Indian citizens are most worried about Inflation (50%) and unemployment (43%) in March 2023 and while their worry levels around these two issues have slightly lessened vis-à-vis Feb levels (Inflation was 52% & unemployment 45%), nevertheless they continue to be glaring. While global citizens were seen to be most concerned about inflation (42%) and poverty and social inequality (31%). These are findings of the Ipsos What Worries the World global monthly survey for March 2023.
Commenting on the nuances of the survey, Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, “Month after month, the Ipsos What Worries the World monthly survey tracks public opinion on the most important social and political issues for not only India, but for all the 29 markets covered. And local governments can accordingly address them. India has a representative and robust sample of not only netizens but also of consuming classes from metros, tier1, tier2 and tier3 cities, covering respondents across age groups from SEC A, B and C. The findings have 95% accuracy levels with the margin of error of +/-5%. “
Top 5 local & global worries in March 2023
Indian citizens’ top 5 worries were inflation (50%), unemployment (43%), poverty and social inequality (25%), financial and political corruption (24%) and crime and violence (22%).
While global citizens revealed they were most worried about inflation (42%), poverty and social inequality (31%), crime and violence (29%), unemployment (28%), and financial and political corruption (26%).
“Indian citizens and global citizens are reeling under almost similar set of worries. Prolonged pandemic, its collateral impact, global economic slowdown, war in Ukraine etc. are all further intensifying the woes of the common man, because of the heightened economic impact and rising cost of living. Unexpected rains in March, lackadaisical growth in farm incomes & the El Nino linked possibility of sub-optimal monsoon may add to our woes in coming months.” added Adarkar.
India continues to bust global trend of pessimism
India continues to bust the global trend of pessimism with almost 6 in 10 (58%) of citizens believing India is moving in the right direction. And only 38% of global citizens being bullish about their nation’s prospects.
The most optimistic nations emerging were Indonesia (83%), Singapore (82%), Malaysia (66%) and India (58%). Notably, India has receded by 3 points in March over Feb (61%), which was lower than the Jan score of 65%.
The most pessimistic nations were Argentina (13%), South Africa (14%), and Peru (14%), with their citizens believing their country is on the wrong track.
Methodology
This 29-country Global Advisor survey was conducted between February 17th 2023 and March 3rd 2023 via the Ipsos Online Panel system among 20,570 adults aged 18-74 in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States, 20-74 in Indonesia and Thailand, 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in all other nations. The “Global Country Average” reflects the average result for all the countries where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country and is not intended to suggest a total result.” The sample consists of approximately 1000+ individuals in each of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the US, and approximately 500+ individuals in each of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey. The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the US can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population under the age of 75. The samples in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these markets should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of these populations. Weighting has been employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent census data. The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website. Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of don’t knows or not stated responses
The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.
Effective February 2023, data collection in India is conducted using a hybrid methodology (80% face-to-face/20% online, multilingual interviews) that allows for reliable representation of the adult population of SECs A/B/C from non-rural areas across the country. Until January 2023, the survey was conducted exclusively through online interviews in English. The new hybrid/multilingual methodology provides a more accurate reflection of consumer sentiment among the Indian population — “India (national)” — than the previous “India (connected pop.)”. However, due to the change in methodology, the India results (indices, percentages, etc.) collected in and after February 2023 are not comparable to survey results reported in and before January 2023. A total of 2200 sample for India (offline & online) covering 16 cities.
Weighting has been employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent census data.
The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.
Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of don’t knows or not stated responses
The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.
