Longevity and climate are higher global priorities than Ukraine, large poll shows | Abroad

The biggest concerns were polled in 22 different countries and more than 21,000 citizens. The poll was conducted by Datapraxis and YouGov and was commissioned by the Open Society Foundations. The figures were released ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month.

One of the main conclusions was the extent to which the global south is less involved in the war in Ukraine than Europeans. When asked about the top three of their priority issues, voters mentioned the climate crisis and the cost of living more often than Ukraine. The climate crisis ultimately took top priority, with 36 percent of respondents identifying it as one of the top three problems facing the world, compared with 28 percent choosing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Yamide Dagnet, Open Society’s climate director, said: “We should not be surprised that so many people around the world cite climate change as the most important challenge facing the world. The climate crisis is inextricably linked to the unrest we see worldwide. If meaningful action is not taken, these crises will only worsen. Once again, the public is ahead of policy makers.”

While the poll clearly shows that Ukraine is less important worldwide than the climate crisis and the cost of living, Russia can take little comfort in the poll. For example, 49 percent thought that “war crimes are mainly committed by Russia”, compared to 28 percent who thought that “war crimes are committed by both sides”.

There also appear to be fault lines over responsibility for the Ukraine crisis. Respondents in the global north and global south have differing views on the causes of the invasion of Ukraine. Nearly half of respondents in South Africa (49 percent), 54 percent in Nigeria and 56 percent in India agreed that Russia “had a right to want to exert more influence over its neighbor Ukraine”, compared with 78 percent in the UK who disagreed, along with 53 percent in Germany and 58 percent in the US and France.

There was strong and general support for the demand that Russia withdraw from Ukrainian territory. Only in four of the 20 countries where this question was asked — Senegal, India, Indonesia and Serbia — did less than 50 percent of those polled believe that Russia should pull out. Concern for Ukraine was particularly high in Eastern Europe and most G7 countries. Few citizens consider war a top global priority in Nigeria (21%), India (21%) or Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (less than 20%). Notably, only 22 percent of US respondents view Ukraine as a global top three issue, despite the US’s cross-party financial and military support for Kiev.

Nearly half of respondents (49%) named inflation and the cost of living as one of the top three challenges facing their families and communities today. The concern is also greatest in high-income countries. Cost of living was in the top three in Singapore (76% of respondents), Great Britain (70%), France and Serbia (58%), Poland (57%), Germany (45%) and Japan (46 %).

General pessimism about the direction the world is developing was greatest in Europe and the US, while much more confidence was in the Asian countries surveyed, including Indonesia, Singapore and India.