We all have things to worry about. But on an international scale, what are our biggest concerns? Here’s what people around the globe have in mind.
This is from a 26-nation survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in the spring of 2018. Respondents from the participating countries were asked about what they perceived as a major threat to their respective countries. Here’s a quick rundown of the results.
Russian Power & Influence
Out of the 26 countries, Poland is the only country where Russia’s power and influence were cited as a concern of the majority of its citizens. 65% of the respondents from Poland cited this as a major threat in their country.
There’s been a long-standing tension between the two countries, with Poland in the midst of the increasing conflict between Russia and the West. Adding fuel to the fire, Poland and the United States has recently signed a defence pact which will deploy an additional 1,000 US troops to Poland.
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The Threats are Going Digital
Four countries – US, South Africa, Netherlands, and Japan — cited cyberattacks as the primary threat in their country. This was up from last year when only the Japanese cited this as a major threat. With more and more of our systems becoming dependent on Big Data and the Internet, we should expect the numbers to rise in the succeeding years.
As our technologies continue to develop, so does the intricacy of the attacks that cyber-attackers can employ. Here are some cyber threats that you should be wary of.
Fear of the Islamic State
Eight countries cited the Islamic militant group ISIS as the primary threat in their country, which is around 31% of the respondents. Last year, 18 out of the 38 participating countries cited ISIS as their country’s major threat, which is about 47% of the participants. This suggests a decline of roughly 16 percentage points.
While the militant group is becoming less visible, there are still some fearing its potential resurgence. Furthermore, ISIS remains an active threat to some countries despite the decreased visibility.
Nature’s Wrath is the Ultimate Threat
13 out of the 26 countries, roughly half of the survey participants, cited climate change as the number one threat in their country. The effect of climate change is becoming more apparent. The blistering heat waves experienced over Europe are reported to be five times more likely due to climate change
With more countries perceiving climate change as a threat, countries would also hopefully consider taking into account sustainability in their actions in order to mitigate its effects.
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