By Youssef Bin Trad Al-Saadoun

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first in the evaluation of people's optimism for the future of their countries. The Ipsos survey “What worries the world” showed that 92 percent of Saudis see their country moving in the right direction, followed by India with 77percent.

The survey covered 28 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Korea South, Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.

The online survey was conducted by Ipsos, a global research and marketing company. The Online Panel System of Ipsos surveyed 19,000 participants from those countries, during the period between March 25 and April 3, 2022.

The survey reviewed the most prominent issues of concern to the people, and ranked countries according to the levels of their people’s assessment of the situation in their countries and the extent to which their countries are moving in the right direction regarding each issue.

The most important of these issues, and the views and outlook of Saudis vis-à-vis each one of them, are the following:

First: Inflation or the continuous hike in prices is now the number one issue of global concern, with a rate of 32 percent. It is noted that the global rate of inflation worries shot up by nearly 20 percent within one year, which indicates that the world witnessed a clear rise in price levels that negatively and severely affected the lives of individuals. Saudis were the least concerned about this issue, recording the lowest rate of only 10 percent.

Second: Poverty and inequality in the distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges within society came second among the issues of global worries with a rate of 31 percent. Colombians are the most concerned about poverty and inequality with 43 percent, while Saudis are again the least concerned, with the lowest rate of 15 percent.

Third: Unemployment and low job opportunities are a pivotal issue in people’s lives, as the global concern about it has reached 29 percent. South Africans are the most worried with 64 percent, and the Dutch are at the bottom with only 7 percent. Saudis registered a clear concern in this aspect, at a rate of 40 percent that exceeded the global average, and that placed the Kingdom in the eighth position in the list of people worried about unemployment

Fourth: Crime and violence. The global rate of worries about crime and violence was 25 percent. Mexicans and Swedes are the most concerned about these problems at a rate of 50 percent, while Saudis are among the seven least worried peoples, with a rate of only 13 percent.

Fifth: Political and financial corruption is the fifth important issue on the list of worries of peoples in their countries with the global concern about it reaching 24 percent. South Africans had the highest anxiety rate at 50 percent, and Swedes had the lowest with 5 percent. Saudis came among the peoples of the five countries least concerned about this problem with 12 percent.

The survey also showed high rates of global concern regarding other issues that included, in order of priority: taxes and fees; the level of healthcare; coronavirus; education; climate change, in addition to moral degradation, and wars and military conflicts between countries.

As it is evident, the survey on “What worries the world 2022” explores what the public thinks are the most important social and political issues they face in daily lives and it represents an integrative episode with the “Global Happiness Survey,” which was also conducted by Ipsos on November 19 - December 3, 2021. In that survey, Saudi Arabia was ranked eighth out of 30 countries in the world with a rate of 81 percent in the level of adult happiness while the global average was 67 percent.

The most prominent sources of happiness globally, according to the survey, were: public health, family relations and social cohesion, followed by other matters related to the standard of living, security, personal safety, and access to attractive employment. It is remarkable that Saudis, unlike other peoples, chose religion and spiritual purity at the top of the list as a source of their happiness.

Undoubtedly, these two polls indicate the distinguished position of Saudi Arabia among the countries of the world, and confirm the wisdom of its rulers and their good management of public policies. Most significantly, these two reflect the strength of the Saudi people who are loyal to their leadership, gratified of their religion, proud of their country and confident of their prosperous future.