Abuja, Nigeria.28^th September 2021. A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed that about 8 in 10 Nigerians (76 percent) especially in the North-East (93 percent) zone believe that Nigeria is better as a nation, although a considerable proportion 24 percent especially from the South-East zone (62 percent) think otherwise.

Further findings showed that 77 per cent of the respondents disclosed that they are proud to be Nigerians. However, this stance varied across the geo-political zones, where the highest figure was recorded in the North-East (89 percent) and North-West zone (87 percent) and the lowest obtained in the South-East (48 percent) and South-West (67 percent) zones respectively.

Moreover, the greatest achievements of Nigeria at 61 years were perceived to be Unity (17 percent), Democracy (14 percent), Agricultural development (8 percent), and telecommunications (8 percent). On the contrary, it is instructive to note that 36 percent of respondents felt Nigeria has achieved nothing in 61 years of its independence and this assertion is predominant amongst Nigerians residing in the South-East (64 percent), South-West (50 percent), and North-Central (46 percent).

Finally, while there have been recent agitations for the breakup of Nigeria, poll results reveal clearly that the breakup agenda cannot be sustained as the overwhelming proportion of Nigerians are proud to be Nigerians. For sustenance of this embedded pride in the Nation, there is a need for government to create and nurture a culture of inclusive governance with a two-way symbiotic relationship between the government and the Nigerian citizens. This will significantly raise eagerness and participation towards governance, while enhancing the common pursuit of national development for the good of the Nigerian populace, thus automatically reinforcing the feeling of patriotism and pride in the nation. These are some of the key findings from the Independence Day Poll conducted in the week commencing September 6^th, 2021.

Survey Background

For one, citizenship embodies the rights and duties of citizens, for another, citizenship is also ‘essential for cultivating civic virtues and democratic values.[1] Whereas there can be no citizens without states, ‘states without citizens’[2] exist where the state falters on almost all its salient responsibilities, forcing the ‘citizens’ to resort to alternative coping strategies, including resorting to self-help strategies. The denial of full citizenship to individuals or groups for whatever reasons as this scenario depicts, is usually accompanied by a drastic fall in citizens’ level of nationalism, participation, and trust in political institutions and political class.

Any citizen or group of citizens who feel genuinely alienated, marginalized, or discriminated against by the political system may not be sufficiently inspired to publicly proclaim or assert their citizenship of such a political system. For such a group of people, political independence counts for little since it could not offer them adequate protection in terms of rights, participation, and identity. There is a sense in which it can be argued that the nationalists who fought colonialism, nurtured expectations that political independence would offer a sustainable path to redemption, including the citizenship question. But as it has turned out, the initial hope of independence has been squandered under successive military regimes.

The struggle to reclaim hope led to what some have labelled the second independence movement[3], embodied by the largescale movements in the late 1980s and early 1990s for democratization. While the battle was partially won with the return to a democratic civil regime in 1999, the crises and contradictions of the democratization process have also dampened the high expectations that attended the return to democracy.

There is, therefore, a new phase of the independence movement concerned mainly with the pressure of good governance, one that can deliver the dividends of democracy to its citizens. It is only within such a democratic order[4], predicated upon popular legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery that the notions of citizenship and independence assume any useful meaning. Against the background, NOIPolls conducted a public opinion poll to assess the perceptions of Nigerians on citizenship, patriotism, and Nigeria’s independence, which are very critical to any nation-state project.

Survey Findings

Nationalism is an essential component of statehood. It generally represents the deep feelings of attachment and belonging in citizens that inspire supportive attitudes and behaviours towards nationalistic symbols. One way of expressing this is the pride of being a citizen of a country. When asked whether they were proud to be Nigerians or not, it is gratifying to note that an overwhelming majority answered in the affirmative. Overall, 77 percent of the respondents said they were proud to be Nigerians, while 23 percent felt otherwise. This is gratifying, especially in the face of ongoing agitation for secession and other critical challenges to the corporate existence of the country.

Further analysis by geographical revealed that the least expression of pride in being a Nigerian was seen in the South-East region (48 percent) followed by the South-West (67 percent), whereas the highest level of patriotism was witnessed in the North-East (89 percent) and North-West (87 percent).

Trend analysis revealed a consistent drop in the level of patriotism from 2013 to 2021 and an 8 percent decrease when current findings are compared with results obtained in 2019.

Subsequently, when asked what they love most about being a Nigeria, 35 percent mentioned cultural diversities, 24 percent said unity and 22 percent stated that they don’t love anything about being a Nigerian.

When respondents were asked about Nigeria’s founding fathers or past leaders that inspire them the most, the result showed that Umaru Ya’radua (21 percent) and Goodluck Jonathan (19 percent) were Nigeria’s past leaders that inspired Nigerians the most. Other names mentioned are Olusegun Obasanjo (8 percent), Late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (7 percent) and Late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (6 percent) amongst other founding fathers and past leaders.

Furthermore, Security (40 percent), Economy (17 percent), and Job creation (12 percent) have been identified as the top three issues Nigeria as a nation needs to address within one year. Other mentions include corruption (7 percent), poverty (5 percent), electricity supply (5 percent), and education (4 percent) amongst other issues stated.

In the assessment of respondents, the greatest achievements of Nigeria in its 61 years of political independence since 1960 include Unity, democracy, agricultural development, and telecommunications. The chart below reveals the following proportion of respondents; 17 percent, 14 percent, 8 percent, and 8 percent opted for these accomplishments respectively.

On the contrary, it is instructive to note that 36 percent of respondents felt Nigeria has achieved nothing in 61 years of its independence and this assertion is predominant amongst Nigerians residing in the South-East (64 percent), South-West (50 percent), and North-Central (46 percent).

When asked whether they feel they can and are free to live and do business in any part of Nigeria, the poll findings revealed that 53 percent of the respondents answered in the affirmative. However, it is worrisome to note that a sizeable number of the respondents (47 percent) thought otherwise.

Geopolitically, there are variations in being able to and free to live and do business in any part of Nigeria. Concerning those who said yes, which has nationwide support of 53 percent of the respondents, the South-South and the North-Central fared better than the national rating at 65 percent and 57 percent respectively. On the other hand, the North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West fell below the national score with 47 percent, 52 percent, 46 percent, and 49 percent of the respondents respectively.

When respondents were asked whether Nigeria is better as a nation or being divided, it is worthy to note that an overwhelming majority answered in the affirmative. Overall, 76 percent of the respondents said that Nigeria is better as a nation, while 24 percent felt otherwise. This is gratifying, especially in the face of ongoing agitation for secession and other critical challenges to the corporate existence of the country.

More findings across social categories revealed some variations in terms of gender, geographical locations, and age distribution. For instance, while the North-East region had more respondents who stated that Nigeria is better as a nation, the South-East zone had the lowest number of respondents who asserted this perspective.

Respondents were further probed, and the poll revealed that those who stated that Nigeria is better as a nation gave reasons such as ‘we can achieve more together’ (39 percent), ‘division will cause more harm’ (28 percent), ‘Nigeria is better as a nation ‘ (15 percent), and ‘we need restructuring not division’ (10 percent) amongst other reasons.

On the other hand, ‘too much sentiment and tribalism’ (36 percent), ‘some regions are being marginalized’ (32 percent), ‘division will bring peace’ (15 percent), and ‘bad government’ (9 percent) amongst other reasons.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the results have revealed that most Nigerians are proud to be Nigerians and a sizeable proportion (77 percent) of the respondents especially in the North-East (93 percent) zone believe that Nigeria is better as a nation. Therefore, for the sustenance of this embedded pride in the Nation, there is a need for government to create and nurture a culture of inclusive governance with a two-way symbiotic relationship between the government and the Nigerian citizens. This will significantly raise eagerness and participation towards governance, while enhancing the common pursuit of national development for the good of the Nigerian populace, thus automatically reinforcing the feeling of patriotism and pride in the nation.

Finally, more efforts should be made to foster a sense of national belonging, unity, and integration. As this poll reveals, responses tended to follow a certain geopolitical pattern that suggests a great deal of discontent across regions. Paying more attention to the ongoing debate about political restructuring is potentially one of the ways by which the problem can be addressed.

(NOI Polls)

October 5, 2021

Source: https://noi-polls.com/independence-day-poll-report-2/

711-712-43-45/Country Profile:

NIGERIA2 NIGERIA3

711-712-43-46/Commentary: Death Survey Findings On Value Of Life: Religious Britons Found More Egalitarian On Value Of Life Than Ir-Religious

In January a former Supreme Court judge and civil liberties campaigner Lord Sumption sparked controversy when he claimed that ‘all lives are not of equal value’. The YouGov Death Study shows what Britons think about the value of human life.

While a vast majority (73%) say all human lives are equally valuable, one in five (20%) think this is not the case. More men (23%) than women (17%) think that not all human lives are equally valuable.

The YouGov Death Study finds that the less religious a person is, the more likely they are to believe that all lives do not have equal value. Among religious Britons who actively practice their faith, eight in ten (82%) think that the lives of all humans are equally valuable, with 12% disagreeing. Three quarters (75%) of Britons who are not practicing their religion say that all human lives are worth the same, while 20% of them disagree. Of the Britons who do not belong to any particular religion, 69% say all human lives have equal value, but a quarter (24%) think they do not.

How many people have wished death on someone?

A third of Britons (32%) report they have seriously wished death upon someone. While 8% regret it, a quarter (24%) don’t. A third of men (36%) wished death on someone, compared to about three in ten (28%) women.

Among Britons who actively practice their religion, a quarter (26%) say they have sincerely wished for someone to die, with more of those who say they don’t regret it (15%) than those who do (11%).

Is it ok to be pleased that someone has died?

YouGov research reveals that over half of Britons (56%) think it can be acceptable to celebrate someone’s death, while 23% say that can never be the case.

Men (61%) are likelier than women (51%) to think it is ok to rejoice over somebody’s death. Men aged 16-24 are significantly more likely than all other Britons (71% vs 43-60%) to think it is ok to cheer someone’s demise.

(YouGov UK)

October 06, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2021/10/06/yougov-death-study-value-life-and-celebrating-deat

711-712-43-47/Country Profile:

UK3

SUMMARY OF POLLS

ASIA

(Japan)

Record 196,000 Students Cut Class In Japan During Fy2020 During Covid-19 Crisis

A record 196,127 elementary and junior high school students skipped classes for reasons other than illness, financial circumstances and precautions against infections in fiscal 2020, according to a survey by the education ministry. National Police Agency data shows 507 elementary, junior high and senior high school students, including those whose cause of death has yet to be officially determined, took their own lives in fiscal 2020.

(Asahi Shimbun)

October 14, 2021

(India)

More Than Half 51% Of Urban Indians Think This Is A Good Time To Invest In Real Estate

As Diwali is believed to be an auspicious period to make investments in property, YouGov’s new research examines factors such as attitudes, purchase intent and reasons that urban Indians consider before making real estate purchase. Data suggests that more than half (51%) of urban Indians agree with the statement - “This is a good time to invest in real estate in India”, which is a positive sign for real estate companies and property dealers. Only one in eight (12%) disagree, while 27% remain undecided.

(YouGov India)

October 6, 2021

(Turkey)

Anxiety Of Parents Increased To 46% In Face-To-Face Education

In the first week when schools opened, parents were not very positive about the measures taken at schools, but the rate of parents who thought that the measures were sufficient was higher than those who thought that the measures were insufficient. However, when it comes to today, 39% of the parents find the measures sufficient, while half of them think that the measures taken are insufficient.

(Ipsos Turkey)

4 October 2021

MENA

(Dubai)

In Expo 2020 Dubai, An Average Of 42% Respondents Agreed These Brands Fit Well With The Event

In September, ahead of the launch ceremony, aided sponsorship awareness averaged 39% across the 31 Dubai partner brands among respondents familiar with the brands. Emirates registered the highest awareness (at 64%), followed by Etisalat (also at 64%), Dubai Chamber (57%), Emirates NBD (56%) and Emaar Hospitality (55%).

(YouGov MENA)

October 11, 2021

AFRICA

(Nigeria)

About 8 In 10 Nigerians (76 Percent) Especially In The North-East (93 Percent) Zone Believe That Nigeria Is Better As A Nation

A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed that about 8 in 10 Nigerians (76 percent) especially in the North-East (93 percent) zone believe that Nigeria is better as a nation, although a considerable proportion 24 percent especially from the South-East zone (62 percent) think otherwise. Further findings showed that 77 per cent of the respondents disclosed that they are proud to be Nigerians.

(NOI Polls)

October 5, 2021

(South Africa)

More Than Half (55%) Of South Africans Believe That “Most” Or “All” Police Officials Are Involved In Corruption

Only one-fourth (26%) of South Africans say they trust the police “somewhat” or “a lot” – about half as many as in 2011 (49%). Distrust of the police is at its highest level of the past two decades, with 73% of citizens saying they trust them “just a little” or “not at all.” The police trail other public institutions in popular trust, including the army (53% “somewhat” or “a lot”), the courts (43%), and the president (38%).

(Afrobarometer)

8 October 2021

WEST EUROPE

(UK)

The Conservatives Have Now Dropped To 41% In Red Wall Vote Intention

YouGov data shows the Conservatives and Labour neck and neck in the so called ‘Red Wall’ of pivotal Northern, Midlands, and North Wales constituencies. According to our MRP model, estimated using almost 10,000 respondents, the Conservatives have now dropped to 41% in Red Wall vote intention. That’s seven points down on 2019, and two points below their 2017 showing under Theresa May.

(YouGov UK)

October 04, 2021

More People Are Unconfident In The Police (48%) Than Confident (43%)

YouGov routinely asks the British public their confidence in the police to deal with crime in their local area, and for the first time since we started asking in July 2019 more people are now unconfident in the police (48%) than confident (43%). This is a stark decrease of 10 points since late February/early March, when 53% had a lot/fair amount of confidence and 40% had not very much or none. However, between that survey and one at the end of the month – a period which coincided with Sarah Everard’s murder – these figures narrowed, and had remained at that level until deteriorating further this month.

(YouGov UK)

October 06, 2021

Death Survey Findings On Value Of Life: Religious Britons Found More Egalitarian On Value Of Life Than Ir-Religious

(YouGov UK)

October 06, 2021

Britons Think The Government Are Handling Taxes Badly (60%), With Just 25% Saying They’re Doing A Good Job

As a result of the poorly-received changes to National Insurance, Britons also think the government are handling taxes badly (60%), with just 25% saying they’re doing a good job. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out further tax rises in the near future, suggesting that the Conservatives’ problems in this area are unlikely to abate any time soon. By 58% to 10% Britons think the economy remains in a bad state, only a slight improvement compared to March when the country was still in lockdown.

(YouGov UK)

October 07, 2021

The Majority (57%) Of The Public Oppose Protesters Being Given Prison Sentences For Blocking Motorways, Although A Third (34%) Would Support Such A Punishment

Just 18% of Brits now support the actions, compared to a quarter (25%) who backed the group three weeks ago. Even amongst people who listed the environment as one of the most important issues facing the country, opposition to the protesters now substantially outweighs support. Most of this group (58%) oppose the protesters’ actions, compared to just a third (33%) who support them.

(YouGov UK)

October 08, 2021

Two Thirds Of Britons (63%) Know Someone Who Has A Mental Health Problem

A third of Britons say they have a family member with mental health issues, 29% say a friend suffers and 15% list another acquaintance who does too. Only a quarter of Britons (25%) say they don’t know anyone with mental health problems, with the rest responding either ‘don’t know’ to the question premise (5%) or that they would prefer not to answer (7%). The older Britons are, the less likely they are to say they know anyone with mental health problems, or to suffer from them themselves.

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Nearly Three In Ten Men (28%) And One In Five Women (18%) Have Misconceptions About Mental Health

Men – who overwhelmingly tend to dominate senior management roles – are much more prone than women to say it’s ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ true that people with mental health issues can’t work or will under-perform. Nearly three in ten men (28%) believe this, compared with one in five women (18%). In fact, most people with mental health issues can be as productive as those not suffering from poor mental health. Men are likewise nearly twice as likely as women to believe that “rich people with mental health issues lack perspective and don’t know what real problems are” at 23% to 12%.

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Three Quarters Of Britons (77%) Say Society Should Consider Mental And Physical Illnesses As Equally Important

With World Mental Health Day approaching, a day aiming to remove the stigma around mental health issues, a new YouGov survey shows that three quarters of Britons (77%) say society should consider mental and physical illnesses as equally important. Only 11% admit to wanting physical conditions to take priority, and one in twenty (5%) say mental health issues should come first.

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Government's Covid-19 Charity Support Fund Delivers Hope To 6.5 Million People Across Country

The Minister for Civil Society has hailed small charities as 'the backbone of our communities', as an impact report published today reveals that 8,200 organisations have supported an estimated 6.5 million people during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to £200 million in bespoke Government funding, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). This included children and young people (supported by 39% of grantholders), people with mental health conditions (40%) and older people (32%).

(Ipsos MORI)

11 October 2021

18% Of The Britons Use Streaming Services As A Way To Follow Live Sport

When BT Sport was originally launched in 2013, it was made available free to BT’s broadband customers and widely perceived as a way of shoring up the parent company’s lucrative position as an internet provider. And indeed, if we look at BT Broadband’s customer base today, you can see that current customers of BT Sport (defined as those who have watched the channels in the past 30 days) are more than twice as likely to be a BT Broadband customer as those who are not (35.8% vs 17.5%).

(YouGov UK)

October 12, 2021

Half Of The UK (47%) Say They Would Support The Government Adding A 'Green Tax' To Environmentally Damaging Goods

Half of the UK (47%) say they would support the government adding a 'green tax' to environmentally damaging goods and two-thirds (65%) think the government should make it compulsory for all products to include labelling on their environmental impact. Further, there is no majority opinion on whether dealing with climate change should be prioritised at the cost of the economy (40%), or if economic growth should be the focus at the expense of the environment (34%).

(Ipsos MORI)

13 October 2021

A Third Of Britons (35%) Deem Alcohol ‘Very Harmful’ To The User, While About Half (47%) Believe The Same About Its Costs To Society

Britons tend to view legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol as more harmful to the user and society in general than laughing gas. Around half of the public say tobacco is ‘very harmful’ to people who consume it regularly (53%) and in terms of the wider cost to society (47%). Similarly, about a third of Britons (35%) deem alcohol ‘very harmful’ to the user, while about half (47%) believe the same about its costs to society.

(YouGov UK)

October 13, 2021

Latest REACT-1 Study Findings Show SARS-COV-2 Infection Rates Were Rising In Young People But Remaining Stable Overall

Over 100,000 volunteers took part in the study in England between 9 and 27 September 2021 to examine the levels of COVID-19 in the general population. The latest data show that prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in the population in England has increased to 0.83%. The report found 764 positives from 100,527 swabs giving a weighted prevalence of 0.83%. However, there was some variation between age groups. Prevalence was growing in those aged 17 years and below with an R number of 1.18, while prevalence was decreasing in those aged 18-54 years with an R number of 0.81.

(Ipsos MORI)

14 October 2021

The Liberal Democrats Are Only Currently Holding On To Half Of Their 2019 Voters (51%)

Both major parties are holding onto the large majority of their 2019 voters – the Conservatives are retaining 83% of those who voted for them last time, while for Labour it is 77%. Very few voters are switching between the two parties, with just 3% of 2019 Labour voters saying they now favour the Conservatives, and 5% going the opposite way. The biggest drain on the 2019 Labour vote is from the Greens, who are currently attracting one in nine (11%) of this group.

(YouGov UK)

October 15, 2021

Two In Five Brits (40%) Say They Have The NHS COVID-19 App Installed On Their Phones

Currently, two in five Brits (40%) say they have the app installed on their phones, down from 47% in mid-July. Approaching a fifth of the general public have deleted the app from their phones (19%). This means that almost a third of people who have ever had the app have now deleted it, almost twice the rate it was in July. Younger Britons (18-24-year-olds) are the most likely to have done away with the app: 29% have done so, compared to 13% of those aged 65 and above.

(YouGov UK)

October 15, 2021

(French)

Most French People Have An Aperitif With Their Family (56%)

The aperitif is a moment of sharing particularly appreciated by the French. Indeed, 74% of them say they take an aperitif at least once a month , and 49% at least once a week. The 25-34 year olds seem to be the greatest followers: 57% say they take an aperitif at least once a week (significantly more than the national population). Most French people have an aperitif with their family (56%) . In addition, 46% are used to doing it with friends, 40% with their partner and 8% with colleagues. It should also be noted that more than one in ten people are used to having an aperitif alone (12%).

(YouGov France)

October 13, 2021

NORTH AMERICA

(USA)

About Eight-In-Ten US Hispanics (81%) Say Addressing Global Climate Change Is Either A Top Concern Or One Of Several Important Concerns To Them Personally

About eight-in-ten U.S. Hispanics (81%) say addressing global climate change is either a top concern or one of several important concerns to them personally, with 39% saying it is a top personal concern. By comparison, a lower share of non-Hispanics (67%) say addressing global climate change is at least one of several important concerns, due in large part to a lower share who say it is a top concern (29%). In addition, a greater share of non-Hispanics than Hispanics say addressing global climate change is not an important concern to them (32% vs. 18%).

(PEW)

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Rising Share of U S Adults Are Living Without a Spouse or Partner

As relationships, living arrangements and family life continue to evolve for American adults, a rising share are not living with a romantic partner. A new Pew Research Center analysis of census data finds that in 2019, roughly four-in-ten adults ages 25 to 54 (38%) were unpartnered – that is, neither married nor living with a partner.¹ This share is up sharply from 29% in 1990.² Men are now more likely than women to be unpartnered, which wasn’t the case 30 years ago.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Two-Thirds Of Republicans Want Trump To Retain Major Political Role; 44% Want Him To Run Again In 2024

About one-in-five Republicans (22%) say that while they would like Trump to continue to be a major political figure in the United States, they would prefer he use his stature to support another presidential candidate who shares his views in the 2024 election rather than run for office himself. About a third of Republicans (32%) say they would not like Trump to remain a national political figure for many years to come.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Two-Thirds Of U S Catholics Unaware Of Pope’s New Restrictions On Traditional Latin Mass

Overall, 65% of U.S. Catholics say they have heard “nothing at all” about the pope’s decision to impose new limits on the use of the traditional Latin Mass. About three-in-ten of those surveyed (28%) have heard “a little” about the change, and 7% say they have heard “a lot” about it. All the survey respondents who indicated they have heard at least a little about the new limitations received a follow-up question asking whether they approve or disapprove of the pope’s decision. Their opinions are divided about evenly between those who approve (9% of all Catholics) and those who disapprove (12% of all Catholics) of Francis’ actions.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 7, 2021

States Have Mandated Vaccinations Since Long Before Covid-19

Of the 16 immunizations the CDC recommends for children and teens, all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) mandate diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, rubella and chickenpox. In addition, every state except Iowa mandates immunization against mumps. (The diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines usually are given as a single combined shot, as are the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines.) Except for the chickenpox vaccine, which became available in the United States in 1995, all those vaccines have been around for 50 years or more.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 8, 2021

The 2020 Census Counted 126.8 Million Occupied Households, Representing 9% Growth Over The 116.7 Million Households Counted In The 2010 Census

The 2020 census counted 126.8 million occupied households, representing 9% growth over the 116.7 million households counted in the 2010 census. That single-digit growth was more anemic than the prior record low percentage growth of households (11%) during the previous decade, as shown in the 2010 census. The decennial census has counted the number of U.S. households on a consistent basis dating back to 1850.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Nine-In-Ten U S Adults Say There Are Conflicts Between People Who Support Different Political Parties

(PEW)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Nine In 10 Remote Workers Want To Maintain Remote Work To Some Degree

Forty-five percent of full-time U.S. employees worked from home either all (25%) or part of the time (20%) in Gallup's September update of its monthly employment trends. These figures are unchanged from remote working rates in July and August, signaling that U.S. companies' return-to-office plans remain on hold. Most recently, 25% worked exclusively from home, and 20% worked some of the time from home, for a total of 45% working remotely.

