Top 5 global worries: October 2024

Inflation is the No. 1 concern once again.

People around the globe got hit by a one-two-three punch in recent years and they're clearly still feeling bruised.

First came the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, pushing the price of everything from hand sanitizer to spin bikes to real estate through the roof. Then, just as the pandemic was starting to recede, came the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which poured gas on the inflation fire. Finally came interest rate hikes as central banks tried to cool red-hot prices once and for all.

Given all this it's unsurprising that inflation loomed over all other issues for 29 months in a row until it finally dropped to the No. 2 worry in the world with crime/violence moving into the top spot this September. It appeared the sting of feeling the pinch at the checkout was finally becoming a distant memory; not yet.

Years of living through soaring costs and the fight to bring them back down to Earth appears to have taken a toll on the psyche of people. While inflation has fallen in several corners of the world, frayed nerves about the cost of living are lingering. Concern about rising prices is up month-over-month in 19 countries in Ipsos' October 2024 What Worries the World polling.

Inflation leads the way with 32%, on average across 29 countries, saying it's a top concern for their country, followed closely by crime/violence (31%), poverty/social inequality (28%), unemployment (27%) and financial/political corruption (25%).

Perception vs. reality

The cost of living is currently the No. 1 issue in eight countries including in the U.S. where 51%, up three percentage points month-over-month, say inflation is a top concern for the U.S. That's despite the consumer price index rising at an annual pace of 2.4% in September 2024 — the lowest pace since February 2021.

What's leading to this seeming disconnect?

"While the overall U.S. economy is doing well, record inflation shocked the system for Americans, and many are still adjusting to the higher cost of goods," says Sarah Feldman, Editorial Director for Ipsos in the U.S. "However, this is not the whole story; media silos also influence and frame whether Americans are even aware of the more positive economic news, meaning that even if the economy is doing well, many aren't hearing about it or seeing it."

Indeed, the Ipsos team in the U.S. recently delved into this issue, finding Americans who primarily consume conservative news sources are the least likely to say they have seen grocery or gasoline costs go down and are more likely to answer questions about inflation and crime incorrectly than Americans writ large.

Key election issue

Whether the economy in America is actually as off-balance as it was when inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 doesn't really matter. Many feel the economy just isn't what it once was. While just over two in five (41%) Americans now say the current economic situation in their country is good, up from 31% in June 2022 when inflation was peaking, that's still well off the 67% of Americans who thought the economy was good in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit the global economy like a spiky bomb.

The seeds of deep economic worry were planted in the U.S., and around the world, at the start of this decade and they seem to have only blossomed as this decade has progressed.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos polling finds the economy is seen as the most important problem for 27% of registered voters, followed by political extremism or threats to democracy (22%) and immigration (16%). And Ipsos' recent polling finds former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen as having the better plan/policy/approach to the cost of living (44%) compared to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (38%).

Time heals all wounds

Will the perceived sustained economic pain of these past few years be the issue that leads to victory for Trump or Harris in the race to become the 47th President of the United States? Time will tell soon enough. What's already clear is leaders in the U.S. and around the world are dealing with a populace that continues to be hyper-focused on the price of both big purchases, like cars, and small everyday items, like eggs.

Case in point: While worry about inflation at the global level is well down from a high of 43% in February 2023 concern is still 21 points higher than it was pre-pandemic in January 2020 when a mere 11% said inflation was a top issue for their country.

Heightened concern about COVID-19 didn't last forever and neither will worry about inflation. But, for now, elevated anxiety about the cost of living is lingering as 2024 winds down and we look towards 2025.

Check out our latest What Worries the World report for a deeper dive on how concerns have changed over time everywhere from Australia to the United States of America: https://www.ipsos.com/en/what-worries-world.