africa is now home to more Christians than any other world region, surpassing Europe.** As of 2020, [about 31% of the world’s Christians](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/) live in sub-Saharan Africa, while 22% live in Europe. This change has been fueled by Africa’s much higher [fertility rates](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/15/5-facts-about-global-fertility-trends/), but also by [widespread disaffiliation](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/christian-population-change/) from Christianity in Western Europe. [![A line chart showing that Sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed Europe to become the region where the most Christians live.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_11.png?w=620)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282439) Christianity remains the world’s largest religion. But Islam was the *fastest-growing* religion between 2010 and 2020, among the seven groups Pew Research Center has measured globally over time. [The global Muslim population](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/10/islam-was-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religion-from-2010-to-2020/) increased by 347 million people during that span (to 2.0 billion), while the Christian population grew by 122 million (to 2.3 billion). **Americans are far more pessimistic than optimistic about the effect AI will have on human creativity and connection. **About half (53%) say AI will [worsen people’s ability to think creatively](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/09/17/how-americans-view-ai-and-its-impact-on-people-and-society/), while 16% say it will improve this. And 50% say it will worsen people’s ability to form meaningful relationships with others, while only 5% say it will make this better. [![A diverging bar chart showing that about half say Al will worsen people's ability to think creatively and form meaningful relationships.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.09_striking-findings_12.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=282445) As generative AI technology continues to improve, most Americans (76%) say it’s extremely or very important for them to be able to distinguish between content made by AI and by people. But 53% are not too or not at all confident that they can personally tell the difference; just 12% are highly confident. #### **Read the other posts in our striking findings series:** [2024](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/12/06/striking-findings-from-2024/) | [2023](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/08/striking-findings-from-2023/) | [2022](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/12/13/striking-findings-from-2022/) | [2021](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/12/17/striking-findings-from-2021/) | [2020](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/12/11/20-striking-findings-from-2020/) | [2019](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/13/19-striking-findings-from-2019/) | [2018](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/12/13/18-striking-findings-from-2018/) | [2017](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/12/26/17-striking-findings-from-2017/) | [2016](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/12/21/16-striking-findings-from-2016/) | [2015](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/12/22/15-striking-findings-from-2015/) | [2014](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/12/22/14-striking-findings-from-2014/)