(Gallup)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

67% Of Americans Perceive A Rise In Extreme Weather, But Partisans Differ Over Government Efforts To Address It

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) in the West South Central census division – an area hit hard by Tropical Storm Nicholas and Hurricane Ida – say they’ve experienced extreme weather within the past year. A majority of adults (59%) say the same in the Mid-Atlantic region, which was affected by recent heavy rains associated with Ida. By contrast, far fewer say they’ve experienced extreme weather in other regions over the past year, including in the South Atlantic (34%) and East North Central census divisions (31%).

(PEW)

OCTOBER 14, 2021

Half Of U S Congregants (54%) And Nearly Three-Quarters Of Evangelical Churchgoers (73%) Say Their Clergy Have Not Said Much About Covid-19 Vaccinations Either Way

The survey finds that a growing share of Americans are now attending religious services in person. Among those who say they typically attend services at least once or twice a month, a clear majority (64%) report that they actually have gone in person in the past month, the first time that has been the case in three surveys conducted since the pandemic began. The resumption of in-person attendance has been accompanied by a decline in the share of both U.S. adults overall and regular worshippers who say they have watched religious services online or on TV in the past month.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 15, 2021

Roughly Eight-In-Ten Members (82%) Of The Historically Black Protestant Tradition Who Attend Church Once A Month Or More Have Received At Least One Dose Of A Covid-19 Vaccine

Roughly eight-in-ten members (82%) of the historically Black Protestant tradition who attend church once a month or more have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 60% of those from the same religious tradition who attend church less often, according to the analysis, based on a survey conducted Aug. 23-29, 2021. A later poll, fielded Sept. 20-26, sheds some light on possible explanations for this large gap: Nearly two-thirds of regular churchgoers in the historically Black Protestant tradition (64%) say that their pastors have encouraged people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 15, 2021

(Canada)

Pandemic Within A Pandemic: Most (69%) Believe There Is A Mental Health Pandemic In Canada

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across Canada, the results of a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services suggests that we may be dealing with another pandemic, within the coronavirus pandemic. The poll reveals that most (69%) Canadians believe there is a mental health pandemic in their country. Millennials and Gen Xers are among the most likely to believe that Canada is facing a mental health pandemic (75% vs. 61% of Gen Zers & Boomers).

(Ipsos Canada)

4 October 2021

Four In Ten (40%) Working Canadians Say They’ve Experienced A Decline In Their Physical Health Throughout The Pandemic

As vaccination rates have ramped up across the country, and businesses are starting to prepare for a post-pandemic future, working Canadians continue to face a number of health-related challenges. Four in ten (40%) working Canadians say they’ve experienced a decline in their physical health throughout the pandemic, according to a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC Insurance. The inability to socialize with family, friends or co-workers (72%) and work-related stress (58%) were also cited as factors impacting overall health.

(Ipsos Canada)

5 October 2021

AUSTRALIA

(Australia)

Inflation Expectations Up 0.2% Points To 4.5% In September; Highest For Three Years Since October 2018

In September 2021 Australians expected inflation of 4.5% annually over the next two years, up 0.2% points and the highest Inflation Expectations for three years since October 2018. Inflation Expectations are now a large 1.2% points higher than a year ago in September 2020 (3.3%). Inflation Expectations are still 0.2% points below their long-term average of 4.7% but are now a full 1% point higher than the record low 2020 monthly average of 3.5%.

(Roy Morgan)

October 11 2021

Movement In The Sydney CBD At Only 17% Of Pre-Pandemic Levels Before Greater Sydney Prepared To Leave Lockdown

The average 7-day movement level in the Sydney CBD hit a low of 8% of pre-pandemic levels in late July and have slowly increased since then as restrictions have been eased as vaccination rates have increased rapidly. Late last week NSW hit a mark of 70% of the population aged 16+ being fully vaccinated which is the mark that was set for the ending of the lockdown of Greater Sydney this week.

(Roy Morgan)

October 11 2021

Sydney FC Is The Most Widely Supported A-League Club As Support Rises For The League Overall

Close behind in second place are traditional rivals Melbourne Victory with 632,000 supporters, an increase of 46% on a year ago. The Victory have been the second most successful club in the A-League Men winning 4 Championships with their most recent win in the 2017-18 season.
In third place on the supporter ladder is the Brisbane Roar with 559,000 supporters, an increase of 17.9% on a year ago. The Roar have won 3 A-League Men Championships but have not tasted success in the Grand Final for over seven years since winning in 2013/14.

(Roy Morgan)

October 12 2021

(New Zealand)

Support For New Zealand’s Labour/Greens Government Increased 3.5% Points To 55% In September

The governing parties are now 14% points ahead of the Parliamentary opposition National/Act NZ/ Maori Party on 41%, up 0.5% points since August. The increase was driven by another rise in support for Act NZ up by 3% points to 16%. This is a new record high in support for Act NZ. In contrast, support for National was down 2% points to 23%, the lowest since March 2021. Support for the Maori Party was down 0.5% points to 2%.

(Roy Morgan)

October 04 2021

MULTICOUNTRY STUDIES

On Average, Eight In 10 (79%) Across 30 Countries Say That Their Mental And Physical Health Are Equally Important

On average, eight in 10 (79%) across 30 countries say that their mental and physical health are equally important when it comes to their personal health. But only one-third (35%) think that healthcare systems in their country treat mental and physical health with equal importance. A larger proportion (42%) think healthcare treats physical health with greater importance. While over half (53%) across all countries say that they think about their mental wellbeing ‘fairly’ or very’ often, people tend to think about their physical wellbeing more frequently (68% fairly/very often).

(Ipsos Egypt)

8 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-eg/world-mental-health-day-2021

Italians And The French Are The Most Pessimistic With One In Five (19% And 20% Respectively) Saying That It Is Already Too Late To Avoid The Worst Effects Of Climate Change

Climate change is a sizeable concern across the countries studied. A majority of adults in Italy (84%), Spain (79%), France (79%), Germany (70%), Denmark (68%), Sweden (66%) and Britain (65%) all say they are worried about climate change and its effects. Italians and the French are the most pessimistic about what can be done to tackle climate change, with one in five (19% and 20% respectively) saying that it is already too late to avoid the worst effects. Spaniards have the most positive outlook, with just 1 in 11 (9%) saying it is too late, and three quarters (73%) saying that the worst effects can still be avoided if drastic actions are taken.

(YouGov UK)

October 12, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/12/eurotrack-what-do-europeans-think-about-climate-ch

A Global Country Average Of 64% Rate Doctors As Trustworthy

The Ipsos' Global Trustworthiness Index has reported the level of trust afforded to many types of professionals since 2018, providing comparisons between the pre-pandemic world and where we are today. Across 28 markets around the world, a Global Country Average of 64% rate doctors as trustworthy, followed by scientists at 61% and teachers on 55%. On foot of the trust table, only 10% on average believe politicians are trustworthy, 14% say the same about government ministers, and 15% advertising executives.

(Ipsos Egypt)

12 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-eg/global-trustworthiness-index-2021

Diversity And Division In Advanced Economies

When it comes to perceived political and ethnic conflicts, no public is more divided than Americans: 90% say there are conflicts between people who support different political parties and 71% say the same when it comes to ethnic and racial groups. More in South Korea than in any other public surveyed say there are conflicts between people who practice different religions (61%) in their society. Although it is ethnically and racially diverse – and even boasts four official languages that correspond with the dominant ethnic groups – fewer Singaporeans (25%) report conflicts between people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds than nearly any other public surveyed.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/10/13/diversity-and-division-in-advanced-economies/

ASIA

711-712-43-01/Polls

Record 196,000 Students Cut Class In Japan During Fy2020 During Covid-19 Crisis

The ministry noted the COVID-19 pandemic as one reason for the record truancy, saying it has taken a toll on many children’s physical and mental health.

The total number of suicides by students reported by elementary, junior high and senior high schools also hit a record high 415, the most since the ministry began keeping statistics in 1974.

The actual number, however, could be higher than the figure schools reported.

National Police Agency data shows 507 elementary, junior high and senior high school students, including those whose cause of death has yet to be officially determined, took their own lives in fiscal 2020.

The number of elementary and junior high school students refusing to attend classes for 30 days or more rose 8.2 percent from fiscal 2019, which ended in March 2020, according to the latest survey of elementary, junior high and senior high schools as well as boards of education.

Of the 196,127 truant students, 63,350 were elementary school children, up 10,000 from the previous fiscal year. The figure for junior high school students rose 4,855 year on year to 132,777.

The number of truant elementary and junior high school children has risen for eight consecutive years and in fiscal 2020 marked the highest since comparable data became available in fiscal 1991.

“Lethargy and anxiety” was the most cited reason for truancy, at 46.9 percent, up 7 percentage points from fiscal 2019. It was followed by “disruptions to daily lives, playing and delinquency,” at 12 percent.

The survey also showed 20,905 elementary and junior high school students were not deemed truant but chose not to attend classes for 30 days or more out of fears of contracting the novel coronavirus.

The number of truant senior high school students dropped by 7,049 from fiscal 2019 to 43,051.

Of the 415 suicides, seven were elementary school children, three more than the previous fiscal year.

The figure for junior high school students rose by 12 from a year earlier to 103, while that for senior high school students was up 83 year on year to reach 305.

Suicides by female senior high school students surged by 68 from a year ago to 131.

Among the most cited factors behind suicides were family trouble, mental illness, difficulty in choosing the course of one's life and being scolded by parents.

An education ministry official indicated that more students refused to attend classes following changes to their lifestyle brought on by the pandemic, such as nationwide school closures in spring last year and staggered commuting times.

“They may have not felt like going to school due to disruptions to their daily lives and restrictions on school events,” the official said.

Family problems and being scolded by parents were also commonly cited factors behind suicides of students in past surveys by the ministry.

The official said the pandemic may have exacerbated such problems as many children spent more time with their families at home.

The latest survey also showed 517,163 cases of bullying were reported by elementary, junior high and senior high schools in fiscal 2020, down 15.6 percent from a year earlier. The figure dropped for the first time in seven years.

The ministry attributes the decline to less interaction between children amid the pandemic.

A total of 18,870 cases were reported of students receiving abusive messages on computers or smartphones, up 5.3 percent from fiscal 2019. The figure marked the highest since a question asking about the issue was added to the survey in fiscal 2006.

(Asahi Shimbun)

October 14, 2021

Source: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14460781

711-712-43-02/Polls

More Than Half 51% Of Urban Indians Think This Is A Good Time To Invest In Real Estate

As brands prepare to lure consumers this festive season with attractive offers and deals, YouGov’s Diwali Spending Index, an indicator of spending propensity, reveals a recovering appetite to spend during festive season among urban Indians.

When it comes to their property buying plans, more than a third (35%) of urban Indians said they plan to invest in real estate in the next six months. Among these intenders, adults between 25-44 years are most likely to say this than the rest. Among the genders, men were more likely than women to say they will invest in property, while among the city-tiers, we see tier I (39%) and tier II (38%) city residents holding this view more strongly than tier-3 residents (30%).

The data shows that while most of the people looking to invest in real estate are planning to buy residential property (72%), a considerable proportion (25%) wants to invest in commercial properties.

The top way of financing their plans is through home loans (as said by 38%). Using savings is the next best option (30%), followed by financing their dream by selling another property (21%).

Availability of loans at a low interest rate could be encouraging people to explore the idea of investing in real estate this festive season, as 16% of respondents claimed this to be their reason. However, delay of the original plan to buy due to the pandemic has emerged as the top reason to invest in property this year (19%). Other reasons include better prices (17%), intention to save and buy a property in 2021 (17%), and availability of funds due to recent financial gains (15%).

Affordable properties under ₹50 Lakhs have emerged as the most preferred with more than two in five (44%) willing to invest that amount. The ₹50 Lakh - ₹1 crore budget range property is at the second spot with 41% urban Indians looking to invest that amount. People residing in North India (44%) and those staying in the Tier I cities (48%) are most likely to invest within this price range.

Only 9% property seekers in urban India are willing to invest in properties above ₹ 1 crore.

When asked about their sources of information regarding property and real estate, recommendations from family and friends (48%), real-estate websites (45%) and local brokers or property agents (42%) appeared as the top sources that people have used or are using in their quest to find the ideal property.

Among real-estate websites, 99Acres and MagicBricks appear to be the most popular, and roughly two-thirds claim to have used these sites for information.

OLX Homes, Housing.com, Nobroker, India Property, Real Estate India are some of the other websites used by urban Indians for this purpose.

(YouGov India)

October 6, 2021

Source: https://in.yougov.com/en-hi/news/2021/10/06/more-half-urban-indians-think-good-time-invest-rea/

711-712-43-03/Polls

Anxiety Of Parents Increased To 46% In Face-To-Face Education

Face-to-face education in primary, secondary and high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education (MEB) started on September 6, after one and a half years. Millions of students were required to attend classes five days a week. This longed-for environment created satisfaction for parents and students. It can be stated that the increase in the number of cases in the last days after this opening has caused the parents to become uneasy and the anxiety situation to rise. After the opening of the schools, the increase in the number of students caught in the corona virus and the quarantined classrooms increased the anxiety rate and feelings of anxiety in the parents. Half of the parents, 46%, stated that they felt more uneasy because their children were going to school.

The Number of Parents Who Think School Measures Are Insufficient

They also started to feel more anxious about their children going to school

While 55% of parents find it safe for their children to go to school, one out of every 3 parents state that they do not find it safe. While the rate of parents who said they did not find it safe in the first week of school opening was 27%, this rate has increased to 34% in the past 3 weeks. Percentage of Parents Who Stated That They Would Accept PCR Testing to Their Children 37%

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that PCR tests cannot be applied to children without parental consent. 37% of parents say that they will allow their children to undergo PCR testing, and 50% say they will not.

Percentage of Parents Who Think It's Right to Have Children PCR Tested in Schools 38%

In order to see the course of the epidemic, 38% of parents find PCR testing correct in some schools. On the other hand, the rate of parents who oppose this decision is 45%.

Ece Ertürk, Leader of Ipsos Social Research and Qualitative Research Service Units, Member of the Executive Board, made evaluations about the data; It is very important for parents with school-age children that schools are open and face-to-face education continues. As many of us experienced last year, the uncertainty about the school life that affects the general life and working order of the family or the inability to prevent possible problems creates anxiety. For this reason, the general expectation is that the planning and the actions to be taken are made on time.

With the increase in the number of cases seen in schools, the rate of those who think that the measures taken are insufficient started to increase compared to the first weeks. Although this situation has started to cause uneasiness, more than half of parents with school-aged children continue to think that it is safe to go to school face-to-face for their education. On the other hand, taking the necessary precautions at the right time and ensuring the continuity of face-to-face education is also an important need for parents; For this reason, we see that there is a divergence in opinions about whether or not PCR testing should be done in schools, and an attitude that varies according to the course. Whether or not PCR testing should be given to children in schools and how it will be applied seems to be one of the issues to be discussed in the coming days.

(Ipsos Turkey)

4 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/tr-tr/yuz-yuze-egitimde-velilerin-tedirginligi-46ya-yukseldi

MENA

711-712-43-04/Polls

In Expo 2020 Dubai, An Average Of 42% Respondents Agreed These Brands Fit Well With The Event

After a year’s delay, Expo 2020 Dubai opened its doors to visitors eager to witness the first World Expo in the region. As brands prepare to engage consumers in a unique way, YouGov evaluated brand and sponsorship awareness for Expo 2020 Dubai partner brands before the start of the event.

Understanding of sponsorship

When asked if they believe specific brands are suitable sponsors for the Expo 2020 Dubai, an average of 42% respondents agreed these brands fit well with the event.

While technology is at the heart of the Expo, the diversity of cultures is reflected in the food, with Emaar leading the way as the official catering, hotel and hospitality partner. Most respondents agreed Emaar Hospitality fits well with Expo 2020 Dubai (51%). Other high scoring brands on this aspect were Mastercard (48%) and DP World (47%).

Going one-step further, an average of 32% agreed with the statement, ‘I believe this brand complements and contributes towards the objective of Expo 2020 Dubai’. Agreement was the highest for brands such as SAP (39%), Dubai Expo’s official Beverage and Snack Partner PepsiCo and Dulsco (36% each).

Brand activity around sponsorship

When asked if respondents recall seeing an advertisement recently about specific partners related to Expo 2020 Dubai, highest awareness was registered for ads by Emirates, Etisalat and Dubai Chamber. At the other end of the spectrum, brands such as Dettol, L’Oréal and Dominos registered Ad Awareness of below 20%.

At an overall level, average awareness of Expo-linked ads across all Expo 2020 Dubai partners was 26%.

Awareness of Expo 2020 Dubai-related activations such as partner programmes, events and pavilions varied by partner, but on average just under nine out of ten UAE residents had a high positive Impression of and likelihood to engage with activations that they were aware of.

Impact of sponsorship on brand metrics

When measuring Buzz score (whether one has heard something positive or negative about a brand), one of the sixteen metrics measured in YouGov’s daily brand tracking tool BrandIndex, we saw partners experienced an average 20% positive Buzz uplift as a result of the Expo 2020 Dubai sponsorship (by comparing those aware of the sponsorship vs unware). Highest Positive Buzz uplift was experienced by brands like Swatch (36%), Dettol (31%) and SAP (30%).

The positive Buzz is likely to have boosted Impression (whether one thinks positively or negatively about a brand), with partners experiencing an average of 15% positive Impression uplift because of Expo 2020 Dubai sponsorship. Brands that benefited the most to date were Siemens, PepsiCo and Nissan, with all receiving uplifts of over 20%.

Commenting on this, Sam Dawson, Commercial Director, YouGov MENA, said, “The data shows the power of association with Expo 2020 Dubai even before opening, indicating not only that consumers are receptive to partner brands but that their involvement can positively contribute to the event. As the Expo progresses and engagement opportunities increase, there is significant headroom for growth in sponsor awareness and potential further uplift in brand metrics throughout the marketing funnel.”

(YouGov MENA)

October 11, 2021

Source: https://mena.yougov.com/en/news/2021/10/11/expo-2020-dubai-powerful-association-sponsor-brand/

AFRICA

711-712-43-05/Polls

About 8 In 10 Nigerians (76 Percent) Especially In The North-East (93 Percent) Zone Believe That Nigeria Is Better As A Nation

Survey Background

Survey Findings

Trend analysis revealed a consistent drop in the level of patriotism from 2013 to 2021 and an 8 percent decrease when current findings are compared with results obtained in 2019.

Conclusion

(NOI Polls)

October 5, 2021

Source: https://noi-polls.com/independence-day-poll-report-2/

711-712-43-06/Polls

More Than Half (55%) Of South Africans Believe That “Most” Or “All” Police Officials Are Involved In Corruption

South Africans’ trust in the country’s police is at historically low levels, new Afrobarometer

survey findings show.

Popular trust in the South African Police Service (SAPS) has declined by about half over the

past decade. A majority of citizens think most police officials are corrupt, and some citizens

report having to pay bribes to obtain police assistance or avoid problems with the police.

These findings point to a crisis of confidence in the SAPS, which has been plagued by

scandals over the past decade. Four of the country’s seven post-apartheid National Police

Commissioners have been dismissed from office and convicted on charges ranging from

fraud and corruption to dishonest conduct.

On 7 October, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that National Police Commissioner

Khehla Sitole had been served with a notice of intention to suspend him, stoking speculation

that the country’s top police official may be dismissed in the coming weeks. Sitole, who was

appointed in 2017 by former President Jacob Zuma, has been accused of misconduct in

connection with his alleged role in frustrating internal police investigations.

Key findings

▪ Only one-fourth (26%) of South Africans say they trust the police “somewhat” or “a

lot” – about half as many as in 2011 (49%) (Figure 1).

o Distrust of the police is at its highest level of the past two decades, with 73% of

citizens saying they trust them “just a little” or “not at all.”

o The police trail other public institutions in popular trust, including the army (53%

“somewhat” or “a lot”), the courts (43%), and the president (38%) (Figure 2).

▪ More than half (55%) of South Africans believe that “most” or “all” police officials are

involved in corruption, the worst assessment recorded over the past decade. In

addition, 36% think that “some” police officials are corrupt (Figure 3).

▪ Among citizens who say they had contact with the police during the previous 12

months, one in four (24%) report having to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour in

order to avoid problems, while 15% say they did so to get the assistance they needed

(Figure 4).

(Afrobarometer)

8 October 2021

Source: https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/press-release/South%20Africa/news_release-trust_in_south_african_police_drops_to_new_low_amid_instability_in_leadership-afrobarometer-v2-8oct21.pdf

WEST EUROPE

711-712-43-07/Polls

The Conservatives Have Now Dropped To 41% In Red Wall Vote Intention

Ahead of the Conservative party conference, YouGov polling data shows a definite mixed bag for Boris Johnson and his government. Despite ongoing domestic policy crises, the Conservatives still lead in voting intention, with Labour unable to cut through and fully catch up.

However, the Conservative lead is certainly slender and fragile – as a brief Labour lead in the polls two weeks ago after the National Insurance tax rise announcement showed.

Last week, we revealed that the Conservatives would be set to lose 12 Blue Wall and 17 Red Wall constituencies to Labour, if an election were held tomorrow. Labour were catching them up in terms of vote intention, but the Conservatives still enjoyed a healthy lead in both areas.

Now, however, YouGov data shows the Conservatives and Labour neck and neck in the so called ‘Red Wall’ of pivotal Northern, Midlands, and North Wales constituencies. A multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) model of constituency vote intention shows that the Conservatives could be set to lose up to 32 Red Wall seats to Labour, if an election were held tomorrow.

