Editor's Note: 

From November 6 to November 18,MK sports Korea the Global Times Institute (GTI) conducted a public opinion survey using a commercial online sample database. The survey was administered in 16 languages, including Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian, across 20 countries: China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Germany, France, the UK, the US, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Brazil, and Argentina. The survey targeted residents aged 18 to 70 and collected approximately 17,000 valid responses. This marks the 12th global public opinion survey conducted by the Global Times and covered topics such as global hotspots, development and security, China-US relations, and respondents' perceptions of China.

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In 2024, the international situation remains turbulent. Data from the survey indicates that the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts rank as the top global concerns, with over 90 percent of respondents expressing their interest in these issues. Outside the US, more than 80 percent of respondents expressed interest in the US presidential elections.

Major concerns for the global affairs

When asked whether global security and peace are currently under threat, 31 percent of respondents overall chose "significant threat," while another 30 percent chose "some threat," with the combined total exceeding 60 percent. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of respondents perceiving a "significant threat" dropped by approximately 9 percentage points, indicating a decline in public feelings of insecurity. 

In four countries - Italy, France, Brazil, and Kenya - over 40 percent of respondents felt "significant threat." In Turkey, the proportion was close to 40 percent.

When asked about specific risks or crises facing the world today, respondents identified the top three concerns as an economic crisis, international wars, and terrorism. The economic crisis, which ranked first, was selected by 57 percent of respondents, the same proportion as in 2023, while nearly half of respondents identified international wars as a concern.

Respondents also shared their concerns in brief written responses on the survey. In Australia, an individual born in the 1980s expressed worries about the cost of living. In Germany, a respondent born in the late 1980s identified the latest developments in generative artificial intelligence as a risk. A South Korean student born after 2000 voiced concern about the nuclear-contaminated wastewater dumped by Japan. In the US, respondents from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s cited "inflation" as a pressing issue. Meanwhile, a respondent in the UK, born in the 1980s, expressed concern over the "decline of the west into madness."

Sun Degang, director of the Middle East Studies Center at Fudan University, told the Global Times that "currently, many of the world's conflicts are closely related to the hegemonic policies of the US, particularly those in the Middle East. The masses have sharp eyes and recognize that the US' biased policies in favor of its allies have exacerbated conflicts in the region. In 2023, numerous protests concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict erupted on US campuses. From a humanitarian standpoint, people called for a ceasefire in Gaza, supported Palestinian statehood, and urged the US to provide humanitarian aid."

When asked about the development trends in the Middle East in 2025, public opinion was highly divided. A total 36 percent of respondents believed the situation would worsen while 30 percent thought it would ease, and 25 percent expected it to remain unchanged.

According to Sun, differences in predictions about the Middle East's future largely stem from geographical factors. "Countries located closer to conflict hotspots tend to have more pessimistic populations. For example, Turkey, situated at the intersection of the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, has a stronger public perception of risk. In contrast, countries farther from these hotspots, such as India and China, tend to have relatively more optimistic predictions."