Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Political Issues

  • report

    Why Own a Gun? Protection Is Now Top Reason

    Overview The vast majority of gun owners say that having a gun makes them feel safer. And far more today than in 1999 cite protection – rather than hunting or other activities – as the mai reason they own guns. A national survey finds that nearly half of gun owners (48%) volunteer that the main […]

  • report

    As Sequester Deadline Looms, Little Support for Cutting Most Programs

    Overview As the March 1 deadline for a possible budget sequester approaches, a new national survey finds limited public support for reducing spending for a range of specific programs, including defense, entitlements, education and health care. For 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels. The […]

  • report

    Hagel Better Known, Viewed More Negatively

    Overview Unfavorable opinions of Chuck Hagel have increased over the past month as he has faced a bruising confirmation battle to become President Obama’s secretary of defense. A national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Feb. 14-17 among 1,003 adults, finds that 22% have a favorable opinion of Hagel while 28% have an unfavorable […]

  • report

    Continued Support for U.S. Drone Strikes

    Overview While U.S. drone strikes have faced new scrutiny in recent weeks, a majority of the public continues to support the program. Overall, 56% approve of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from pilotless aircraft to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; just 26% say they disapprove. Opinion is largely unchanged from […]

  • report

    China and Cyber Attacks: A Top Concern of U.S. Experts

    China’s alleged cyber-espionage campaigns against other governments, major corporations and, most recently, the media, have increasingly become a focus of U.S. officials and news reports. In the superpower competition between the U.S. and China, most American experts ranked cyber attacks from China as a more serious problem than the economic or military challenges it poses.