According to our MRP model, estimated using almost 10,000 respondents, the Conservatives have now dropped to 41% in Red Wall vote intention. That’s seven points down on 2019, and two points below their 2017 showing under Theresa May.

Labour, meanwhile, have gone up two points, from 38% in 2019 to 40% now, just one point behind Johnson’s party. While this is somewhat encouraging news for Keir Starmer, it still represents a 10-point drop for them on their 2017 result.

According to our latest data, if an election were to be held tomorrow, four Red Wall Conservative constituencies would be firmly back in Labour’s hands (including Redcar, North West Durham, and Heywood and Middleton). Another 14 (including Stoke-on-Trent Central, Bolton North East, and Wrexham) would also be likely to fall, and a further 14 (including Darlington, Blyth Valley, and Leigh) are too close to call.

The Conservatives still hold on strongly to 10 of their 2019 election seizures in the region (including Don Valley, Bishop Auckland, and Dudley North), with a slightly weaker hold over a further nine seats that they would nonetheless still be likely to keep (including Wakefield, Bolsover, and Workington).

Wider woes

The British public are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the government’s performance – including on key issues such as inflation – and are beginning to lose faith in Johnson as a leader.

A majority of the public now disapprove of the government’s record to date, with the latest figures indicating 54% disapproval versus 26% approval. Furthermore, as prices continue to rise, supply chain issues worsen, and the fuel crisis hits, a majority of the public now also think that the government is handling inflation (54%) and the economy (55%) badly (versus 26% and 33% respectively who believe they are managing them well).

Boris Johnson’s personal ratings have taken a serious hit too, with 60% now thinking he is doing badly as Prime Minister (vs 35% well), and 41% of the public believing he should stand down as leader of the Conservative party (36% believe he should remain).

What will make this most uncomfortable for Prime Minister are the figures among 2019 Conservative voters. As of now, over a quarter (27%) believe he is doing a bad job, and almost one-in-five (18%) think he should resign (on the other hand, 69% think he is doing well, and the same figure believe he should remain in post).

(YouGov UK)

October 04, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/04/new-yougov-mrp-model-shows-conservatives-losing-32

711-712-43-08/Polls

More People Are Unconfident In The Police (48%) Than Confident (43%)

Following several high-profile murders of young women, including that of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens, coupled with botched responses from police commanders, new YouGov data reveals the extent of the damage this has caused to public confidence.

This is a stark decrease of 10 points since late February/early March, when 53% had a lot/fair amount of confidence and 40% had not very much or none. However, between that survey and one at the end of the month – a period which coincided with Sarah Everard’s murder – these figures narrowed, and had remained at that level until deteriorating further this month.

This decline in confidence is actually highest among men, with the number of men lacking confidence in the police increasing from 48% in September to 53% now. Among women there has been a more modest shift, from 40% to 43%.

With this in mind, we asked Brits about their trust in the police in general, the Met, local forces and individual police officers. The police in general are positively viewed by the public, with 65% saying they trust them, and only 31% saying they don’t. People outside of London give similar results when asked about their local police force (by 65% to 28%), and individual police officers are likewise largely trusted (by 56% to 26%).

But, when asked specifically about the Metropolitan Police in London, trust dramatically decreases. Only 33% of the British public trust the Met, and 42% say they do not. Distrust is highest among 18-24 year olds, at 51% to 23%. Distrust is also higher amongst men (46%), than women (37%), a pattern witnessed across all of our measures of trust towards police. Labour voters have less trust in the Metropolitan police (distrusting them by 29% to 49%) than Conservative voters, who are divided on the issue (by 38% to 38%).

Londoners, however, remain for the most part confident in the Met, with 57% trusting them vs 39% distrusting them. This stands in contrast to Britons elsewhere, who tend to view the force with suspicion.

(YouGov UK)

October 06, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/06/more-britons-now-unconfident-confident-police-deal

711-712-43-09/Polls

Death Survey Findings On Value Of Life: Religious Britons Found More Egalitarian On Value Of Life Than Ir-Religious

How many people have wished death on someone?

Among Britons who actively practice their religion, a quarter (26%) say they have sincerely wished for someone to die, with more of those who say they don’t regret it (15%) than those who do (11%).

Is it ok to be pleased that someone has died?

YouGov research reveals that over half of Britons (56%) think it can be acceptable to celebrate someone’s death, while 23% say that can never be the case.

(YouGov UK)

October 06, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2021/10/06/yougov-death-study-value-life-and-celebrating-deat

711-712-43-10/Polls

Britons Think The Government Are Handling Taxes Badly (60%), With Just 25% Saying They’re Doing A Good Job

Economic recovery post-COVID was a key talking point at the Conservative party conference this week, with rising prices and tax rates featuring heavily. Our latest tracking data suggests that the public are not enamoured by the government’s handling of either of these areas, with this trickling over into perceptions of their overall handling of the economy.

As YouGov highlighted recently, the public have been losing trust in the government over inflation, with prices rising over the summer and Britons now being hit with big new energy bills. New figures now show just a quarter (26%) think the government are handling the issue well, compared to 53% who say they are handling it badly.

The handling of these two areas has also impacted how the government are perceived to be handling the economy overall, with the public disapproving by 54% to 34%. Approval around the economy had been diminishing over the summer, but the biggest change in opinion came between 19 September – when 47% of people said the government was handling the issue badly – and 26 September when that figure had risen to 55%.

Worse still for the government, this shift in opinion across all three areas is also occurring among Conservative voters. This is particularly notable when it comes to tax: at the end of August 59% of Tory voters thought the government was handling tax matters well, compared to 24% badly. As of the most recent poll, 47% say they are handling it well and 42% say badly.

By 58% to 10% Britons think the economy remains in a bad state, only a slight improvement compared to March when the country was still in lockdown. They are just as pessimistic about Britain’s future financial prospects: just one in five think things will get better in the next year, compared to 53% who say the economic situation will worsen.

The Tories reputation for handling the economy is slipping away

As a result of these woes, the general public are now just as likely to say Labour are the best party to handle taxation as they are the Conservatives, with both parties getting 25% of the vote on this issue.

However, despite a slight narrowing, Starmer’s party are still a long way off the Tories when it comes to trust in handling the economy in general. Three in ten (29%) think the Conservatives are best on this issue, compared to 19% who say Labour, although this still represents a tightening from 33% vs 17% in mid-September.

The Conservatives are also at risk of losing their reputation as the low-tax party. In fact, the public are now more likely to say taxes would rise under the Conservatives (64%) than under a Labour government (56%).

And on the trade-off between taxes and public spending, the public are about as likely to say the government is taxing too much (28%) as too little (26%), while 19% think they’ve got the balance right. This is the first time since Boris Johnson became prime minister that so many people think taxes are too high. Conservative voters in particular are concerned about the idea of increased taxes with 33% saying the government taxes too much, up from 25% last month.

(YouGov UK)

October 07, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/07/most-britons-now-say-government-are-handling-econo

711-712-43-11/Polls

The Majority (57%) Of The Public Oppose Protesters Being Given Prison Sentences For Blocking Motorways, Although A Third (34%) Would Support Such A Punishment

Insulate Britain protesters have spent the past three weeks blocking junctions on various motorways around the country, to bring attention to the issue of climate change and petitioning the government to do more to make homes energy efficient.

The protesters have clashed with drivers and police, and the latest YouGov polling shows that the public's patience, and support, is waning – 72% now oppose the group's actions, up 13pts compared to when the protests first began in mid-September.

The proportion of Brits who believe that this kind of protest hinders the cause of the wider climate change movement has also jumped. Almost three quarters (73%) of the public now say this sort of action damages public perceptions of the climate change movement, up 9pts on when this was originally asked after the first two days of protests. Just 5% think this kind of action is helpful to the cause.

Public oppose prison for protesters

In an effort to stop the protesters, the government has taken out several court injunctions to prevent protesters from blocking the M25, the Port of Dover, and various A roads in and out of London. Protesters who are served with an injunction face a fine or a prison sentence, but this has done little to deter activists, with over 100 Insulate Britain protesters being served with an injunction at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday.

A previous YouGov survey showed that Britons support custodial sentences being an option for dealing with the protestors. However, the public seem more nervous about protestors actually being jailed in practice. The majority (57%) of the public oppose protesters being given prison sentences for blocking motorways, although a third (34%) would support such a punishment. Men are much more likely to support this approach to tackling protesters, with 39% supporting imprisonment compared to just 3 in 10 (30%) women.

(YouGov UK)

October 08, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/08/three-weeks-motorway-climate-change-protests-publi

711-712-43-12/Polls

Two Thirds Of Britons (63%) Know Someone Who Has A Mental Health Problem

Ahead of World Mental Health Day, new YouGov research shows that approaching two thirds of Britons (63%) know someone who has a mental health problem, including a quarter (26%) who say they suffer from such issues themselves.

A third of Britons say they have a family member with mental health issues, 29% say a friend suffers and 15% list another acquaintance who does too.

Only a quarter of Britons (25%) say they don’t know anyone with mental health problems, with the rest responding either ‘don’t know’ to the question premise (5%) or that they would prefer not to answer (7%).

The older Britons are, the less likely they are to say they know anyone with mental health problems, or to suffer from them themselves.

While almost half of 18-24 year olds (49%) say they suffer from mental health issues, this falls to 31% among 25-49 year olds, to 24% among 50-64 year olds and to just 10% among those aged 65 and older.

Fully four in ten older people (42%) say they know no-one with mental health problems, compared to just 12% of 18-24 year olds.

Men are also less likely to report having a mental health problem than women (23% vs 29%) and are more likely to deny knowing anyone else with such a problem (32% vs 19%).

Four in ten Britons lack confidence in their ability to help a loved one with their mental health

When it comes to helping out someone with mental health issues, four in ten Britons (39%) say they do not feel well equipped to do so. Men are particularly likely to feel this way, at 45% to 33% of women.

Despite the big differences we saw among age groups on knowing someone with mental health problems, the gaps on feeling able to help someone are much more modest. While a third of 18-24 year olds (33%) feel like they would find it difficult to help someone with mental health problems, this rises to 39% among the 25-49 and 50-64 age groups and 41% of those aged 65 and above.

Overall, half of Britons (53%) say they feel well equipped to support a loved one with their mental health, although only 9% feel “very well” equipped to do so.

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2021/10/10/how-many-britons-have-mental-health-problem-one-fo

711-712-43-13/Polls

Nearly Three In Ten Men (28%) And One In Five Women (18%) Have Misconceptions About Mental Health

As World Mental Health Day approaches, YouGov data shows that stigma around mental health is much more common among men than women.

Among nine common misconceptions about mental health, men are more likely to agree with all but two.

Men are likewise nearly twice as likely as women to believe that “rich people with mental health issues lack perspective and don’t know what real problems are” at 23% to 12%.

One in seven men (14%) believe people with mental health issues can choose to stop feeling bad if they just try hard enough – a view shared only by 4% of women. Mental illnesses are medical conditions, influenced by biological factors, life experiences and family history – not a mood that can change quickly.

Similarly, some 12% of men say it’s ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ true that people with mental health issues tend to be violent and unpredictable, while only one in 20 women (5%) agree. This is untrue – the vast majority of people with a mental illness are not violent.

Another harmful misconception that’s more prevalent among men is that mental health problems are a sign of weakness, with 11% of men believing this compared with only 2% of women. Separate studies show that men are less likely to feel they have someone to confide in and also have much higher suicide rates.

The most common misconception among Britons about mental health is equally common among women and men, however, with respectively 39% and 37% believing that nothing can be done to prevent mental health issues. But according to the Mental Health Foundation, stopping mental health problems before they start is possible.

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2021/10/10/men-are-much-more-likely-women-have-misconceptions

711-712-43-14/Polls

Three Quarters Of Britons (77%) Say Society Should Consider Mental And Physical Illnesses As Equally Important

But does society actually give the two types of illnesses parity of esteem? Britons are sceptical: only one in seven of (15%) believe that society currently considers mental and physical health issues to be of equal importance. Approaching two thirds of Britons (63%) say society prioritises physical health, while 9% believe it puts mental health first.

Britons see depression as more serious than anxiety

So if Britons do consider mental and physical health problems to be equally serious, then how serious do they consider the most common mental health problems to be?

Asked as part of a question looking at attitudes to a range of 16 different ailments, 89% of Britons say they consider depression to be a serious condition, including 45% who say it is a “very serious” condition and a further 44% said they believe it is fairly serious.

Within the range of responses, these are comparable results to HIV, which 85% see as serious (48% very/37% fairly). It is also a similar score to that given to other mental health issues like PTSD, eating disorders and bipolar disorder.

Anxiety, another very common mental health disorder, is generally seen as less serious than depression. While three quarters of Britons (75%) consider it a serious affliction, the number saying they consider it “very serious” falls to 25%. This puts the condition close in the public mind to issues like asthma and arthritis.

From our list, the public see schizophrenia as the mental health condition with the highest severity. Nine in ten (90%) consider it serious, including 60% who say it is very serious.

Cancer came at the very top of our list, with 96% of Britons considering it serious and including 87% who see it as very serious. This was followed by heart disease, which 95% say is serious (73% very serious) and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which 94% say is serious (72% very serious). This trio of diseases also happen to be the three biggest causes of death in the UK (excluding coronavirus more recently).

Younger people tend to view many physical conditions as less grave than older Britons, with only 57% of 18-24-year-olds saying heart disease is very serious, compared with three quarters of those aged 65+ (77%).

In contrast, they are the group that’s most likely to deem common mental health disorders as ‘very’ serious. For example, half of 18-24-year-olds (52%) classify eating disorders as such, compared with 39% of those aged 65+. Likewise, 31% of young Britons say anxiety is highly serious, compared with a fifth of older Brits (22%).

(YouGov UK)

October 10, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2021/10/10/do-britons-really-regard-physical-and-mental-healt

711-712-43-15/Polls

Government's Covid-19 Charity Support Fund Delivers Hope To 6.5 Million People Across Country

Minister for Civil Society praises results of ‘truly outstanding’ impact report, which highlights that 6.5 million people have been helped by Government’s £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF)
Fund has helped to reduce loneliness, improve support for mental health and charities for young people across the country during the pandemic
Data shows CCSF helped local organisations survive and communities to thrive amid COVID-19 challenges

The report, published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF), highlights how the Coronavirus Community Support Fund has benefited communities in every region of the country, from Cornwall and Hertfordshire to County Durham and Merseyside. It has helped charities and social enterprises to carry out critical work and continue protecting the most vulnerable members of society in the wake of the pandemic.

This included children and young people (supported by 39% of grantholders), people with mental health conditions (40%) and older people (32%).

Today’s results have shown that without the £200 million fund almost one fifth of the recipients would have been forced to close their doors, while over half revealed that they would have delivered significantly fewer services if it had not been for assistance from the CCSF.

Over 6,200 employees of these organisations were brought back or prevented from being furloughed, and over 4,200 new staff members were recruited, the report estimates. This is in addition to grantholders mobilising 136,000 existing volunteers and over 47,000 new volunteers that they had not worked with previously.

Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Civil Society said:

I’m immensely grateful for the volunteers and charity staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They have been truly heroic, and the backbone of our communities. Today’s results demonstrate the significant role the Coronavirus Community Support Fund has played in towns and cities across the country. As part of our wider £750 million of direct report for charities during the pandemic, this government funding meant organisations could continue their vital work helping more than six million people in need.

The CCSF has also played a major role in the Government’s commitment to:

Tackling loneliness: the data shows 63% of grantholders consciously promoted ways of building social connections during the pandemic, with 79% reporting that beneficiaries felt less lonely, and 70% reporting beneficiaries had more access to social contact. This is in addition to the Government’s £34 million of funding to organisations supporting people who experience loneliness, and its ongoing ‘Lets Talk Loneliness’ campaign.
Supporting young people: for example, HQ Can supported 27 young people experiencing unemployment and mental ill health through mentoring, creative workshops and access to professional recording environments, resulting in ten receiving paid work experience opportunities.
Promoting the benefits of volunteering: for example, One King Ministries in Havering provided activities and services for the elderly to support their wellbeing, reduce loneliness and help them with daily challenges. For some of the team, volunteering supported them through difficult personal circumstances such as bereavement, depression and suicidal thoughts.

The report also underlines the positive impacts felt by the army of volunteers who were mobilised during the pandemic. 84% of people who volunteered through the CCSF felt like they were making a difference, and 66% people felt it gave them a sense of purpose.

Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:

This report provides rich insight into the impact that £200 million in crisis funding made. With 6.5 million people receiving support from Coronavirus Community Support Fund grantholders, and more than 183,000 volunteers giving up their time with Coronavirus Community Support Fund projects, these findings help us appreciate the sheer scale of the response and the vital role played by communities. We were proud to work alongside Government to distribute this funding and we will use this evaluation to continue supporting communities across the country as they repair and rebuild following the pandemic.

The Coronavirus Community Support Fund formed part of the Government's unprecedented £750 million package of support for the sector during the pandemic, which has benefited over 14,000 charities.

(Ipsos MORI)

11 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/governments-covid-19-charity-support-fund-delivers-hope-6-5-million-people-across-country

711-712-43-16/Polls

18% Of The Britons Use Streaming Services As A Way To Follow Live Sport

Reports this week suggest that streaming service DAZN is on the verge of buying BT Sport for what could end up being a nine-figure sum.

The move is set to send ripples across the media, telecoms and sports worlds, setting a new benchmark for sports rights, as well as turning the spotlight onto the ways media and telco companies can attract and retain customers today. So, what does YouGov data tell us about the potential move?

Perhaps BT would have been more inclined to keep hold of its asset had it won a bigger market share over the years but BT Sport has lagged behind Sky Sports over the last 12 months, even as the sports fixture list has returned to normal. Currently, 8.2% of consumers say they have watched BT Sport in the past 30 days, compared to 12.9% who say they’ve watched Sky Sports.

Nevertheless, the sale is likely to suit all parties. DAZN will sweep up all of BT Sport’s hard-won sports rights, giving the streamer a strong foothold in a market that has so far been tough for it to crack. According to data from YouGov Profiles, 18% of the public now use streaming services as a way to follow live sport, making the UK sports streaming market ripe for an experienced outfit like DAZN.

Meanwhile, BT will walk away with money which it will invest in its telco and 5G businesses. But perhaps happiest of all will be Sky Sports, who will have seen off yet another competitor for its place at the top of the sports broadcasting tree – it’s reported that because of cross-licensing agreements, it will even be asked to sign off on the deal.

(YouGov UK)

October 12, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/technology/articles-reports/2021/10/12/who-wins-dazns-deal-bt-sport

711-712-43-17/Polls

Half Of The UK (47%) Say They Would Support The Government Adding A 'Green Tax' To Environmentally Damaging Goods

Despite a backdrop of rising public concern about climate change and the environment there remain barriers to UK consumers making more sustainable choices.

However, when asked about the government's priorities for the next few years, investment to support reducing carbon emissions ranks lower than a number of other issues - including funding for the NHS, social care, housing and unemployment. Further, there is no majority opinion on whether dealing with climate change should be prioritised at the cost of the economy (40%), or if economic growth should be the focus at the expense of the environment (34%).

Chart of priorities for government

The key barriers to making greener choices are a feeling that the benefits of sustainable choices are not worth the costs associated with them - a finding reinforced by the fact that 72% of the public agree that sustainable products are too expensive for those on lower incomes. Another important barrier is a lack of confidence in knowing what the 'right' choice is: for instance, 49% say it is too difficult to choose a produce or service which represents the more environmentally-friendly choice and a similar proportion (51%) say it is too difficult to understand how damaging some products are for the environment.

Chart of main barriers to more sustainable choices

Mike Clemence, a researcher at Ipsos MORI said:

The data shows that while the public are broadly favourable towards making greener choices this does not always translate into action – primarily due to motivational factors, such as a feeling that the benefits gained from sustainable choices do not justify their cost. Additionally, we see that sustainability is competing with a wide range of other concerns people hold about the country and economy.

(Ipsos MORI)

13 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/spending-back-sustainably

711-712-43-18/Polls

A Third Of Britons (35%) Deem Alcohol ‘Very Harmful’ To The User, While About Half (47%) Believe The Same About Its Costs To Society

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced last month that she has ordered a review into the harm that nitrous oxide causes, and is ready to take “tough action”. But while laughing gas, usually consumed through balloons, is reportedly the second-most used drug among young adults in the UK, Britons are not overly convinced about the harms when compared with other drugs.

In contrast, only three in ten people believe laughing gas is very damaging to the user (30%) and society (29%). Consultant psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist Adam Winstock, has said that laughing gas has “minimal risks to most users”, while making it illegal will “add the risk of criminality to all”.

Britons consider marijuana the least harmful substance among those included in the survey, with only one in four (25%) deeming it highly dangerous to regular users, while three in ten people (31%) say it’s very damaging in terms of societal costs. Controversially, Professor David Nutt has previously claimed that among a list of the most common drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and tobacco, alcohol is the most dangerous due to its harm to users and to others.

But crack cocaine is the drug most Britons describe as ‘very harmful’ to users (90%) and in societal costs (68%). Heroin scored similarly highly on these measures, with 88% saying it’s very damaging to users and two thirds (67%) to society.

The public are unconvinced that banning laughing gas would achieve much Drug experts have described the nitrous oxide ban as “completely pointless” and a “waste of time”.

The public are not convinced either: only one in four people (24%) believe making a drug illegal is an effective way of preventing people from taking it, while three in five (60%) say it’s ineffective.

This view is consistent across party lines – 60% of Conservative voters and 67% of Labour voters believe criminalising drugs is futile for prevention.

If criminalising drugs is ineffective, should they be treated more as a health issue?

While the public have little faith in current drug legislations, Britons are torn on whether drugs should be considered as more of a health or more of a criminal issue.

The most common answer is that it should be treated as both equally (36%), while three in ten (28%) lean more towards it being viewed as a health issue, and a quarter (24%) prefer to see it as a criminal matter.

Younger people are much less inclined to say drug use should solely be considered a criminal issue, with only 9% of 18-24-year-olds being of this opinion. They are instead split between it being purely a health concern (33%) or as both a health and criminal issue (32%).

In contrast, three in ten Britons aged 65+ (29%) say drug use should be considered a criminal matter – the highest of any age group. Meanwhile, a fifth (21%) would prefer to for it to be a health issue, while two in five (42%) say it should be both.

(YouGov UK)

October 13, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/13/while-government-pushes-ban-laughing-gas-brits-con

711-712-43-19/Polls

Latest REACT-1 Study Findings Show SARS-COV-2 Infection Rates Were Rising In Young People But Remaining Stable Overall

Findings covering 9 to 27 September 2021 from Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI
Study shows SARS-CoV-2 prevalence has increased to 0.83%, with 1 in 120 people infected, although the prevalence appears to be remaining stable overall.
The report found that the infection rate is growing among those aged under 18 and falling among those aged 18-54.
Vaccine effectiveness against infection overall was estimated at 63%-66%

Findings from the latest report of REACT-1, one of the country’s largest studies into COVID-19 infections in England, have been published today (Thursday 14 October) by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI.

Across the period of this round of the study, the report found that prevalence was stable or slightly rising across all age groups combined.

The main findings from the 14th round of the REACT-1 study were as follows:

The report found 764 positives from 100,527 swabs giving a weighted prevalence of 0.83%
However, there was some variation between age groups. Prevalence was growing in those aged 17 years and below with an R number of 1.18, while prevalence was decreasing in those aged 18-54 years with an R number of 0.81.
At the regional level, prevalence ranged from 0.57% in the South East to 1.25% in Yorkshire and The Humber. There was evidence of growth in both East Midlands and London with R of 1.36 and 1.59 respectively.
In people of Black ethnicity, prevalence was higher at 1.41% compared with white participants at 0.78%.
Prevalence was higher among larger compared with smaller households, ranging from 0.33% for single-person households to 1.75% for households with 6 or more persons.
Among households with one or more children, prevalence was also higher at 1.37% compared with 0.40% in households without children.
In those reporting two doses of vaccine, prevalence was 0.56% compared with 1.73% in unvaccinated people.
Among people who were in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, prevalence was 7.35% compared with 0.43% among those without such contact.
Across rounds 13 and 14 of the REACT1 study, analysis of weighted prevalence by time since receiving second dose of vaccine indicated higher prevalence at 0.55% (0.50%, 0.61%) for those who received their second dose 3-6 months before their swab compared to 0.35% (0.31%, 0.40%) for those whose second dose was within 3 months. Prevalence rates were uncertain for those whose second dose was more than 6 months previously.
However, prevalence was higher for unvaccinated individuals, at 1.76% (1.60%, 1.95%), than for participants who had received either one or two doses of vaccine.

The study also examined vaccine effectiveness against infection, comparing those who have received two doses of a vaccine against those who are unvaccinated. For all participants and all vaccines combined, vaccine effectiveness against infection was estimated to be 62.8% when adjusted for round, age, sex, index of multiple deprivation, region and ethnicity. Among the subset of participants reporting symptoms, vaccine effectiveness was 66.4% overall.

This is in line with estimates by UKHSA that after 2 doses, vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease with the Delta variant is approximately 65 to 70% with AstraZeneca and 80 to 95% with Pfizer-BioNTech.

UKHSA estimates that the vaccination programme in England has prevented hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and deaths. The vaccination programme has also been successful in weakening the link between infection, hospitalisation and deaths.

Today’s data demonstrates the need to remain vigilant and follow government guidance to receive both doses of vaccine when you are eligible and follow good public health behaviours to minimize spread of infection, to ensure that we continue to reduce the risk.

Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said:

These data demonstrate that while our vaccination programme continues to make a huge difference, the pandemic is not over. As we move towards winter, it is as important as ever that we continue to act responsibly in order to avoid transmission.

While cases remain high, the vaccination programme is ensuring that this does not translate to a similarly high number of hospitalisations and deaths. We are urging everyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination. It is the best way to reduce transmission and protect ourselves and those we love.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The phenomenal progress of our vaccination programme has built a strong wall of defence across the country, allowing us to live safely with this virus.

These findings shows how important it is for young people to get the jab to protect them from COVID-19, and for those eligible to get their booster vaccine to prolong their existing protection.

I urge anyone who needs one to get a jab as soon as possible – it’s vital to keep you and your family safe this winter.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme from Imperial’s School of Public Health, said:

Our latest data show that infections are high and rising in school-aged children. Households with children also had a higher prevalence of infection, suggesting that children may be passing on the virus to those that they live with. These trends reinforce how important it is for children aged 12 and above to get vaccinated and help curb the spread of infection, and minimise disruption to education.

Kelly Beaver, Managing Director, Public Affairs at Ipsos MORI said:

While the rise since our last REACT-1 round in prevalence is concerning, it is encouraging that there has not been a commensurate rise in hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19. The R number for under-18s is particularly encouraging, allowing children to spend more time in school learning.

Ipsos MORI is incredibly grateful to all those who have taken part in the REACT studies since April last year who have played a vital role in helping the Government understand the virus and how it has spread.

(Ipsos MORI)

14 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/latest-react-1-study-findings-show-sars-cov-2-infection-rates-were-rising-young-people-remaining

711-712-43-20/Polls

The Liberal Democrats Are Only Currently Holding On To Half Of Their 2019 Voters (51%)

Almost two years since the last general election, and with the next election not scheduled until 2024, the Conservative lead remains stubbornly strong (notwithstanding a blip around the announcement of the social care levy). With Parliament set to re-open next week following conference recess, YouGov has compiled all of our voting intention surveys in September – totalling some 24,000 respondents – to take a detailed demographic look at where the electorate stands.

2019 general election vote

The Liberal Democrats are only currently holding on to half of their 2019 voters (51%). Labour are the main benefactory, picking up a quarter of these voters (27%) while the Greens (10%) and Conservatives (9%) also benefit. As well as picking up votes from elsewhere, the Greens are holding on to 72% of their 2019 vote – impressive given smaller parties tend to experience more churn during election cycles.

The figures discussed above exclude those who are unsure how they’d vote in an election or say they will not vote. This is referred to as headline voting intention. However, outside of an election campaign a large number of the public say “don’t know” – at the moment this figure is at 19% for all adults. This figure differs by party, with one in five (19%) 2019 Conservative voters currently saying they don’t know how they’d vote, compared to 15% of 2019 Labour voters. It is far easier to win back those who are currently saying they’re unsure how they’ll vote than those who say they now support a different party. In 2017, after Theresa May announced a snap election, many undecided voters who’d backed Labour in 2015 eventually returned to the party, helping boost their headline voting intention in the polls. To get the full picture it is therefore useful to keep an eye on differential “don’t knows” amongst parties as well as the headline figures.

EU referendum vote

Between the 2017 and 2019 general elections, we saw Labour losing a lot of Leave voters and the Conservatives losing Remain voters. For example, the Tories kept hold of 92% of their 2017 voters who also voted Leave at the 2019 election, but only 65% of their 2017 voters who backed Remain.

This Brexit realignment now seems to have run its course, with both parties keeping the same proportion of 2019 voters regardless of whether they voted Leave or Remain. Where their lost voters have gone does vary by referendum vote though.

Labour have lost 9% of their 2019+Leave voters to the Conservatives compared to just 2% of their 2019+Remain voters. Twice as many of their Remain voters are going to the Greens (13%) as their Leave voters (7%). One in twelve Conservative 2019+Leave voters (8%) have moved to Reform UK, compared to 2% of their 2019+Remain voters.

Age and work status

Age remains a dividing line in British politics – the older someone gets, the likelihood they will be a Conservative voter increases and the chance they’ll be a Labour voter decreases. Just 15% of 18-24 year olds intend to vote Conservative at the next election, compared to 61% of those aged 70+. Labour pick up half (49%) of the 18-24 vote share, while only one in six of those aged 70 and above intend to vote for them (17%).

The Green Party are also far more likely to attract younger voters, picking up 14% of the under 25 vote compared to 4% of those aged 70 and above. The Liberal Democrats’ vote remains fairly constant across age groups.

Heavily linked to age, the differences between the working and retired population are also stark. Those in work split 37% voting Labour to 33% voting Conservative. In contrast, retired adults are more than twice as likely to vote Conservative as Labour (56% vs 21%). There is very little difference in how full time and part time workers are voting.

Social grade and education level

The Conservatives remain ahead across social grades, but the gap is a lot closer among those who are more middle class. AB and C1 voters both marginally break to the Conservatives over Labour by 36% to 34%. C2 voters split 43% to 30% to Conservatives while for DE voters it is 39% to 33%.

The differences in voting depending on someone’s education are far larger than those for different social grades. Twice as many of those whose highest attained qualification is GCSE (or equivalent) are voting Conservative than Labour (51% to 26%), while amongst those who hold a degree this is almost reversed (41% are voting Labour, 25% Conservative). The Liberal Democrat vote share also differs a lot depending on education level with 12% of those in the high education level category voting for the party compared to 5% in the low group.

Education is heavily correlated with age as younger people far more likely to have attended university. However, when we look at education level split by older and younger people there are still notable differences. Amongst under 40s with a low education level, Labour have a 10-point lead over the Conservatives (39% to 29%) while for those with a degree the gap is 21-points (Labour 42%, Conservatives 26%). Amongst those aged 40 and above, the Conservatives are on 52% with the low education level group, 30 points ahead of Labour on 22%. While still ahead amongst the higher education level group, their lead is narrower (12 points) with the Conservatives on 41% and Labour on 29%.

(YouGov UK)

October 15, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/15/how-britain-voting-autumn-2021

711-712-43-21/Polls

Two In Five Brits (40%) Say They Have The NHS COVID-19 App Installed On Their Phones

Following the easing of COVID restrictions across the UK, it is no longer a legal requirement for businesses to make sure their patrons check-in via the NHS COVID-19 app. However, businesses are still being encouraged by the government to display the app’s QR codes to allow customers to check-in if they want to – but how many Britons have kept the app in the first place?

Younger Britons (18-24-year-olds) are the most likely to have done away with the app: 29% have done so, compared to 13% of those aged 65 and above.

Of those still with the app installed, many haven’t used it for weeks

While plenty of Brits still have the app installed, without the mandate to actively use it many are not doing so.

Approaching half (49%) of those with the app say it has been over a month since they used it to check in to a venue or location, while 18% say they have never done so. Only 9% of the app’s users say they had checked into a venue in the week before the survey was conducted,

Britons aged 65 and over with the app are the most likely to say they have used it within the last month to check into a venue (35%) compared to 26% of those aged between 25 and 49.

(YouGov UK)

October 15, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/15/are-britons-still-using-nhs-covid-19-app

711-712-43-22/Polls

Most French People Have An Aperitif With Their Family (56%)

The aperitif is a moment of sharing particularly appreciated by the French. Indeed, 74% of them say they take an aperitif at least once a month , and 49% at least once a week.

The 25-34 year olds seem to be the greatest followers: 57% say they take an aperitif at least once a week (significantly more than the national population).

YouGov carried out a RealTime study in order to learn more about this moment of consumption implanted in the daily life of the French.

Who do the French take an aperitif with?

Most French people have an aperitif with their family (56%) . In addition, 46% are used to doing it with friends, 40% with their partner and 8% with colleagues. It should also be noted that more than one in ten people are used to having an aperitif alone (12%).

Privileged places

The majority of French people who take an aperitif are used to doing so at home (82%), or with relatives (52%).

What are they consuming?

Foodstuffs

Overall, savory products are more successful than sweet products. In fact, savory aperitif biscuits come first (64%), followed by aperitif seeds (59%) and crisps (53%).

Regarding the preferred chip flavors, the French remain fairly traditional: the natural taste is the favorite among consumers of chips or aperitif biscuits (41%). The barbecue (15%) and cheese (12%) flavors come in 2 ^nd and 3 ^rd place respectively.

Note: among 18-34 year-olds, plain taste retains first place but is significantly less successful (31%). Barbecue is also in second position (21%), this time followed by the chicken flavor which registers a score of 13% among this population (vs. 6% nationally).

Drinks

At the national level, alcoholic drinks remain largely preferred during the aperitif ( 84% with alcohol vs. 41% without alcohol).

On the other hand, we observe that this tendency is much less strong among young people: 72% declare having the habit of consuming alcoholic drinks and 69% of non-alcoholic drinks.

The wine is the beverage which emerges most in French taking a drink ( 41% ). Beer (36%) and strong alcohol (28%) complete the Top 3 drinks consumed.

To note :

Blond beer is the type of beer preferred by the French who consume it during the aperitif (45%), followed by flavored (18%), white (13%), amber (13%) and dark beer (5%) .
The mojito is the favorite cocktail of the French who consume it during the aperitif (38%), followed by Piña Colada (12%) and Ti-punch (10%).

Which brands are most viewed by consumers?

By plugging this study into YouGov Profiles - our media segmentation and targeting tool - we were able to highlight the brands of crisps / crackers and the brands of beer most considered by consumers of this type of product at the time of the review. 'aperitif.

(YouGov France)

October 13, 2021

Source: https://fr.yougov.com/news/2021/10/13/les-francais-et-l-aperitif/

NORTH AMERICA

711-712-43-23/Polls

About Eight-In-Ten US Hispanics (81%) Say Addressing Global Climate Change Is Either A Top Concern Or One Of Several Important Concerns To Them Personally

Most Latinos in the United States say global climate change is an important concern, with a majority saying that it affects their local community at least some. Latinos broadly support an array of policy measures to address climate change and other environmental issues. And many say they are willing to help by making lifestyle changes, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

For Hispanics, climate change is not just a global, distant concern. About seven-in-ten Hispanic adults (71%) say climate change is affecting their local community at least some, a higher share than among non-Hispanic adults (54%), the April survey of U.S. adults found.

Some notable differences exist across demographic subgroups, in particular among Latino partisans. The vast majority (81%) of Latino Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say global climate change is affecting their local community, with roughly one-third (32%) saying the impact is affecting their community a great deal. By contrast, about half (52%) of Latino Republicans and Republican leaners say global climate change affects their local community at least somewhat, with just 14% saying it is having a great impact. Meanwhile, one-in-five Latino Republicans say global climate change does not affect their community at all, a view shared by only 2% of Latino Democrats.

Hispanic adults’ views on the local effects of climate change also vary by nativity. Among Hispanics born in another country, Puerto Rico, or another U.S. territory, about eight-in-ten (79%) say global climate change affects their local community a great deal or some, while 64% of Hispanics born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia say the same. The share increases to 87% among foreign-born Hispanics who have been in the U.S. for 20 years or less, with over a third (36%) saying global climate change affects their community greatly. By comparison, a quarter or less of Hispanics born in the 50 states or D.C. and foreign-born Hispanics who have lived in the country for 21 years or more (22% and 25%, respectively) say the same about their local communities.

Experiences that foreign-born Latinos had in places they lived before moving to the 50 states or D.C. may shape their views on climate change. As climate change makes extreme weather events more common globally, more people leave their homes, according to a 2018 report by the World Bank. Latin America – especially Central America – has been among the top sources of climate migration in recent years. The report estimates the region could see up to 17 million people migrate due to climate change by 2050.

More Hispanics than non-Hispanics say certain environmental issues are a big problem in their local communities. In the survey, participants were asked to assess how big a problem each of the following environmental issues is in their local community: too much garbage, air pollution, pollution of lakes, rivers and streams, safety of drinking water, and lack of parks and greenspace.

The largest differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics came on air pollution (70% vs. 49%) and safety of drinking water (56% vs. 38%). Hispanics (along with other non-White racial and ethnic groups) are disproportionately affected by air pollution, and are less likely to have access to drinking water that meets federal health standards, according to research by public health experts, climate scientists and social scientists.

The survey also found that a majority (56%) of U.S. Hispanics say that the area where they live has experienced an extreme weather event within the last year. California, Texas and Florida are home to more than half of the country’s Hispanic population, and each state’s Hispanic population increased by more than 1 million from 2010 to 2020. These states and others have also experienced an increase in wildfires, extreme heat, drought and flooding in recent years.

Hispanics say addressing global climate change is a priority. Overall, 75% of Hispanics say reducing the effects of global climate change needs be a “top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations, even if that means fewer resources for addressing other important problems today,” with 62% of non-Hispanics saying the same.

However, when asked how much they think the U.S. federal government is doing to address climate change, about two-thirds (67%) of Hispanics say the government is doing too little, a view widely shared across most demographic subgroups.

Hispanics also express more concern than non-Hispanics about what the federal government is doing to protect the environment on a number of specific issues. For example, roughly two-thirds (65%) of Hispanics say the federal government is doing too little to protect air quality, compared with 57% of non-Hispanics.

Nearly all Latinos (93%) say protecting the quality of the environment for future generations is very or somewhat important to them when thinking about proposals to reduce the effects of global climate change. This echoes previous findings from Pew Research Center’s National Surveys of Latinos, which found Latinos are concerned about the financial and overall well-being of their children and future generations.

Hispanics are also more likely than non-Hispanics to think human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels, contributes some or a great deal to global climate change (84% vs. 76%). This includes Hispanics being more likely to say human activity contributes a great deal to climate change (52%).

Latinos’ views vary among some subgroups, in particular by political party affiliation. Almost two-thirds (65%) of Latino Democrats say that human activity contributes a great deal to global climate change, compared with one-in-four Latino Republicans. Meanwhile, about two-thirds (66%) of foreign-born Latinos who have been in the U.S. for 20 years or less say that human activity contributes a great amount to climate change, compared with about half of foreign-born Latinos who have lived in the U.S. for 21 years or more and U.S.-born Latinos (49% and 48%, respectively).

Many Latinos are adjusting their daily habits to protect the environment. Majorities say they have taken several types of action in their everyday lives to help protect the environment, from reducing food waste (83%) to using less single-use plastic and less water (76% each). Additionaly, a majority of Latinos say they are taking action: Around eight-in-ten (82%) say they are making an effort at least some of the time to live in ways that help protect the environment, including roughly one-in-five (21%) who say they make an effort all of the time.

Some Hispanics are also hearing encouragement to get engaged in climate change efforts from those around them. Roughly three-in-ten (31%) say a friend or family member has encouraged them to become more involved in efforts to reduce the effects of global climate change. Many say inspiration is also coming from younger Hispanics. Half (50%) of Hispanics say seeing younger adults urging action on global climate change generally makes them more interested in addressing climate change themselves.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/04/most-u-s-latinos-say-global-climate-change-and-other-environmental-issues-impact-their-local-communities/

711-712-43-24/Polls

Rising Share of U S Adults Are Living Without a Spouse or Partner

The growth in the single population is driven mainly by the decline in marriage among adults who are at prime working age. At the same time, there has been a rise in the share who are cohabiting, but it hasn’t been enough to offset the drop in marriage – hence the overall decline in partnership. While the unpartnered population includes some adults who were previously married (those who are separated, divorced or widowed), all of the growth in the unpartnered population since 1990 has come from a rise in the number who have never been married.

This trend has broad societal implications, as does the growing gap in well-being between partnered and unpartnered adults. Looking across a range of measures of economic and social status, unpartnered adults generally have different – often worse – outcomes than those who are married or cohabiting. This pattern is apparent among both men and women. Unpartnered adults have lower earnings, on average, than partnered adults and are less likely to be employed or economically independent. They also have lower educational attainment and are more likely to live with their parents. Other research suggests that married and cohabiting adults fare better than those who are unpartnered when it comes to some health outcomes.

The gaps in economic outcomes between unpartnered and partnered adults have widened since 1990. Among men, the gaps are widening because unpartnered men are faring worse than they were in 1990. Among women, however, these gaps have gotten wider because partnered women are faring substantially better than in 1990.

The growing gap in economic success between partnered and unpartnered adults may have consequences for single men who would like to eventually find a partner. In a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 71% of U.S. adults said being able to support a family financially is very important for a man to be a good spouse or partner. Similar shares of men and women said this. In contrast, 32% of adults – and just 25% of men – said this is very important for a woman to be a good spouse or partner.

A growing share of adults are unpartnered

Americans’ marital and living arrangements have changed considerably over the past 30 years. The share of adults ages 25 to 54 who are currently married fell from 67% in 1990 to 53% in 2019, while the share cohabiting more than doubled over that same period (from 4% in 1990 to 9% in 2019).³ The share who have never been married has also grown – from 17% to 33%. All of this churn has resulted in a significant increase in the share who are unpartnered.

The growth in unpartnered adults has been sharper among men than women. In 1990, men and women ages 25 to 54 were equally likely to be unpartnered (29% of each group). By 2019, 39% of men were unpartnered, compared with 36% of women.

In terms of their demographic characteristics, prime-working-age single adults are somewhat younger than their counterparts who are married or living with a partner. Among adults ages 25 to 54, the median age of those who are unpartnered was 36 in 2019; this compares with 40 among partnered adults.

Some may assume that, as the median age of first marriage continues to rise, unpartnered adults are merely lagging behind rather than foregoing partnership altogether. That might not be the case. Among adults ages 40 to 54, there has been a significant increase in the share who are unpartnered from 1990 (24%) to now (31% in 2019).

There are differences by race and ethnicity in the share of prime-working-age adults who are partnered and unpartnered. Among those ages 25 to 54, 59% of Black adults were unpartnered in 2019. This is higher than the shares among Hispanic (38%), White (33%) and Asian (29%) adults. For most racial and ethnic groups, men are more likely than women to be unpartnered. The exception is among Black adults, where women (62%) are more likely to be unpartnered than men (55%).

Partnership status also differs by nativity. Foreign-born adults at prime working age were less likely (28%) to be unpartnered in 2019 than their native-born peers (40%). This pattern is apparent among adults of each major racial or ethnic origin. For example, 29% of foreign-born Hispanic adults were single, compared with 46% of native-born Hispanic adults. Some of this difference in partnership status may reflect that foreign-born prime-working-age adults are older than their native-born counterparts.

On average, unpartnered adults have worse economic outcomes than partnered adults

On a variety of outcomes, be it education, employment or living arrangements, unpartnered adults fare differently than partnered adults. Because the size of the gap associated with partnership differs between men and women, results are presented separately for both genders.

When it comes to educational attainment, 26% of unpartnered prime-working-age men had completed at least a bachelor’s degree in 2019. This markedly trails the 37% of partnered men who had finished college. Similarly, 33% of unpartnered women in 2019 had finished at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 43% of partnered women.

Outcomes differ for married, cohabitating and unpartnered adults

This analysis is based on the premise that adults who live with a romantic partner – whether they are married or cohabitating – have significantly different (often better) economic outcomes than those who are not living with a romantic partner. But it’s important to note that outcomes also differ between married and cohabiting adults.

Cohabiting adults tend to fare better than unpartnered adults, and married adults fare better still. On many dimensions, cohabiting adults are more similar to married adults than to single adults. There are exceptions as well as differences by gender. For example, among women, those in cohabiting relationships (80%) are more likely to be employed than unpartnered (77%) or married (73%) women. Among men, while those who cohabit (89%) are less likely to be employed than those who are married (92%), they’re much more likely than single men to have a job (73%).

Since a relatively small share of adults ages 25 to 54 are cohabiting (9%), combining them with married adults to paint a fuller picture of those who are living with a romantic partner does not markedly change the size or the direction of the gaps that exist between partnered and unpartnered adults. (See Appendix A for a detailed breakdown.)

The economic outcomes of prime-working-age men differ substantially by partnership status. In 2019, 73% of men without a partner were employed, compared with 91% of partnered men. The gap in employment among women, which is more modest, goes in the opposite direction: 77% of single women held a job in 2019, compared with 74% of women with a partner.

In 2019, the median earnings of men without a partner were $35,600, lagging far behind those of partnered men ($57,000).⁴ Unpartnered women also trail their partnered counterparts in median earnings ($32,000 and $40,000, respectively), but the gap is not as large.

Another measure of economic standing compares an individual’s income with a threshold of the resources needed to live independently.⁵ In this analysis, an income of 150% of the official poverty level for a one-person household ($19,950 based on a poverty cutoff of $13,300 in 2019) is used as a benchmark for living independently. Adults whose total income is below this threshold are considered “financially vulnerable.”

In 2019, 36% of unpartnered men would have been considered financially vulnerable based on their individual income. This is nearly three times the share of partnered men with vulnerable incomes (13%). In contrast, there was little difference in the share of unpartnered and partnered women who were financially vulnerable (37% and 38%, respectively). The parity among women partly reflects the differing child care responsibilities of partnered versus unpartnered women. As reported below, partnered women are about twice as likely as their unpartnered counterparts to live with one or more of their own children, and mothers are generally less likely to work full-time and full-year.

There are stark differences in the living arrangements of partnered and unpartnered prime-working-age adults, particularly among men. Roughly three-in-ten unpartnered men (31%) lived in the home of at least one of their parents in 2019. Among men who were married or cohabiting, only 2% of them resided in the home of their parent(s). Some of the gap reflects that unpartnered men tend to be younger than partnered men. However, even when looking only at unpartnered men ages 40 to 54, a sizable share (20%) lived in their parent(s)’ home.

About a quarter (24%) of unpartnered women lived with at least one parent in 2019 (compared with only 2% of partnered women).

As of 2019, 5% of unpartnered men resided in institutionalized group quarters. (For adults of prime working age, this largely refers to adult correctional facilities.) This compares with 1% of partnered men. The share of women who were living in an institutional setting (whether they are partnered or not) was extremely low – 1% for unpartnered and fewer than 1% for partnered women.

Not surprisingly, unpartnered adults are much less likely than partnered adults to have a child of their own in their household. Among men, 8% of the unpartnered lived with a child of their own in 2019. (This includes stepchildren and adopted children as well as biological children.) Among partnered men, 61% were living with at least one child. The gap is smaller among women: Roughly a third of unpartnered women (32%) lived with at least one child, compared with 60% of partnered women.

Researchers have considered why this relationship between partnership status and economic outcomes exists, particularly for men. Is it driven by the fact that men with higher levels of education, higher wages and better prospects for the future are more desirable potential spouses? Or is there something about marriage or partnership that gives a boost to a man’s economic outcomes? The research suggests that both factors are at play. Married men earn more because high earners are more likely to marry in the first place. Cohabiting men also receive a wage premium. In addition, marriage or partnership may make men more productive at work, thus adding to the wage premium that already exists.

Less attention has focused on the benefits of partnership for women, but marriage and cohabitation are associated with wage gains for childless women. The effects may be more modest for women, but marriage benefits men’s and women’s wages through similar processes.

Since 1990, worse outcomes for unpartnered men and better outcomes for partnered women

The economic gap between single and partnered adults has generally grown wider since 1990, though exceptions exist. The change has been greater on some measures among women than men, and the dynamics underlying the shifts reflect different realities for each group. For women the gaps have widened not because unpartnered women are faring worse now than 1990, but rather because partnered women have experienced significant improvements in their outcomes. In contrast, the economic gap between unpartnered and partnered men has widened mainly because the former are faring worse on most indicators.

In 1990, similar shares of unpartnered (23%) and partnered (22%) women had completed at least a bachelor’s degree. Both groups have improved their educational attainment, but partnered women have made greater strides. By 2019, 43% of partnered women were college graduates, resulting in a significant gap in educational attainment between the two groups.

Partnered women have closed some of the gap in employment with single women. In 1990, single women were significantly more likely to be working than partnered women. Employment has increased among both groups, but especially among partnered women – a 7 percentage point gap has narrowed to 3 points. This is due in large part to the growing share of mothers who have entered the labor force since 1990.

In 1990, unpartnered women at the median out-earned their partnered counterparts ($32,300 vs. $26,900). Unpartnered women’s median earnings have since remained stagnant, while partnered women’s median earnings have increased by $13,100. A $5,400 gap in favor of single women has reversed and as of 2019 had become an $8,000 earnings gap in favor of partnered women.

Relatedly, the income received by partnered women has increased substantially since 1990, and far fewer of them lack the resources to live independently. The share of single women who are financially vulnerable has not changed much (from 38% in 1990 to 37% in 2019).

When it comes to living arrangements, compared with 1990, a significantly higher share of single women now reside with at least one parent, so the gap on this score between single and partnered women has widened (from 16 to 23 percentage points by 2019).

Differences in the shares of single and partnered women who are living with a child have not changed substantially. Both groups were slightly less likely to have a child in their household in 2019 than in 1990.

Turning to men, single men have made only minimal gains in educational attainment since 1990. By 2019, 26% of single men had completed at least a bachelor’s degree, up from 24% in 1990. Educational gains have been much more substantial for partnered men over this period. The share who had completed at least a bachelor’s degree rose 11 percentage points from 1990 to 2019, increasing the educational gap between partnered and unpartnered men from 3 to 11 percentage points.

Single men have fallen further behind their partnered counterparts educationally at a time when job opportunities for less-educated men in the U.S. labor market have become more limited. This is reflected in trends in employment and earnings. Many studies have documented rising joblessness among less-educated men of prime working age accompanied by falling real wages since 1980. There is less consensus on the factors contributing to these declining fortunes, but explanations usually include those involving both the demand for less-educated workers and the supply.

Unpartnered men were less likely to be employed in 2019 (73%) than they were in 1990 (76%).⁶ Consequently, a 16 percentage point gap in job holding between single and partnered men has widened somewhat to 18 points. The gap in earnings has widened even more. Single men are the only one of the four demographic groups to have experienced a significant decline in their inflation-adjusted median earnings. The typical earnings of unpartnered men have fallen by $1,500 since 1990. Combined with the earnings gains among partnered men, the earnings gap between single and partnered men widened from $16,200 in 1990 to $21,400 in 2019.

As is the case among women, unpartnered men are more likely now to be living with a parent than they were in 1990, while the share of partnered men doing so has remained about the same. Some 31% of single men lived with a parent in 2019, up from 27% in 1990. The gap in the share of men who are institutionalized has widened over this period.

When it comes to living with children, 8% of unpartnered men did so in 2019, compared with 61% of partnered men. The gap between the two groups of men has narrowed somewhat over the past 30 years but remains quite large.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/10/05/rising-share-of-u-s-adults-are-living-without-a-spouse-or-partner/

711-712-43-25/Polls

Two-Thirds Of Republicans Want Trump To Retain Major Political Role; 44% Want Him To Run Again In 2024

Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they would like to see former President Donald Trump continue to be a major political figure for many years to come, including 44% who say they would like him to run for president in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 13 to 19.

The share of Republicans who say Trump should continue to be a major national figure has grown 10 percentage points – from 57% to 67% – since a January survey that was conducted in the waning days of his administration and in the immediate wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Views among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are essentially unchanged over this time period. Today, 92% of Democrats say they would not like to see Trump continue to be a major national political figure in the future, while just 7% say they would like to see this.

Among Republicans, views on whether Trump should continue to be a major political figure or run for office in the next presidential election vary by age, education and ideology.

For example, 72% of Republicans with some college experience or less (who make up a clear majority of Republicans) say Trump should be a major figure, with half saying he should run for president in 2024. By contrast, a narrower majority (54%) of Republicans with a college degree or more say Trump should remain a prominent figure, including just 28% who say he should run for office in the next presidential election.

Among conservative Republicans, there is widespread support for Trump remaining a national political figure: Three-quarters prefer this, including 49% who say he should run for president again in 2024. Moderate and liberal Republicans are more divided: 51% say he should play an ongoing political role, with 33% saying he should run for president himself in 2024; 47% say he should not continue to play a major political role.

Nearly two-thirds of Republicans say their party should not be accepting of elected officials who criticize Trump

A 63% majority of Republicans say their party should be not too (32%) or not at all (30%) accepting of elected officials who openly criticize Trump, according to the new survey. Just 36% of Republicans say the GOP should be very (11%) or somewhat (26%) accepting of officials who do so.

By contrast, about six-in-ten Democrats say the Democratic Party should be very (17%) or somewhat accepting (40%) of Democratic elected officials who openly criticize President Joe Biden.

Majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike say their party should be accepting of elected officials who agree with the other party on important issues. Two-thirds of Democrats say the Democratic Party should be accepting of Democratic officials who agree with the GOP on important issues. A slimmer majority of Republicans (55%) say the GOP should be accepting of officials who agree with Democrats on some important issues.

The survey also asked about the acceptability of elected officials from one party calling their counterparts in the other party “evil.” A majority of Democrats (57%) and about half of Republicans (52%) say their parties should be not too or not at all accepting of officials who do this.

About four-in-ten Democrats (41%) say their party should be accepting of elected officials in their own party who call GOP officials evil, with 13% saying their party should be very accepting of this. Among Republicans, 46% say their party should be accepting of officials who call their Democratic counterparts evil, including 18% who say the party should be very accepting of these officials.

The share of Republicans who say their party should be accepting of elected officials who openly criticize Trump has declined since March. Today, 36% of Republicans say it is at least somewhat acceptable for Republican elected officials to openly criticize Trump, down from 43% earlier this year.

There has also been a decline in the share of Democrats who say their party should be accepting of Democratic elected officials who openly criticize Biden. A narrow majority of Democrats (57%) say this is acceptable, down from 68% in March.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/06/two-thirds-of-republicans-want-trump-to-retain-major-political-role-44-want-him-to-run-again-in-2024/

711-712-43-26/Polls

Two-Thirds Of U S Catholics Unaware Of Pope’s New Restrictions On Traditional Latin Mass

Pope Francis’ decision to impose new restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass in July drew a strong reaction from Catholics in the United States. While some Catholics welcomed the news, others criticized the pontiff, saying the revival of the Latin Mass in recent years has been key to rejuvenating the faith of younger Catholics.

Despite the controversy, most U.S. Catholics are unaware of Pope Francis’ recent actions, with roughly two-thirds saying they have heard “nothing at all” about the new restrictions, according to a Pew Research Center survey of adults conducted Sept. 20-26, 2021. But there are pockets of opposition to the new rules, with weekly Mass-goers and Catholic Republicans expressing higher levels of disapproval than those who do not go to Mass regularly and Catholic Democrats. Nevertheless, Francis remains a very popular figure among American Catholics, with about eight-in-ten continuing to express a favorable view of the pope, little changed since March.

Most Catholics around the world attend Masses conducted in the vernacular (or local language), but some prefer the traditional Latin version that was used for centuries prior to the Second Vatican Council. In 2007, Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, expanded access to the traditional Latin Mass by allowing priests to use the older form “without any further permission from the Vatican” or their bishop, according to Catholic News Service. Francis said in July that the new limitations, which reverse Benedict’s move, are designed to promote unity within the Church.

Francis’ decision requires priests currently using the traditional Latin rite to “request authorization from their bishop to continue doing so,” according to Catholic News Service. The new rules also require bishops to “determine if the current groups of faithful attached to the old Mass accept Vatican II,” and forbid bishops from authorizing “the formation of any new pro-Latin Mass groups in their dioceses,” The Associated Press reported.

All the survey respondents who indicated they have heard at least a little about the new limitations received a follow-up question asking whether they approve or disapprove of the pope’s decision. Their opinions are divided about evenly between those who approve (9% of all Catholics) and those who disapprove (12% of all Catholics) of Francis’ actions. An additional 14% of U.S. Catholics say they have heard at least a little about the change, but either have no opinion on it or declined to give their opinion.

Catholics who attend Mass weekly are both more likely to be aware of the new restrictions and more inclined to oppose them than Catholics who attend less frequently, the survey finds.

Nearly six-in-ten Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more often have heard at least a little about the new restrictions, and roughly three-in-ten say they disapprove of them. By contrast, just 7% of Catholics who attend Mass once or twice a month or a few times a year disapprove of the pope’s decision, as do 6% of Catholics who rarely or never go to church. Majorities in both of these groups say they have not even heard about the new rules.

Political affiliation also is tied to views about the new Mass guidelines. Catholics who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party are roughly three times as likely as Catholic Democrats or Catholics who lean toward the Democratic Party to oppose the new rules (20% vs. 6%), though majorities in both groups say they are unfamiliar with the issue.

There is little difference on these questions by age, although Catholics ages 50 and older are slightly more likely than younger Catholics to have heard about the issue, and to say they have no opinion about it.

Meanwhile, views of Pope Francis have remained fairly steady among U.S. Catholics recently, even within segments of the Catholic community that express higher-than-average disapproval of the new rules about the traditional Latin Mass.

Overall, 83% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of Pope Francis, compared with just 14% who express an unfavorable view of him. That’s little changed from March 2021 (82% vs. 14%, respectively).

Surveys prior to February 2020 were conducted by telephone, while later ones used a representative sample of Americans conducted on the Center’s online American Trends Panel. (For a discussion of the impact of switching from telephone survey administration to web surveys for measuring attitudes about Pope Francis, see “Americans, including Catholics, continue to have favorable views of Pope Francis.”)

Among U.S. Catholics who say they attend Mass at least weekly, 83% express a favorable view of Pope Francis, virtually indistinguishable from the 84% who said this in March. And among Catholic Republicans, 71% now express a favorable view of him, little changed from the 73% who said the same in March.

The study continues to find political polarization in the way Catholics view the pope: The share of Catholic Democrats who have a favorable view of Francis is 20 percentage points higher than it is among Catholic Republicans.

Political polarization also extends to views about Pope Francis’ personal characteristics.

Catholic Republicans are less inclined than Catholic Democrats to say “yes” when asked whether positive words like “compassionate,” “humble” and “open-minded” describe Pope Francis – though majorities of Catholics in both parties say the pope does embody these traits.

And Catholic Republicans are more likely than Catholic Democrats to ascribe certain negative attributes, including “out of touch” and “naive,” to Pope Francis. Nearly half of Catholic Republicans say Pope Francis is “too liberal” (49%), while just 16% of Catholic Democrats say this. There is also a difference in how Catholic Republicans and Democrats view the state of the pope’s health. In July, before Francis announced the new rules about the traditional Latin Mass, he underwent surgery to remove half his colon and spent 10 days in the hospital.

By a 57% to 34% margin, the majority of Catholic Democrats say they think Francis is “in good physical health.” But Catholic Republicans are divided on this question, with 45% saying they think the pope is in good health and 49% saying they don’t think so.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/07/two-thirds-of-u-s-catholics-unaware-of-popes-new-restrictions-on-traditional-latin-mass/

711-712-43-27/Polls

States Have Mandated Vaccinations Since Long Before Covid-19

Many Republican governors reacted furiously after President Joe Biden said he would require employees at large businesses to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. But Republican- and Democratic-led states alike already require hundreds of thousands of their citizens – infants, toddlers and schoolchildren, mostly – to be vaccinated against a panoply of diseases. In fact, mandatory childhood immunizations have been a feature of American society since the 19th century.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends routine vaccination against 16 diseases from birth through age 18. The CDC recommendations, in turn, inform individual states’ vaccine mandates: Typically, children who haven’t received the required shots for their age can’t attend school (public, private or parochial) or enroll in child care programs, though there are exemptions for religious, medical or other reasons.

Under Biden’s plan, all companies with more than 100 workers will have to either require their employees be immunized or undergo weekly testing. Biden also acted to mandate shots for federal contractors and most federal workers, and expanded a previously announced vaccine mandate for nursing-home workers to cover virtually all health care workers.

Some states already mandate certain vaccinations for specific categories of adults. New York, for example, requires that all workers in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities be immunized against measles and rubella. Rhode Island requires child care workers to not only be immunized against several common childhood diseases, but to get an annual flu shot, too. Several states have specific vaccination mandates for college students.

But in the main, most vaccine mandates apply to children and teens. We studied state laws, regulations and information from state health departments to assess how widely mandated the CDC’s vaccine recommendations are.

Among newer childhood vaccines, though, state mandates are something of a mixed bag. Only two states (Alabama and South Dakota) don’t require vaccination against hepatitis B at some point in a child’s life, but about half (24) don’t require it for hepatitis A. Just six states – five of them in the Northeast – require annual flu vaccines for child care or preschool enrollment, and none do so for K-12 students.

Three vaccines – against rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib – typically are recommended for children younger than 5 years old. (Hib, despite what its name might imply, doesn’t cause the flu, but it can cause a range of other ailments, from mild ear infections to potentially deadly meningitis and blood infections.) However, while all but four states mandate the Hib vaccine for day care or pre-K, 10 don’t require the pneumococcal shot, and only eight require immunization against rotavirus.

The remaining two vaccines, against human papillomavirus (HPV) and meningococcal disease, are recommended for teens and older children around age 11 or 12. A majority of states (33, as well as D.C.) require the meningococcal vaccine, although Massachusetts is phasing in its requirement and Vermont only requires it for students living on campus. But only D.C., Hawaii, Rhode Island and Virginia require the HPV shot, which protects against cervical and other cancers but has been controversial because HPV is transmitted sexually.

Vaccination mandates in the U.S. date back to the 19th century, when many cities and states started requiring children to be immunized against smallpox; the Supreme Court upheld such mandates in a landmark 1905 decision. A combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis became available in 1948, and it was quickly added as a routinely recommended shot.

In 1977, the World Health Organization’s Expanded Program on Immunization set a goal of giving every child in the world access to immunization against six diseases by 1990: dipththeria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles and tuberculosis, or TB. (Infants and small children are commonly vaccinated against TB in countries where the disease is prevalent. In the U.S., however, only children who are specifically at risk for contracting TB – or adults in high-exposure settings, such as health care workers – are offered the shot.)

(PEW)

OCTOBER 8, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/08/states-have-mandated-vaccinations-since-long-before-covid-19/

711-712-43-28/Polls

The 2020 Census Counted 126.8 Million Occupied Households, Representing 9% Growth Over The 116.7 Million Households Counted In The 2010 Census

Growth in the number of U.S. households during the 2010s slowed to its lowest pace in history, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released 2020 census data.

From 2010 to 2020, the number of households increased by 10.1 million – fewer than in any decade from 1950 to 2010. For example, in the 1970s, when the adult population was much smaller, the U.S. added 16.9 million households.

The subpar growth in households over the last decade matters because household formation has implications for the broader economy. It can impact the demand for housing and stimulate both single family and multifamily construction. Associated with that is spending for durable goods such as furniture and appliances. The slowdown in economic growth over the 2010s is partly a reflection of weak household formation and low levels of home building.

Several long-term demographic trends are affecting U.S. household growth. A fundamental driver of household growth is population growth. The population residing in households (that is, those who do not live in group quarters such as dorms, prisons or nursing homes) grew by only 7.5% in the last decade, the slowest population growth since the 1930s.

Beyond population growth, another demographic trend also slows growth in the number of households: Multigenerational family living has been increasing. In 2016, 20% of the U.S. population lived in multigenerational family households, up from 12% in 1980. Almost all of these involve two or more adult generations living under one roof rather than in separate households.

More broadly, the U.S. racial or ethnic groups that are growing most rapidly are less likely than other groups to live in their own households, in part because adults in these groups are younger. Asian and Hispanic adults – the fastest growing racial or ethnic groups in the U.S. – are less likely than White and Black adults to live in separate households. In 2020, there were 42.2 households for every 100 Hispanic adults and 41.9 households for every 100 Asian adults. White (53.3 households per 100 adults) and Black adults (55.0 households per 100 adults) were more likely to live in separate households.

Another factor affecting household growth is the declining tendency of adults to live alone. Throughout much of the 20th century, American adults had been increasingly living alone. That trend has slowed markedly since the early 2000s. Adults ages 65 and older are the most likely to live alone. The share of older adults living alone peaked in the mid-1990s (32%) and has since retreated (27% as of 2020).

The rate at which adults are living in their own household declined over the past decade among younger and older adults alike, with the exception of those ages 55 to 64. Still, older adults remain more likely than those who are younger to live in their own households, in part because incomes rise as people get older and they have more economic resources to set up their own household. In 2020, there were 34.7 households per 100 adults ages 18 to 34, compared with 63.2 households per 100 adults ages 65 and older. Overall, the household formation rate declined slightly from 51.5 households per 100 adults in 2010 to 50.9 households per 100 adults in 2020.

Some geographic trends may also be contributing to diminished household growth. The U.S. population is increasingly likely to live in metropolitan areas. Today, 14% of the adult population is in rural areas, down from 16% in 2010. Adults in rural areas are more likely to live in their own households (54.9 households per 100 adults) than adults in metropolitan areas (50.2 households per 100 adults).

Rising housing costs are also likely undermining household growth. Nationally, rents have been rising much faster than inflation in general. From 2010 to 2020, the consumer price index for rent of primary residence rose 37%, compared with an increase of 13% for the CPI for all items except for shelter. Home prices have roughly doubled since 2000, according to the Case-Schiller national home price index.

Census experts had previously noted the slow household growth over the decade and surmised that household growth might lag population growth over the decade, resulting in the first ever increase in household size. That did not come to pass, as the average household size decreased from 2.58 (2010) to 2.55 (2020).

Slow household growth has played out differently across the states and the District of Columbia. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia had double-digit growth since 2010, with Utah leading the nation (20%). Conversely, 18 states had household growth of 5% or less, with West Virginia as the only state to experience a decline in the number of households (-3%). The growth (or decline) in households across states largely reflects population changes during the decade.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/12/u-s-household-growth-over-last-decade-was-the-lowest-ever-recorded/

711-712-43-29/Polls

Nine-In-Ten U S Adults Say There Are Conflicts Between People Who Support Different Political Parties

The United States stands out among 17 advanced economies as one of the most conflicted when it comes to questions of social unity. A large majority of Americans say there are strong political and strong racial and ethnic conflicts in the U.S. and that most people disagree on basic facts. And while Americans are not alone in this regard – France and South Korea also stand out as strongly conflicted societies – findings from a new Pew Research Center report reveal exactly how the U.S. is more divided than other societies surveyed.

Nine-in-ten U.S. adults say there are conflicts between people who support different political parties, while an overall median of 50% say the same across all advanced economies surveyed. Similarly, about seven-in-ten Americans say there are conflicts between people with different ethnic or racial backgrounds in the U.S., more than all the other publics surveyed. As a comparison, only about a quarter in Singapore and Taiwan and a third in Spain say the same. On religious and urban-rural conflicts, the U.S. has the third-highest share saying there are conflicts in each case. The only places where a larger share holds these views are France and South Korea.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say that racial and ethnic discrimination is a serious problem in the U.S., compared with a 17-public median of 67% who say racial and ethnic discrimination is a serious problem in their societies. There is wide variation on the item, however, with just 17% in Taiwan saying racial and ethnic discrimination is a serious problem and 82% in France and Italy saying the same.

And the U.S. ranks near the top when it comes to whether people agree on basic facts: A majority of Americans (59%) say people can’t agree on basic facts, second only to France (61%).

In the U.S., there are large political divisions on most of the measures of societal conflict. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are significantly more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to say there are conflicts on each of the items surveyed, with one exception: An equal share (90%) of partisans on both sides say there are strong or very strong conflicts between people who support different political parties. Previous findings in the U.S. showed that about equally large shares of Americans said conflicts between Democrats and Republicans were strong or very strong. Democrats are also significantly more likely than Republicans to say racial and ethnic discrimination is a serious problem in the U.S., in line with long-standing findings that show wide partisan divisions on racial and ethnic inequality.

There are also significant differences on questions of societal conflict when it comes to racial and ethnic identity in the U.S. White non-Hispanic adults are significantly more likely than Black non-Hispanic or Hispanic adults to say there are conflicts between people who support different political parties, though large majorities of all three groups hold this opinion. When it comes to conflict between people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds, 82% of Black Americans say there are very strong or strong conflicts, compared with around seven-in-ten White and Hispanic Americans. Black and Hispanic adults are significantly more likely than White adults to say there are conflicts between people who practice different religions.

Partisans in the U.S. are roughly equally likely to say that Americans disagree about basic facts. Six-in-ten Democrats share this view, as do about six-in-ten Republicans. But liberal Democrats (68%) are significantly more likely than moderate and conservative Democrats (52%) to say most Americans disagree on basic facts. Among conservative Republicans, 62% say most people disagree on basic facts, while 54% of moderate and liberal Republicans say so.

About six-in-ten White non-Hispanic and Hispanic adults say when it comes to important issues facing the U.S., most people disagree on basic facts. Black non-Hispanic adults are significantly less likely to hold this view than White or Hispanic adults, with 49% saying most people disagree on basic facts. Those with a college degree or more education are also significantly more likely to say people disagree on basic facts than those with some college or less (63% and 56%, respectively).

(PEW)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/13/americans-see-stronger-societal-conflicts-than-people-in-other-advanced-economies/

711-712-43-30/Polls

Nine In 10 Remote Workers Want To Maintain Remote Work To Some Degree

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Forty-five percent of full-time U.S. employees worked from home either all (25%) or part of the time (20%) in Gallup's September update of its monthly employment trends. These figures are unchanged from remote working rates in July and August, signaling that U.S. companies' return-to-office plans remain on hold.

WorkLocation

Line graph. Monthly trend from April 2020 to September 2021 in amount U.S. employees are working remotely/from home. Most recently, 25% worked exclusively from home, and 20% worked some of the time from home, for a total of 45% working remotely. These rates have been steady each month since July. The overall percentage working remotely was highest last April, at 69%, before trending down to just over half by October 2020.

Given the high proportion of white-collar jobs traditionally done in an office, the remote rate among these workers is particularly noteworthy. Two-thirds of employees in white-collar jobs (67%) reported working from home either exclusively (41%) or some of the time (26%) in September,

As with the rate of remote work among all full-time employees, remote working among white-collar workers has been steady in recent months. However, the percentage has dwindled since January's 79% as the vaccination rate among Americans has increased, giving more people the confidence and freedom to return to the office.

Remote White-Collar

Line graph. Monthly trend from April 2020 to September 2021 in amount white-collar workers in the U.S. have been working remotely, from home. Most recently, 41% were working exclusively from home and 26% partially from home, for a total of 67% working from home to some degree. The overall percentage working remotely was highest last April, at 83%. It varied for several months before steading near 75% in January. It fell to 68% in March and has since held near that level.

In contrast to the high rate of remote work in white-collar professions, working remotely is far less prevalent among workers with interactions that typically occur in person, such as in education (48%) and healthcare (35%).

Gallup's trends on remote work are based on Gallup's COVID-19 survey conducted via web surveys using the nationally representative, probability-based Gallup Panel. The latest results are based on adults employed full time who work for an employer (are not exclusively self-employed) interviewed in mid-September.

Employees See Many Advantages to Remote Work

Separately, Gallup's State of the Workforce study conducted in May/June with more than 9,000 American workers finds strong reasons for employers to consider bringing remote workers back to the office in a hybrid fashion -- spending part of the week at home and part on-site.

Most notably, the study reveals that:

Employees hope remote is here to stay.

91% of workers in the U.S. working at least some of their hours remotely are hoping their ability to work at home persists after the pandemic.

Hybrid work is most preferred.

Overall, 54% of employees who work remotely at least some of the time say they would ideally like to split their time between working at home and in the office -- a hybrid arrangement. A little over a third (37%) would like to work from home exclusively, while 9% want to return to the office full time.
Nearly half of fully on-site employees whose job can be done remotely wish they could work partially (37%) or exclusively from home (11%).

Time preservation is a key reason for wanting to work remotely:

Not having to commute, needing flexibility to balance work and personal obligations, and improved wellbeing (which likely results from having more time) are the top-cited reasons for preferring remote work.

Employers are at risk of losing talent if they do not allow remote work.

Three in 10 employees working remotely say they are extremely likely to seek another job if their company eliminates remote work.

Most workers don't foresee remote work harming company culture.

While most workers don't think remote work will improve their office culture, they don't think it will hurt it either. Two-thirds of all full-time U.S. employees think that having people work remotely long term will have either no effect or a positive effect on their workplace culture; the remaining third think it will be negative.

Hybrid looks like the way of the remote future.

76% of remote workers say their employer will allow people to work remotely going forward, at least partially.
61% of remote workers say they anticipate working hybrid for the next year and beyond; 27% expect to be fully remote.

DETAILED FINDINGS

Workers Overwhelmingly Desire the Flexibility of Some Remote Work

When asked what their preferred work location would be going forward, 91% of remote workers interviewed in May/June (those fully and partially remote, combined) indicated they wanted to be hybrid (54%) or exclusively remote (37%). But the amount employees wanted to work remotely differed according to their work situation:

Those working from home full time were divided between wanting to remain fully remote (49%) and preferring a hybrid arrangement (45%). Just 6% said their ideal was to be fully on-site.
By contrast, 70% of those working remotely part of the time would prefer a hybrid arrangement; the rest were divided, at 15% each, between wanting to be fully remote or fully on-site.
Those working on-site full time, but whose job can be done remotely, were evenly split between wanting to continue to work on-site (52%) and wishing they could work hybrid (37%) or exclusively from home (11%).

U.S. Employees' Preferred Future Work Arrangement, by Current Work Arrangement

	Prefer exclusively on-site	Prefer hybrid	Prefer exclusively remote	Total prefer remote
	%	%	%	%
Remote workers
Working from home exclusively	6	45	49	94
Working partially from home/partially on-site (hybrid)	15	70	15	85
Total working remotely (hybrid or exclusively)	9	54	37	91
Potential remote workers
Working on-site, but job can be done from home	52	37	11	48
GALLUP PANEL, MAY 26-JUNE 9, 2021

In summary, most employees working hybrid want to continue working hybrid (70%). About half of exclusively remote workers (49%) and 37% of those on-site in a job that could be done remotely would prefer hybrid.

Commute Time, Wellbeing and Flexibility Are Top Reasons to Work Remotely

When asked to name the top three reasons for their work location preference, those who say hybrid or exclusively remote work is ideal are most likely to cite the lack of commute time. Improvements to their wellbeing and the flexibility it affords are the next two highest-ranked reasons.

At the same time, those who prefer exclusively remote work uniquely mention "having fewer distractions" as a top perk. This speaks to the advantage of having more focused work time when working entirely from home. Conversely, those who prefer hybrid work uniquely mention getting to "spend time in person with coworkers," which speaks to the opportunities for interpersonal connection and collaboration afforded by this type of flexible work arrangement.

Meanwhile, employees who would prefer to be fully on-site chiefly name productivity as the top reason for that choice, followed by better access to technology and easier collaboration with others.

Personal productivity and wellbeing make it into the top five reasons across all three location preferences, underscoring that workers' productivity and wellbeing needs are met differently. Where people work best is highly individualized and dependent on the type of work they do -- and how much collaboration time they require.

20211012_PreferredWork

Table showing U.S. employees top reasons for why they prefer to work either fully on-site, fully remote, or hybrid (partially on-site and partially remote). Those who prefer to be on-site are most likely to say it makes them feel more productive (41%), followed by having better access to technology (32%), finding it easier to collaborate (32%), feeling more connected to their organization (31%), and saying it's better for their wellbeing (30%). The top three reasons for those preferring to be fully remote are avoiding commute time (52%), saying it's better for their wellbeing (44%) and needing flexibility to balance family and other obligations (37%). The top three reasons for those preferring to be hybrid are the same, with 48% naming each. Additionally, 35% of those preferring to be fully remote say they feel more productive and 29% cite having fewer distractions. Among those who prefer hybrid, 30% cite having the option to work in-person with coworkers and 26% say they feel more productive.

Hybrid Workers Disagree on How to Coordinate Office Time

Managing hybrid workers, many of whom grew accustomed to working exclusively from home over the past year, may take some finesse. There is little agreement among employees regarding how often and when they want to go to the office.

When asked how often they want to work on-site in a hybrid setting, 38% said they preferred to spend 2-3 days in the office. In contrast, 37% want to spend less than 2-3 days on-site, and 24% would like to be in the office more often than 2-3 days per week.

When asked how they want their time in the office to be determined, nearly four in 10 employees (38%) who want a hybrid arrangement going forward desire complete flexibility and autonomy in those decisions. This group wants the decision about how many days, and which days, to be on-site each week left entirely up to them.

In contrast, the remaining six in 10 would rather have their employer, manager or team establish clear guidelines for being in the office:

24% would prefer their employer requires a certain number of days per week to be on-site.
16% would prefer their employer to require all members to be on-site a few specific days per week but leave the rest up to the employee.
22% want their manager or team to coordinate schedules so that everyone is on-site together for at least one day per week.

Mixed Predictions For Impact of Remote Work on Work Culture

The majority of full-time U.S. employees are unconcerned about the effect that remote work could have on their company's culture. Among all workers, 54% believe the culture of their company would be the same if a substantial number of employers worked remotely long-term, and 12% think it would be better, while 33% predict it would be worse.

Employee views on the culture question differ according to workers' current remote work status -- the more employees work from home, the more upbeat they are about the potential effect of remote work on company culture. By contrast, exclusively on-site workers are divided, with 49% believing that having people work remotely long-term would make the culture worse, while 7% say it would be better and 44% say it would be about the same.

Will Calling Workers Back Drive Them Away?

About three in 10 remote workers (31%) say that losing the option of working from home, should their employer remove it, would make them extremely likely to look for employment with another organization. That stretches to 49% when factoring in those rating their chance of leaving a "4" on the five-point likelihood scale.

The inclination to leave over losing the ability to work remotely is higher among employees working exclusively from home (37% describe themselves as "extremely" likely to look for another job) than among those working partially from home (19%).

U.S. Employees' Likelihood of Leaving Job Over Lack of Remote Work Option, Based on Current Work Arrangement

If your employer decides not to offer opportunities for you to work remote some or all of the time long term, how likely would you be to look for opportunities for employment with other organizations?

	Currently fully remote	Currently hybrid	Currently fully on site
	%	%	%
5 (Extremely likely)	37	19	11
4	17	19	8
3	17	19	17
2	10	12	14
1 (Extremely unlikely)	19	30	50
GALLUP PANEL, MAY 26-JUNE 9, 2021

Remote Workers See Hybrid in Their Future

Three in four employees who were working remotely exclusively or part of the time in September indicate that their employer will allow people to continue working from home on some basis.

For now, an even higher percentage of remote workers expect to be working from home for "the rest of the year and beyond." About a quarter (27%) plan to do so exclusively, and another six in 10 (61%) plan to do so part of the time. Just 9% anticipate working a minimal amount from home or not at all.

Amount Remote U.S. Employees Anticipate Working Remotely for Rest of the Year and Beyond

	All remote workers	Exclusively remote	Partially remote (hybrid)
	%	%	%
Exclusively remote (100%)	27	47	2
Hybrid (10%-99%)	61	49	77
Not remote (>10% or never)	9	3	16
Not sure	3	1	5
GALLUP PANEL, SEPT. 13-19, 2021

Looking at the U.S. workforce at large, regardless of where people are currently working, the poll finds that 13% of all full-time employees plan to work exclusively from home, 31% plan to work hybrid and 52% plan to work fully on-site, with 4% unsure.

Bottom Line

Pre-pandemic normalcy remains elusive, but a new normal has settled in among workers who have grown accustomed to working from home -- commuting less and enjoying improved wellbeing and flexibility. Nearly half of full-time employees in the U.S. (45%), including two-thirds of white-collar employees (67%), are still working from home to some degree. The good news for these workers -- who overwhelmingly do not want to return to the office full time -- is that their employers largely foresee making remote work a permanent offering, at least on a hybrid basis. Leaders and managers may recognize the many benefits of remote work, along with the risk of losing top talent if remote work flexibility is taken away.

Employers may still worry about the effect remote work has on company culture, but most workers do not share this concern. The greater risk to culture could be not providing options for work location flexibility that match what employees desire and make them more productive. Gallup research suggests that a mismatch between where employees work best and where they are required to work could impair employee engagement, and ultimately, employee retention.

(Gallup)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/355907/remote-work-persisting-trending-permanent.aspx

711-712-43-31/Polls

67% Of Americans Perceive A Rise In Extreme Weather, But Partisans Differ Over Government Efforts To Address It

Two-thirds of Americans say extreme weather events across the country have been occurring more often than in the past. Far fewer say they’re happening about as often (28%), and only 4% say they are happening less often, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The findings come amid reports that climate change has contributed to an increase in weather-related disasters.

When it comes to firsthand experiences with extreme weather, 46% of U.S. adults say the area where they live has had an extreme weather event over the past 12 months, according to the survey, which was conducted Sept. 13 to 19 among 10,371 adults.

Global leaders are set to meet this fall at COP26, a United Nations conference on climate change, where attendees will discuss progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming. Climate activists have argued that urgent action is needed as the world faces more frequent extreme weather events.

In most census regional divisions, however, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to report experiencing extreme weather within the past year.

Overall, about half of Democrats (51%) say the area where they live has experienced extreme weather in the past year, compared with a smaller share of Republicans (39%).

A large majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (85%) say extreme weather events across the country have been occurring more often than in the past. Far fewer Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (44%) say the same; 52% of Republicans instead say such events are happening about as often as in the past.

When asked to think about the government’s role when it comes to building in areas at high risk from major storms, floods and wildfires, 62% of U.S. adults say they are more concerned that government will not go far enough in limiting new construction. A smaller share (33%) say they are more concerned government will go too far in limiting new construction in high-risk areas.

A large majority of Democrats (79%) say their greater concern is that government will not go far enough in limiting construction in areas at high risk for extreme weather.

Views among Republicans tilt in the opposite direction: 53% say they are more concerned that government will go too far in limiting new construction in high-risk areas, while 43% say their greater concern is that government will not go far enough.

Those who say they have experienced extreme weather in their community recently are slightly more likely than those who have not to say their greater concern is that government will not go far enough to limit new construction in high-risk areas, though majorities in both groups take this view (66% and 59%, respectively).

How the public views key infrastructure goals

The survey also asked Americans about different aspects of the country’s infrastructure that the federal government could address. At the top of the list is making structural improvements to roads and bridges: Roughly six-in-ten adults (62%) say this is very important to them personally.

About half (51%) say it is very important for the federal government to build systems to make wastewater reusable in dry regions. Climate scientists expect that climate change will increase the severity of droughts in the future.

The survey also asked about the idea of stricter building standards to better withstand major storms, floods and wildfires – a strategy that could help reduce damaging effects from climate change. Around half of adults (48%) say setting stricter building standards is a very important goal to them, and 37% view this as a somewhat important goal.

Around four-in-ten or more Americans say it is very important to them for the federal government to provide broadband internet access to communities that don’t have it (45%) and to expand public transportation systems (39%).

Only 24% of adults say it is very important for the federal government to build more charging stations to increase the use of electric vehicles receives – the lowest level of public importance for any of the six items in the survey. Around four-in-ten adults (41%) say this is not important, while about a third (34%) say it is somewhat important to them. In an earlier Center survey, just 7% of U.S. adults said they currently own an electric or hybrid vehicle.

Overall, 51% of the public favors the infrastructure bill now being debated in Congress, compared with a smaller share (20%) who oppose it; 29% say they aren’t sure how they feel about it.

Partisanship matters far more than other factors – including where people live – when it comes to Americans’ views about the country’s infrastructure and the government’s role in adaptation to risks from extreme weather.

For instance, 62% of Democrats say it’s a very important goal for the federal government to set stricter standards to better withstand major storms, floods and wildfires. Half as many Republicans (31%) say that is very important to them personally.

There are generally modest differences in views between those who say they have experienced extreme weather locally in the past year and those who say they have not.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 14, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/14/67-of-americans-perceive-a-rise-in-extreme-weather-but-partisans-differ-over-government-efforts-to-address-it/

711-712-43-32/Polls

Half Of U S Congregants (54%) And Nearly Three-Quarters Of Evangelical Churchgoers (73%) Say Their Clergy Have Not Said Much About Covid-19 Vaccinations Either Way

As houses of worship continue to reopen, most U.S. adults who regularly attend religious services voice confidence in their clergy to provide guidance on the coronavirus vaccines – and far more say they have heard their pastor, priest, rabbi or imam encourage people to get vaccinated than have heard their clergy raise doubts about COVID-19 vaccines. But a slim majority of regular worshippers say they have not heard their religious leaders say much about vaccinations either way, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted Sept. 20-26, 2021.

Also, among U.S. adults overall, there is no clear consensus about whether houses of worship have had a positive or negative impact on the American response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resumption of in-person attendance has been accompanied by a decline in the share of both U.S. adults overall and regular worshippers who say they have watched religious services online or on TV in the past month.

Many U.S. congregants – i.e., people who say either that they typically attend religious services at least monthly or that they have attended in person in the past month, who together comprise a little more than a third of all U.S. adults – say they have heard the clergy or religious leaders at their house of worship weigh in on coronavirus vaccines. And among those who have heard from their clergy on this issue, far more say their priest, pastor, rabbi, imam or other religious leader has encouraged people to get vaccinated (39% of all religious attenders) than say their clergy has discouraged getting the shots (5%).

Even among evangelical Protestants, who have tended to be relatively skeptical toward the vaccines, just 4% say their clergy have discouraged people from getting a vaccine. But more than half of U.S. congregants (54%) and nearly three-quarters of evangelical churchgoers (73%) say their clergy have not said much about COVID-19 vaccinations either way. Most members of the historically Black Protestant tradition, on the other hand, say their pastors have encouraged people to get a vaccine (64%).

There is a relatively high degree of trust in clergy to give advice on the coronavirus vaccines: Fully six-in-ten U.S. congregants (61%) say they have at least “a fair amount” of confidence in their religious leaders to provide reliable guidance about getting a vaccine. This figure is virtually identical to the share who express confidence in public health officials, such as those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to give reliable guidance on COVID-19 vaccinations (60%), although Americans who attend religious services at least monthly are slightly more likely to say they have “a great deal” of confidence in guidance from public health officials than to say the same about their clergy (27% vs. 21%).

Religious attenders express more trust in their clergy on this issue than they do in state elected officials, local elected officials or news media. Among the options presented by the survey, only primary care doctors rank above clergy in the share of U.S. congregants who have at least “a fair amount” of trust in each group to provide guidance on vaccines.

Clergy have responded in differing ways to the COVID-19 outbreak that began in the United States in early 2020. At various points in the pandemic, some religious leaders have refused to limit attendance or enforce other public health restrictions at their houses of worship. At the same time, other members of the clergy have encouraged vaccinations and even hosted vaccination sites at their churches or other facilities.

Americans overall express ambivalent views about the broad impact of churches and other religious organizations on the U.S. response to the pandemic, with 25% saying that religious organizations have done “more harm than good” and 22% saying they have done “more good than harm.” About half (52%) say that religious organizations have not made much difference.

There is a substantial gap between the two major political parties on this question, with four-in-ten Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party saying that religious organizations have done more harm than good (39%), compared with just one-in-ten Republicans and GOP leaners who take that position (9%).

Even more broadly, there appears to have been a modest but noticeable change in recent years in the way Americans view the role of churches and other houses of worship when it comes to addressing social and political issues. Some pastors have waded into a wide range of political and social debates regarding not only the pandemic but also the 2020 presidential election and the national conversation on racial injustice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Fully seven-in-ten U.S. adults now say that, in general, churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters, up from 63% the last time this question was asked, in March 2019. Just three-in-ten Americans (29%) now say that churches should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions, down from 36% in 2019. Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to say that houses of worship should stay out of politics (76% vs. 62%), although members of both parties are more likely to express this view now than they were when the question was last asked.

There has been little change on two other questions about religion’s role in public life over the past few years: More people continue to say that churches and other religious organizations mostly bring people together (rather than push them apart), and that in general – not just regarding the pandemic – religious institutions do more good than harm (as opposed to more harm than good).

These are among the key findings from a new Pew Research Center survey of 6,485 U.S. adults, conducted on the Center’s American Trends Panel. Although the survey was conducted among Americans of all religious backgrounds, including Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons and more, it did not obtain enough respondents from these smaller religious groups to report separately on their views.

The remainder of this report explores the survey findings in more detail.

Roughly equal shares of U.S. adults recently have attended religious services in person and virtually

About a quarter of U.S. adults (26%) say they have attended religious services in person in the last month (prior to when the survey was conducted, Sept. 20-26). This is up from 17% who reported having attended in person as of March 2021, and from 13% who said they went to services in person earlier in the pandemic, in July 2020.

A similar share of Americans in the new survey (28%) say they have watched religious services online or on TV in the past month, down modestly from March 2021 (33%) and July 2020 (36%). This drop has been particularly pronounced among U.S. adults who say that they typically attend religious services at least monthly. Within this group, the share who have watched virtual services (online or on television) has dropped from 72% to 65% to 55% over the course of the three surveys, and virtual participation is now especially low among Catholic churchgoers (35%).

Meanwhile, Americans who typically attend religious services are now attending in person at a much higher rate. Only a third reported doing this during the summer of 2020, but that share has nearly doubled in the new survey (64%). Evangelical Protestant churchgoers (72%) are more inclined than those in the mainline Protestant (56%) or historically Black Protestant (50%) traditions to have attended recently in person.

Most congregants say houses of worship are open with coronavirus-related restrictions in place, and that this should be the case

The rise in religious service attendance is accompanied by an increase in the number of churches and other places of worship that are reopening to in-person services and/or loosening pandemic-related restrictions. Among U.S. adults who say they typically attend religious services at least monthly or who attended in person in the past month, a growing share report that the house of worship they attend most often is now open for in-person services. This includes three-in-ten (29%) who say their congregation is open to the public and holding services just as it did before the pandemic – up from 12% who said this about their congregation in March 2021.

Most U.S. religious attenders (59%) continue to say that their house of worship is open for services, but with precautions in place to protect against COVID-19. Just 6% now say their congregation is closed entirely for in-person services, down from 31% who said this in July 2020 and 17% earlier this year.

Congregants who identify with the evangelical Protestant tradition are far more likely than other Christians to say that their churches are open without any coronavirus-related restrictions. Roughly half of evangelical Protestants (49%) say this is the case, compared with 20% of mainline Protestants, 14% of congregants in the historically Black Protestant tradition and 19% of Catholics.

White religious attenders are more likely than Black and Hispanic congregants to say their houses of worship are back to normal operations (38% vs. 16% and 20%, respectively). Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party also are much more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to report that their congregations are open without restrictions (43% vs. 16%). Still, no more than about one-in-ten in any of these groups say that their house of worship remains closed entirely to in-person services.

When asked what should be happening in their religious congregations – as opposed to what actually is happening – survey respondents give similar answers. For example, the percentage of religious attenders who say their congregation is open to the public for services with some health restrictions in place as a result of the coronavirus (59%) is identical to the share who say this should be the case (59%).

Among religious attenders, evangelical Protestants, White (non-Hispanic) Americans and Republicans are considerably more inclined than others to say their congregations should be open without pandemic-related restrictions. For instance, half of evangelical Protestant churchgoers take this position, compared with a quarter of Catholic churchgoers. And 53% of Republicans and people who lean toward the Republican Party say their congregations should be open without restrictions, compared with 15% of Democrats and people who lean toward the Democratic Party.

Most worshippers feel at least ‘somewhat’ confident in safety of communal worship, but fewer than half are ‘very’ confident

The vast majority of U.S. adults who typically attend religious services or have gone in person in the past month (82%) now say they feel at least somewhat confident they could safely worship in person without catching or spreading the coronavirus. This figure is up slightly since March 2021 (76%), although the share who say they are very confident they can attend religious services safely is unchanged over this period, at 45%. And among those who actually have attended in person in the past month, the share who say they are very confident they can do so safely has fallen from 66% in March to 54% in September.

More than half of White (non-Hispanic) religious attenders (55%) now say they are very confident they can attend religious services in person without catching or spreading COVID-19, far higher than the share of Black (35%) or Hispanic (23%) worshippers who say the same, mirroring a pattern from the earlier surveys. There also is a persistent partisan gap: Republican congregants are twice as likely as those who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party to say they are very confident in the safety of communal worship (62% vs. 30%).

Most U.S. congregants express at least some trust in their clergy’s guidance on COVID-19 vaccines

Where do religious leaders stand in comparison with other authorities as trusted sources of information about coronavirus vaccinations – particularly as many Americans express skepticism about the vaccines?

In the opinion of U.S. adults who typically attend religious services at least monthly or who attended in person in the last month, primary care doctors are by far the most trusted source of information asked about in this survey. Fully 84% of monthly attenders say they have either “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in their own doctor to provide guidance about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

But those who regularly attend religious services also express trust in their clergy or other religious leaders at their house of worship as sources of information about coronavirus vaccinations. About six-in-ten monthly attenders (61%) say that they have at least a fair amount of confidence in their religious leaders to provide reliable guidance about the vaccines, nearly identical to the share who express confidence in public health officials such as those at the CDC. Overall, more Americans who attend religious services at least monthly express trust in their clergy and religious leaders to provide vaccine guidance than say the same about their state elected officials, their local elected officials or the news media.

Black Americans who attend religious services are especially likely to be confident in their clergy to provide guidance about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, with 77% expressing at least a fair amount of confidence in religious leaders to do so, compared with 59% of White (non-Hispanic) and 62% of Hispanic congregants.

The survey also asked U.S. Catholics about the level of confidence they have in Pope Francis – who has urged people to get vaccinated – to provide guidance about the vaccine.

Catholic Americans are split on this question: 47% say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Francis to provide vaccine guidance, while 52% say they have “not too much” confidence or “no confidence at all” in the pope as a source of information on coronavirus vaccinations. Six-in-ten Catholics who attend Mass monthly or more often say that they have at least a fair amount of confidence in Pope Francis to provide guidance about the shots – similar to the share who say the same about their own parish priests (56%). Meanwhile, 40% of Catholics who attend Mass less often have the same level of confidence in the pope.

More than half of U.S. congregants have not heard advice from clergy about coronavirus vaccines

Among Americans who attend services monthly or attended in person during the past month, far more say that their clergy have encouraged people to get a COVID-19 vaccine (39%) than discouraged it (5%), though a slim majority (54%) say that their clergy have not said much about the vaccines.

Nearly six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners who attend religious services say that their religious leaders have encouraged people to get vaccinated, compared with just 24% of Republican attenders who say they have heard the same message from their religious leaders.

Additionally, almost two-thirds of Protestants in the historically Black tradition (64%) say their clergy have encouraged people to get the vaccine, much higher than the share of Catholics (42%), mainline Protestants (42%) and evangelical Protestants (21%) who say they have received the same kind of encouragement from their leaders. Still, just 4% of evangelicals say they have heard their clergy discourage the vaccine.

Most Americans say churches and other religious organizations should keep out of politics

A majority of Americans prefer that religious leaders and organizations stay away from discussing politics. When asked whether churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters or express their views on day-to-day social and political questions, fully seven-in-ten U.S. adults say that houses of worship should keep out – up from 63% the last time this question was asked, in March 2019. About three-in-ten now say that churches should express their views on these questions (29%).

There are differences in views of this question based on race, party affiliation and religious affiliation. Black adults are more likely than White, Asian or Hispanic adults to say that churches and other houses of worship should express their views on political and social matters, with 40% saying this is something they support. Additionally, 37% of U.S. adults who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party say that churches should express their views on these matters, while fewer Democrats and Democratic leaners (24%) say the same.

Even though a strong majority of evangelical Protestants identify with the GOP and a larger majority of Protestants in the historically Black tradition identify with the Democratic Party, the two groups have similar views on this question, with relatively large shares saying that churches should express their views on political and social issues (47% and 45%, respectively). Smaller shares of mainline Protestants and Catholics say the same, with roughly three-quarters in each group saying that churches and other houses of worship should refrain from weighing in on political matters.

On balance, religious organizations still viewed as positive forces in society

Questions about whether churches and other houses of worship should speak out on political and social issues are part of a larger discussion on the impact that these institutions have on public life in the United States.

More U.S. adults say churches and religious organizations mostly bring people together rather than push people apart (52% vs. 19%), and 28% say they do neither. These figures are little changed since 2019 and 2017.

Christians are far more likely than religiously unaffiliated Americans to say that religious organizations mostly bring people together (66% vs. 25%), with evangelical Protestants especially likely to hold this view (77%). Meanwhile, most self-described atheists (62%) say religious groups mostly push people apart. Additionally, Republicans and independents who lean Republican are much more likely than Democrats to say churches and other religious institutions mostly bring people together (70% vs. 40%).

In a similar vein, respondents were asked whether they feel that churches and religious organizations do more harm than good; more good than harm; or don’t make much of a difference in American society. Overall, 53% say they do more good than harm, 21% say they do more harm than good, and 25% express a neutral view. These figures also are largely unchanged from 2019 and 2017.

Once again, Christians are much more positive than the religiously unaffiliated in their assessments of the influence of religious organizations on public life, as are Republicans compared with Democrats. Two-thirds of Christians (67%) say that all things considered, churches do more good than harm in American society, a view shared by just 26% of religious “nones.” And roughly seven-in-ten Republicans (71%) express this positive view of religious organizations, compared with four-in-ten Democrats.

Notably, U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 49 are about twice as likely as those ages 50 and older to take the opposite position, saying that churches and religious organizations do more harm than good (27% vs. 14%).

No clear consensus on religious organizations’ impact amid pandemic

The survey also asked more narrowly about the impact that churches and religious organizations have had on the way the United States has handled the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. adults are not quite as positive in assessing the impact of churches and other religious organizations in this specific area as they are when it comes to society as a whole. About half of Americans (52%) say houses of worship have not made much difference on the way the U.S. has handled the coronavirus outbreak, while 25% say religious institutions have done more harm than good, and 22% say they have done more good than harm.

Most Christians (55%) say that churches have not made much of a difference in the country’s handling of the coronavirus, with the remainder more likely to say they have helped (28%) rather than harmed (16%). A strong majority of atheists (71%), meanwhile, say that religious organizations have done more harm than good in the country’s response to the pandemic.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say that churches have done more harm than good in the country’s response to the pandemic (39% vs. 9%), as are Americans who attend religious services a few times a year or less compared with those who attend monthly or more often (30% vs. 14%).

(PEW)

OCTOBER 15, 2021

Source: https://www.pewforum.org/2021/10/15/most-americans-who-go-to-religious-services-say-they-would-trust-their-clergys-advice-on-covid-19-vaccines/

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Roughly Eight-In-Ten Members (82%) Of The Historically Black Protestant Tradition Who Attend Church Once A Month Or More Have Received At Least One Dose Of A Covid-19 Vaccine

Religious institutions have helped shape many Americans’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, from providing virtual spaces for community and worship to offering a range of opinions about the importance of wearing masks and getting vaccinated.

Black churches in particular, which often play prominent roles in Black civic life, have received a lot of attention for holding vaccination clinics and urging members to get a coronavirus shot. And according to a new Pew Research Center analysis, members of the historically Black Protestant tradition who regularly attend church are more likely to be vaccinated than those who do not attend regularly.

For Americans overall, church attendance is not associated with a significantly higher or lower chance of having received a COVID-19 vaccine, with similar shares of U.S. adults who routinely attend religious services (72%) and those who do not attend regularly (74%) saying they received at least one shot. Moreover, among U.S. adults who regularly attend religious services, 39% have been encouraged by clergy at their houses of worship to get the vaccine, while most (54%) say their clergy have not said much about the vaccines either way.

There are other factors involved, aside from the different roles that churches and clergy play in different communities. In some Christian traditions, such as among Catholics and evangelical Protestants, regular attenders are more likely than those who attend less often to align with the Republican Party – and Republicans are less likely than Democrats to be vaccinated. But in historically Black churches, members are overwhelmingly Democrats or Democratic leaners, whether or not they regularly attend church.

Members of the historically Black Protestant tradition who regularly attend church are also older, on average, than those who do not, and older Americans in general are more likely to be vaccinated. But age alone does not explain the wide gap in vaccination between churchgoers and others in the historically Black Protestant tradition.

Since their earliest days in the 19th century, Black churches have been active in Black civic life beyond being places of worship. To counter lack of access to public services and economic opportunity, Black churches have often run job training programs, insurance cooperatives, circulating libraries and athletic clubs.

Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Americans were less likely than White Americans to have received at least one dose of a vaccine and were more likely to express hesitancy to do so. The vaccination gap has closed, perhaps in part due to partnerships between Black church leaders and vaccine providers.

In fact, people who regularly attend Black Protestant churches have unusually high levels of confidence in their pastors and other religious leaders to provide guidance on the COVID-19 vaccines. About eight-in-ten churchgoing members of the historically Black Protestant tradition (78%) say they have either a great deal of confidence or a fair amount of confidence in their clergy or other religious leaders to provide this guidance. Similar shares have confidence in the guidance they receive from public health officials, such as those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or their primary care doctors (77% and 80%, respectively). Among all U.S. adults who regularly attend religious services, 61% trust their religious leaders to provide guidance on the vaccines.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 15, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/15/in-historically-black-protestant-churches-regular-attenders-more-likely-to-have-received-covid-19-shot/

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Pandemic Within A Pandemic: Most (69%) Believe There Is A Mental Health Pandemic In Canada

Toronto, Ontario, October 4, 2021 — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across Canada, the results of a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services suggests that we may be dealing with another pandemic, within the coronavirus pandemic. The poll reveals that most (69%) Canadians believe there is a mental health pandemic in their country. Millennials and Gen Xers are among the most likely to believe that Canada is facing a mental health pandemic (75% vs. 61% of Gen Zers & Boomers).

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a transformative event, as four in five (81%) Canadians think it has changed life forever, with Boomers (56+) among the most likely to feel this way (88% vs. 78% of all other Canadians aged 55 or younger). In fact, it has been so significant that half (50%) admit they are now anxious about going back to “normal” life in a post-pandemic world. Just one-third (34%) of Quebecers report feeling anxious about going back to “normal” life in a post-pandemic world, compared to well over half (55%) of all other Canadians.

After months of lockdowns and restrictions, job loss, anxiety, and isolation from family and friends, it is perhaps not surprising that many Canadians are now experiencing mental health issues. Nearly three in ten (28%) admit that their mental health has deteriorated, over the course of the pandemic.

To end Canada’s mental health pandemic, it is important to have sufficient mental health services and supports available in communities across the country. Unfortunately, the results of this poll suggest that many communities are underserved in this area, as two-thirds (66%) of Canadians feel as though there are not enough mental health services and supports available in their local community. The youngest generation, Gen Z (aged 18-23) are less likely to feel as though there are not enough mental health services and supports available in their local community (45% vs. 69% aged 24+).

(Ipsos Canada)

4 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/pandemic-within-pandemic-most-69-believe-there-mental-health-pandemic-canada

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Four In Ten (40%) Working Canadians Say They’ve Experienced A Decline In Their Physical Health Throughout The Pandemic

Toronto, ON — As vaccination rates have ramped up across the country, and businesses are starting to prepare for a post-pandemic future, working Canadians continue to face a number of health-related challenges. Four in ten (40%) working Canadians say they’ve experienced a decline in their physical health throughout the pandemic, according to a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC Insurance. The inability to socialize with family, friends or co-workers (72%) and work-related stress (58%) were also cited as factors impacting overall health.

Barriers Remain for Some Workers

Throughout the pandemic, working Canadians with chronic health issues have faced increased barriers receiving the care they need, with over six in ten (63%) noting the inability to visit a doctor or healthcare clinic has negatively impacted their health. Those with a chronic health issue are more likely to cite this compared to those without a chronic health issue (47%).

Although a majority (58%) of working Canadians with a chronic health issue or disability say their condition would deteriorate further without their workplace benefits plan, four in ten (40%) say they have also experienced challenges accessing their employees benefits due to their unique needs.

Half (49%) of younger working Canadians say that their employer’s benefit plans have not adequately met their heath and wellness needs in the past year.

Virtual Care Solutions Useful for Employees with Disabilities or Health Issues

Among those who have group benefits or private coverage, Canadian employees with a disability or a chronic heath issue are more likely to have access to virtual care tools (48% and 51% respectively) compared to those who do not. As well, those with a chronic health issue are more likely to agree that using virtual tools to connect with mental health support has been useful (64% vs 50% with no chronic health issue).

High Expectations on Employer Benefits

A majority (68%) of working Canadians say they have positive feelings towards their employer. Though, a majority (68%) of Canadians say they would take a job with a good benefits plan over another job that pays more but does not have a benefits plan.

(Ipsos Canada)

5 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/four-in-ten-working-canadians-say-theyve-experienced-a-decline-in-their-physical-health

AUSTRALIA

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Inflation Expectations Up 0.2% Points To 4.5% In September; Highest For Three Years Since October 2018

Inflation Expectations are still 0.2% points below their long-term average of 4.7% but are now a full 1% point higher than the record low 2020 monthly average of 3.5%.

Inflation Expectations are up the most for Australians aged under 60

A look at Inflation Expectations by Generations shows there is now agreement between people of different ages about how much prices are set to rise. However, the change from a year ago is starkly different for people over 60 (Pre-Boomers and Baby Boomers) and those under 60 (Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z).

Inflation Expectations have increased across the board but have increased most rapidly for Australians aged under 60 – led by Millennials – up 1.6% points from a year ago to 4.5% in September.

Generation X, now aged from 45-60, have the highest Inflation Expectations at 4.6% in September, an increase of 1.3% points from a year ago. The Inflation Expectations of Generation Z have also increased significantly, up 1.2% points to 4.5% - matching the increase of Australians overall.

Although Inflation Expectations for Baby Boomers are in line with the national average at 4.5% this is an increase of only 0.7% points from a year ago while older Australians, aged 75+, the Pre-Boomers, now have the lowest Inflation Expectations at 4.2%, up only 0.6% points from a year ago.

Inflation Expectations by Generation: September 2020 cf. September 2021

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source: September 2020, n=6,092, September 2021, n=6,035. Base: Australians 14+.

Inflation Expectations are again highest in Tasmania and lowest in South Australia

On a State-based level Inflation Expectations are highest and well above the national average in Tasmania at 5.1%. Inflation Expectations are above the national average in New South Wales at 4.7% as the State prepares to re-open.

Inflation Expectations are in line with the national average in both Queensland and Western Australia at 4.5% and slightly below the national average in locked down Victoria at 4.4%.

The outlier this month is again South Australia which has the lowest Inflation Expectations of only 4.0%, the fourth straight month the measure has been lower in South Australia than anywhere else.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating for September was at 101.6, an increase of 9.8pts (+10.7%) from September 2020 a year ago. The latest Consumer Confidence figure for the first week of October has continued to improve and is now at 104.6 as re-opening plans for Greater Sydney have been brought forward under new Premier Dominic Perrottet.

Inflation Expectations Index long-term trend – Expected Annual Inflation in next 2 years

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source: Interviewing an average of 4,600 Australians aged 14+ per month (April 2010-Sept. 2021).

See below for a comprehensive list of RBA interest rate changes during the time-period charted above.

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Inflation Expectations are on the march in Australia and have now increased for the fourth straight month to 4.5% - their highest for three years:

“Inflation Expectations increased by 0.2% points to 4.3% in September and are now up 1.3% points from the low-point reached just over a year ago in August 2020 (3.2%). This is the biggest ever sustained increase in Inflation Expectations since the index began in 2010, beating an increase of 1.2% points during the ‘Mining Boom’ in 2010-11.

“The increasing Inflation Expectations come despite over half of Australia’s population being in lockdown throughout the month of September although we are fast approaching the end of these lockdowns. Greater Sydney has already reached a full vaccination rate of over 70% and is set to emerge from lockdown this week while the ACT and Greater Melbourne are set to finish their current lockdowns later in October.

“The end of the lockdowns is widely predicted to lead to a surge in retail spending in the closing months of the year as millions of people in Sydney and Melbourne have built up their savings during lockdown without being able to spend their earnings as they are accustomed to.

“A look at Australians by generation shows that although Inflation Expectations are relatively similar across the age groups at present in September, they are increasing far faster for younger generations. Compared to a year ago the Inflation Expectations of Generation X (+1.3% points), Millennials (+1.6% points) and Generation Z (+1.3% points) have increased rapidly.

“The older generations, representing people aged 60+, have seen far smaller increases in Inflation Expectations compared to a year ago – up by 0.6% points for Pre-Boomers and up by 0.7% points for Baby Boomers.

“These results indicate that working families and younger Australians are most keenly impacted by rising prices across the economy. As the Australian economy re-opens over the next few months and over 10 million Australians are released from lockdown and able to spend their money at a greater rate it is likely inflationary pressures will grow.

“Although Australia is yet to fully re-open there are several comparable countries overseas in Europe and North America that have emerged from lockdowns earlier in the year and are also seeing inflationary pressures growing significantly.

“The likelihood inflationary pressures will continue to increase once the lockdowns are over adds another element to the existing issues relating to mandatory vaccinations, vaccine passports, and the re-opening of domestic State borders that the Federal Government will be forced to ‘grapple’ with in the run-up to the next Federal Election due early in 2022.”

The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source which has interviewed an average of 4,600 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade from April 2010 – September 2021 and includes interviews with 6,035 Australians aged 14+ in September 2021.

The Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Report – Including Inflation Expectations

To learn more about the trends for Inflation Expectations as well as Consumer Confidence for different segments and demographics throughout the Australian community, purchase the Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Monthly Report.

The questions used to calculate the Monthly Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index.

1) Prices: “During the next 2 years, do you think that prices in general will go up, or go down, or stay where they are now?”

2a) If stay where they are now: “Do you mean that prices will go up at the same rate as now or that prices in general will not go up during the next 2 years?

2b) If go up or go down: “By about what per cent per year do you expect prices to (go up/ go down) on average during the next 2 years?”

3) “Would that be (x%) per year, or is that the total for prices over the next 2 years?”

The Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index is a forward looking indicator unlike the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and is based on continuous (weekly) measurement, and monthly reporting. The Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index is current and relevant.

Monthly Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index (2010 – 2021)
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Yearly Average
2010	n/a	n/a	n/a	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.6	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.7
2011	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.2	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.5	5.5	6.0
2012	5.4	5.5	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.8
2013	5.2	5.1	5.3	4.9	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.0	4.8	4.9	4.8	5.0	5.0
2014	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.3	5.0	4.8	5.0	4.8	4.9	4.4	5.0
2015	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.2	4.4	4.5	4.5
2016	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.0	4.0	4.1	3.9	4.1	4.1	3.9	4.2	4.1
2017	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4
2018	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.3	4.5	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.5	4.3	4.2	4.4
2019	4.2	4.0	4.0	3.7	4.1	3.8	4.1	3.9	4.0	4.1	3.9	4.0	4.0
2020	3.9	4.0	4.0	3.6	3.3	3.2	3.4	3.2	3.3	3.5	3.4	3.6	3.5
2021	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.7	3.7	4.0	4.1	4.3	4.5				3.9
Monthly Average	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.7
Overall Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Average: 4.7

(Roy Morgan)

October 11 2021

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8811-australian-inflation-expectations-september-2021-202110080526

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Movement In The Sydney CBD At Only 17% Of Pre-Pandemic Levels Before Greater Sydney Prepared To Leave Lockdown

Average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD have tracked closely with those in the Sydney CBD over the last two months since Greater Melbourne entered its record sixth lockdown in early August. However, full vaccination rates in Victoria are at under 60%, well behind those in NSW, and Greater Melbourne is not set to end its current lockdown until the last week of October.

The movement levels in other Capital City CBDs have increased over the last few weeks as Australia emerged from Winter. Once again it is the Adelaide CBD which has average movement levels closest to pre-pandemic ‘normal’ at 74% just ahead of the Perth CBD at 73% of pre-pandemic averages. Notably, this is the highest level of movement in the Perth CBD for nearly six months.

Australian Capital City CBDs average 7-day movement levels March 1, 2020 – October 3, 2021:
% Movement is compared to the 7-day average in Jan-Feb 2020

Source: Roy Morgan collaboration with UberMedia who provide anonymous aggregated insights using mobile location data. Note: Movement data for the Capital City CBDs excludes the residents of the respective CBDs.

The latest vaccination figures from the Health Department show over 30 million vaccination doses have now been administered to 82% of the adult population. The figures show that over 60% of Australian adults are now fully vaccinated including over 70% of the adult population in NSW and the ACT.

Both NSW and the ACT will soon reach the target of 80% of the adult population being fully vaccinated while Tasmania and Victoria are set to reach this mark in early November. However, for other States such as Queensland, WA and SA, there is no guarantee the vaccination targets will be reached this year which could lead to their borders remaining closed throughout the Christmas period unless policies are changed.

Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interactive dashboard available tracks the movement data for those visiting the Capital City CBDs during 2020 and 2021, excluding the CBD residents of each city. Movement data from several key locations around Australia is also available to view by using the interactive dashboard.

Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, says the end of the Greater Sydney lockdown after over 100 days gives hope that Australia is finally on track towards ‘COVID-normal’ with a highly vaccinated population set to lead to the re-opening of domestic and international borders:

“Vaccination rates in Australia have increased rapidly over the last two months while over 15 million Australians in NSW, Victoria and the ACT have been in lockdown. The quick uptake of vaccines during this period means over 90% of adults in NSW and the ACT, and over 85% of adults in Victoria, have had at least one vaccine shot.

“These high rates of vaccination are behind the re-opening of Greater Sydney this week and the re-opening of Canberra set for later this week with over 70% of adults in both cities now fully vaccinated.

“Over the weekend Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged the bringing forward of international travel for people in NSW to be available when over 80% of adults in NSW are fully vaccinated. This mark is projected to be achieved next week and in early November it may well be easier for someone from Sydney to travel to London or Los Angeles than Perth or Brisbane.

“Clearly the success, or otherwise, of the re-opening of Greater Sydney will have a big impact on the re-opening of Melbourne later in October as well as the full re-opening of domestic borders for States such as Queensland, WA, SA and Tasmania.

“Some States, notably Queensland, WA and Tasmania, have suggested they will not fully re-open their borders until 90% of their adult populations are fully vaccinated. At current rates that level of vaccination is unlikely to occur until early 2022 in States such as Queensland and WA.

“However, the Federal Government is counting on the freedom to travel internationally from Sydney in the next month putting pressure on other States to accelerate their plans to fully re-open their economies and borders as part of a transition to ‘COVID-normal’.

“The ending of restrictions, including lockdowns, closed borders and mandatory mask-wearing are all key factors in increasing the return of people to the CBDs of Australia’s Capital Cities – and particularly the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs.

“Over the next few months we will continue to closely track the level of movement in Australia’s Capital City CBDs including whether movement in a re-opened Sydney CBD can bridge the gap with counterparts in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart currently free of COVID-19.”

(Roy Morgan)

October 11 2021

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8806-roy-morgan-ubermedia-covid-19-movement-capital-cities-october-2021-202110110345

711-712-43-38/Polls

Sydney FC Is The Most Widely Supported A-League Club As Support Rises For The League Overall

In third place on the supporter ladder is the Brisbane Roar with 559,000 supporters, an increase of 17.9% on a year ago. The Roar have won 3 A-League Men Championships but have not tasted success in the Grand Final for over seven years since winning in 2013/14.

The current A-League Men Champions Melbourne City experienced a significant increase in supporters compared to a year ago, up 50.9% to 249,000, while the biggest percentage increase was for the resurgent Central Coast Mariners, up 90.1% to 154,000 supporters. Newcomers Macarthur FC have attracted an impressive 84,000 supporters during their first season to rank tenth overall.

A-League Club Supporter Ladder 2021

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, July 2019 – June 2020, n=54,279 and July 2020 – June 2021, n=64,973. Base: Australians 14+. *Wellington Phoenix support only includes Australian-based supporters. Macarthur FC is a new club which played its first A-League game in December 2020.

Over 3.6 million Australians now support an A-League club, up over 1 million on a year ago

Support for the A-League as a whole has increased strongly over the last year as new clubs Macarthur FC and Western United have joined the league and Australians have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and spending a lot of time at home in front of the TV. Now over 3.6 million Australians support an A-League club, up over 1 million (+38.3%) on a year ago.

In total, over 1.5 million Australians (7.2%) watch the A-League Men on TV. However, a much larger 3.5 million (16.7%) have watched any soccer match on TV. This means a significant untapped market of around 2 million Australians is available for the A-League, in the shape of those who exclusively watch international leagues or international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup.

A look at who engages with the A-League Men shows TV viewership is highest for Gen X (8.1%) ahead of Pre-Boomers (7.8%), Baby Boomers (7.4%) and 7.1% of Millennials. When it comes to attending a soccer match however, Millennials lead the way at 4.5%, followed by Gen Z at 3.7%.

Roy Morgan Industry Communications Director Julian McCrann says:

“A-League clubs have enjoyed a substantial increase in support over the last year in line with the increases seen for other football codes such as the AFL and NRL. Over 3.6 million Australians now profess support for an A-League club, an increase of over 1 million (+38.3%) on a year ago.

“As we have seen across other football codes the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many sports to be played in front of empty stadiums but live on TV to supporters stuck at home in the many lockdowns we have seen over the last 18 months around Australia.

“The biggest winners have been the most successful A-League clubs Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory – both of whom have increased their supporter bases by over 150,000 compared to a year ago. Sydney FC grew their support by 32.2% to 640,000 to be just ahead of Melbourne Victory with 632,000 supporters, an increase of 46%.

“Sydney FC has won 5 A-League Men Championships, including three in the last five years (2016-17, 2018-19 & 2019-20), while Melbourne Victory are in second place with 4 A-League Men Championships including their most recent win in 2017-18.

“Another big winner over the last year has been Melbourne City which won its first A-League Men Championship earlier this year after defeating Sydney FC in the Grand Final (between Melbourne’s fourth and fifth lockdowns) in late June. Melbourne City’s support has increased by an impressive 50.9% on a year ago to 249,000 to have the highest support of any A-League Men expansion team.

“The newest club in the A-League Men, Macarthur FC, has had a successful first season in the league with a finals appearance, a victory in an Elimination Final, and a loss to eventual Champions Melbourne City in the semi-final. Not only has Macarthur FC performed strongly on the pitch but they have already attracted 84,000 supporters to rank in tenth place overall.

“Looking ahead, the challenge for the A-League will be to continue to grow the league in an increasingly competitive sporting market and find a way to connect with the millions of Australians who love their football but don’t presently engage with the A-League. There are over 2 million Australians out there who watch high quality football competitions, such as the English Premier League, who are yet to become fans of the A-League. This at-hand market of 2 million Australians is a significant market for the A-League to target during the recovery from Covid-19.”

(Roy Morgan)

October 12 2021

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8818-a-league-supporter-ladder-2021-202110120022

711-712-43-39/Polls

Support For New Zealand’s Labour/Greens Government Increased 3.5% Points To 55% In September

A small minority of only 4% of electors support other minor parties outside Parliament with support for The Opportunities Party down 0.5% points to 1.5% and support for New Zealand First is down 1% point to 1.5% in September.

This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 940 electors during September. Electors were asked: “If a New Zealand Election were held today which party would receive your party vote?” Of all electors surveyed there are 5%, down 2% points, that didn’t name a party.

New Zealand Government Confidence Rating up 10pts to 125 in September

The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating increased by 10pts in September to 125 to be at its highest since May 2021 as the Auckland lockdown was extended throughout September.

In September a majority of 57% (up 4.5% points) of New Zealand electors said New Zealand was ‘heading in the right direction’ compared to under a third, 32% (down 5.5% points) who said New Zealand was ‘heading in the wrong direction’.

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating was down by 5.1pts to 104.5 in September and is only slightly above the latest Consumer Confidence figure in Australia of 103.7 on September 25/26, 2021 as Australia continues to battle outbreaks of COVID-19 in Sydney and Melbourne.

Women continue to favour Labour-Greens while men favour National-Act NZ

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s strength lies with the massive edge in support that the Labour Party receives from women. Nearly two-thirds of women (64.5%) support either Labour (54%) or the Greens (10.5%) compared to only 46% of men supporting either Labour (37.5%) or the Greens (8.5%) – a massive ‘gender gap’ of 16.5% points in favour of Ardern’s Labour Party among women.

Men are more likely to support the Parliamentary opposition with a majority of 50.5% supporting either National (25.5%), Act NZ (22.5%) or the Maori Party (2.5%) compared to under a third, 31.5%, of Women supporting either National (21%), Act NZ (9.5%) or the Maori Party (1%).

Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is 132.5 for Women compared to 117 for men

The trends are confirmed by the latest Roy Morgan Government Confidence figures which show 59% of women say New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’ compared to 54.5% of men but only 26.5% of women say New Zealand is ‘heading in the wrong direction’ compared to 37.5% of men.

Overall, this produces a Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating of 132.5 for women compared to only 117 for men – a gap of 15.5 points.

Party vote analysis by Gender

	Total	Men	Women
	%	%	%
Labour	45.5	37.5	54
Greens	9.5	8.5	10.5
Labour/Greens	55	46	64.5

National	23	25.5	21
Act NZ	16	22.5	9.5
Maori Party	2	2.5	1
National/Act NZ/ Maori Party	41	50.5	31.5

Others	4	3.5	4
Total	100	100	100

Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating*
Right Direction	57	54.5	59
Wrong Direction	32	37.5	26.5
Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating*	125	117	132.5
Can’t say	11	8	14.5
Total	100	100	100

*The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is 100 plus the difference between the percentage of Kiwis who say the country is “heading in the right direction” and the percentage who say the country is “seriously heading in the wrong direction”.

Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says the extended lockdown in Auckland and restrictions in other parts of New Zealand have driven support back up for the governing Labour Party in a repeat of the trend seen in early 2020:

“Today’s Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll shows the Labour-led Government has the support of 55% of New Zealand electors in September, up 3.5% points from August. The increase was driven by the jump in support for the Labour Party, up 6% points to 45.5% - the highest support for six months since March. Support for the Greens was down 2.5% points to 9.5%.

“Support for the Parliamentary Opposition was up 0.5% points to 41% in September with increasing support for Act NZ driving the improvement, up by 3% points to 16%. Support for the main Opposition National was down 2% points to 23% and support for the Maori Party was down 0.5% points to 2%.

“The big mover so far this year has been Act NZ which has now more than doubled it’s 2020 election result of 7.6%. Act NZ’s support of 16% is at a record high level and is based firmly upon their support amongst men which is now at 22.5% - up 5% points from August. In contrast only 9.5% of women support Act NZ, an increase of 1% point.

“In the last two months New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland has been in a strict lockdown to supress the highly contagious Delta variant. In addition to the restrictions introduced to deal with the outbreak there has been a rapidly increasing vaccination rate in New Zealand.

“In the last week New Zealand’s first dose vaccination rate (68% of the whole population) has overtaken both the United States (64%) and Germany (67.5%) – two countries with minimal restrictions. It’s true both the US and Germany have higher rates of full vaccination but the rapid uptake of vaccinations in New Zealand will see the country soon overtake these countries for full vaccination as well.

“The high rate of vaccination in New Zealand will lead to a relaxation in restrictions in the next few months with existing border controls to be reconsidered at the end of November.

“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s commitment to minimising the spread of COVID-19 has been endorsed by electors during September while Act NZ’s focus on opening up and learning to live with COVID is also clearly attracting support.

“Act NZ leader David Seymour released a plan entitled ‘Covid 3.0: Life after lockdown’ outlining Act NZ’s plan to re-open the New Zealand economy and allow people to travel in and out of the country before Christmas. The plan would also mean an end to regional or national lockdowns and having a wider focus on overall well-being rather than the concentrating on COVID-19 at the expense of other issues such as mental health.

“The record high level of support for Act NZ suggests the call to re-open the New Zealand economy is bringing in new supporters to the centre-right party.”

New Zealand Party Vote: 2020-21

Source: Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source. January 2020 – September 2021. Base: New Zealand electors aged 18+. Average interviews per month = 929.

New Zealand Party Vote: NZ Govt. v Parliamentary Opposition

Source: Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source. January 2020 – September 2021. Base: New Zealand electors aged 18+. Average interviews per month = 929.

Roy Morgan NZ Government Confidence Rating vs. ANZ-Roy Morgan NZ Consumer Confidence

Source: Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source. January 2020 – September 2021. Base: New Zealand electors aged 18+. Average interviews per month = 929.

Voting Intention Summary

The following table compares the latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Polls on Voting Intention with the result from the September 23, 2017 General Election:

PARTY VOTE	Labour	Green Party*	National	ACT NZ	Maori Party**	TOP**	NZ First	Other
ELECTIONS	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%

October 12, 1996*	28.19	10.10	33.87	6.10	n/a	n/a	13.35	8.39
November 27, 1999	38.74	5.16	30.50	7.04	n/a	n/a	4.26	14.30
July 27, 2002	41.26	7.00	20.93	7.14	n/a	n/a	10.38	13.29
September 17, 2005	41.10	5.30	39.10	1.51	2.12	n/a	5.72	5.15
November 8, 2008	33.99	6.72	44.93	3.65	2.39	n/a	4.07	4.25
November 26, 2011	27.48	11.06	47.31	1.07	1.43	n/a	6.59	5.06
September 20, 2014	25.13	10.70	47.04	0.69	1.32	n/a	8.66	6.46
September 23, 2017	36.89	6.27	44.45	0.50	1.18	2.44	7.20	1.07
October 17, 2020	50.01	7.86	25.58	7.59	1.17	1.51	2.60	3.70
ROY MORGAN POLL
May 2020	56.5	7	26.5	3.5	1.5	1	2.5	1.5
June 2020	54.5	9	27	5	1	1.5	1.5	0.5
July 2020	53.5	8	26.5	6.5	0.5	1.5	1.5	2
August 2020	48	11.5	28.5	6	0.5	1	2.5	2
September 2020	47.5	9.5	28.5	7	0.5	1.5	2.5	3
NZ Election 2020	50	7.9	25.6	7.6	1.2	1.5	2.6	3.7
November 2020	44	12.5	25.5	10.5	1	2	1.5	3
December 2020	44	10.5	28	10	2	2	2	1.5
January 2021	47	11.5	25	9	2	1.5	2	2
February 2021	45	13.5	29	7.5	1	1	1.5	1.5
March 2021	45.5	12	23	11	1	2	2.5	3
April 2021	41.5	13.5	29.5	9	2.5	0.5	1	2.5
May 2021	45	11	28.5	9	1.5	1.5	2	1.5
June 2021	38.5	12.5	29.5	11.5	2.5	2	1.5	2
July 2021	39.5	10	29	13	2.5	3	2	1
August 2021	39.5	12	25	13	2.5	2	2.5	3.5
September 2021	45.5	9.5	23	16	2	1.5	1.5	1

*The 1996 Election was the first New Zealand Election contested via MMP (Mixed Member Proportional). At the 1996 Election the Greens Party contested as part of the “Alliance” political grouping with four other political parties.
**The Maori Party was launched in July 2004. The Opportunities Party (TOP) was launched in November 2016.

Two-Party Preferred: Labour Party-led Government vs. Parliamentary Opposition Parties

	Labour Party-led Government (Labour, Greens)	Parliamentary Opposition Parties (National, Act NZ & Maori)
NZ Election, October 17, 2020*	57.87	34.33
ROY MORGAN NEW ZEALAND POLL
Labour wins the NZ Election and, despite securing a majority of seats in Parliament, signs a ‘Cooperation Agreement’ with the Greens – October 31, 2020
November 2020	56.5	37
December 2020	54.5	40
2021
January 2021	58.5	36
February 2021	58.5	37.5
March 2021	57.5	35
April 2021	55	41
May 2021	56	39
June 2021	51	43.5
July 2021	49.5	44.5
August 2021	51.5	40.5
September 2021	55	41

*At the 2020 NZ Election the Labour party secured 50.01% of the vote which was enough to govern in their own right but Labour opted to sign a ‘Cooperation Agreement’ with the Greens, who won 7.86% of the vote. There were three Parties elected to Parliament not in Government led by National (25.58%), Act NZ (7.59%) and the Maori Party (1.17%).

(Roy Morgan)

October 04 2021

Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8809-nz-national-voting-intention-september-2021-202110040446

MULTICOUNTRY STUDIES

711-712-43-40/Polls

On Average, Eight In 10 (79%) Across 30 Countries Say That Their Mental And Physical Health Are Equally Important

On average, eight in 10 (79%) across 30 countries say that their mental and physical health are equally important when it comes to their personal health.
But only one-third (35%) think that healthcare systems in their country treat mental and physical health with equal importance. A larger proportion (42%) think healthcare treats physical health with greater importance.
Our study shows that younger people and women are more likely to think about their own mental health.
Mental health is the third most important health problem facing people in their country, according to the global public, now only slightly behind cancer.

How often do you think about your mental/physical wellbeing?

While over half (53%) across all countries say that they think about their mental wellbeing ‘fairly’ or very’ often, people tend to think about their physical wellbeing more frequently (68% fairly/very often). One in ten (11%) say they never think about their mental health, compared to 5% for physical health.

Women tend to think about their mental health more than men do (58% very/fairly often vs. 48%). We also see some generational differences; 61% of under-35s think about their mental wellbeing at least ‘fairly often’, compared to 42% of over-50s.

Demographic differences are less pronounced when it comes to how often people think about their physical health.

The countries where people report thinking about their mental health most often are Brazil (75%), South Africa (71%), and Colombia (71%).

In China, South Korea, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Sweden, people are more likely to say that they do not think about their mental wellbeing very often.

How important are mental and physical health to you?

On average, eight in 10 (79%) across 30 countries say they consider their mental and physical health to be equally important when it comes to their personal health.

We find greatest proportions saying they are ‘equally important’ in:

Hungary (90%)
Mexico (88%)
Colombia (86%)
Peru (86%)
Chile (86%)

Among those who think one is one more important than the other, more people are likely to select mental health (12%) than physical health (6%).

The countries with the largest proportions of people saying that mental health is most important are Saudi Arabia (26%), India (24%), Sweden (20%), Turkey (18%), and Brazil (16%).

The countries with the largest proportions of people saying that physical health is most important are Saudi Arabia (14%), India (13%), Japan (10%), China (10%), and Australia (10%).

How are mental and physical health treated in healthcare systems?

Despite widespread agreement that mental and physical health are equally important to an overall picture of health, people are less likely to think that their country’s healthcare systems treat them equally: 35% globally say this is the case, while 42% say that physical health is treated with greater importance. Only 9% think that mental health is treated as more important.

There is strongest agreement that physical health is treated with greater importance in:

Great Britain (60%)
The US (55%)
Brazil (55%)
South Africa (54%)
Sweden (54%)

The countries where more think that both mental and physical health are treated as equally important are:

Malaysia (60%)
China (54%)
Japan (47%)
Mexico (45%)

This points to a discrepancy when it comes to how the public perceive their own health and how it is treated by healthcare services in their country: only 6% say that their physical health is more important than their mental health but 42% think that this is treated with greater importance.

Mental health as a top global health concern

Our global average across 30 countries sees mental health emerge this year as the third most important health problem facing the public in their country. Almost a third (31%) see this as a top health issue, only 3 points shy of the figure recorded for cancer (34%). The top health concern in 2021 is Coronavirus (70%), continuing what we saw last year when it was first introduced in the survey.

Mental health is the top health concern in Sweden (63%) and Chile (59%). After these two, the countries that are particularly likely to say mental health is a key health concern are: Australia (47%), Canada (43%), Colombia (41%), Singapore (40%), Brazil (40%), and Great Britain (40%).

The countries where fewer members of the public consider mental health an important health concern are Japan (9%), Mexico (11%), France (12%), and Saudi Arabia (14%).

(Ipsos Egypt)

8 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-eg/world-mental-health-day-2021

711-712-43-41/Polls

Italians And The French Are The Most Pessimistic With One In Five (19% And 20% Respectively) Saying That It Is Already Too Late To Avoid The Worst Effects Of Climate Change

World leaders are set to descend on Glasgow at the end of the month for COP-26, a global summit on measures countries could take to combat climate change. YouGov's latest Eurotrack survey looks at what Europeans in seven countries think of the summit’s chances of success, as well as wider attitudes to climate change.

Most are worried about climate change, but also think there is still time to fix things

Italians and the French are the most pessimistic about what can be done to tackle climate change, with one in five (19% and 20% respectively) saying that it is already too late to avoid the worst effects. Spaniards have the most positive outlook, with just 1 in 11 (9%) saying it is too late, and three quarters (73%) saying that the worst effects can still be avoided if drastic actions are taken.

Swedes are the most likely to think current actions are enough, with 1 in 6 (17%) saying that the steps currently being taken are sufficient to avoid the worst effects of climate change – Sweden is a leader in climate change action and is a frontrunner in the Climate Change Performance Index, thanks to its climate change policies. However, according to the Index no country is doing enough to prevent dangerous climate change, with no country achieving a 'very high' rating.

Countdown to COP-26

While COP-26 is the most major climate change event in the last couple of years, awareness of the conference is low across all countries polled. Britons and French people display the highest levels of awareness, but even here just a quarter (27% and 26% respectively) had heard a great deal or fair amount about COP-26 at the time the survey was conducted in mid-September. Awareness was lowest amongst the two Nordic countries, with just 6% of Danes and 7% of Swedes saying they have heard about the conference.

Despite the importance of the issue, and the involvement of the most powerful world leaders in seeking a solution, a majority in all seven countries think the conference is unlikely to result in any significant action being taken. Germans are the most pessimistic about what the conference can achieve, with 64% saying significant action is unlikely.

Can individuals make an impact on climate change?

Although the public have little confidence that COP26 will result in significant action, they are sure that it is within the power of governments to make an impact on climate change. In all countries, at least seven in ten think governments, as well as businesses, can have a big or fairly big impact on tackling climate change. Italians and Spaniards are most confident in this view – 84% of Italians say governments can have a big impact, while 86% of Spaniards think the same of businesses.

While the conference will focus on actions governments can take to affect global warming, can individuals also make a difference? The seven countries polled are split on the role individuals can play. Italians are the most confident that people themselves can make a difference, with three quarters (75%) say that individuals can have a big or fairly big impact. Danes are the least optimistic, with only 43% thinking people can make much of an impact at the individual level.

Majority think climate change should be a government spending priority

One of the key criticisms of governments in their commitment to tackling climate change is that they have not invested enough in finding solutions. Particularly in the wake of the coronavirus, the defence has been that the public would rather government spending was focused on other areas, but the latest Eurotrack data shows that this is not the case.

In all countries, the proportion of adults who feel climate change needs to be treated as a priority in terms of government spending outweighs the proportion that think spending on other areas should be more urgent. The gap is biggest in Italy, where half (50%) think climate change spending should be a priority, almost double the proportion that think other areas are more urgent than climate change (27%).

(YouGov UK)

October 12, 2021

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/10/12/eurotrack-what-do-europeans-think-about-climate-ch

711-712-43-42/Polls

A Global Country Average Of 64% Rate Doctors As Trustworthy

While many professions’ positions have barely shifted over the last few years, one notable impact during the pandemic has been a boost to the standing of doctors, moving them above scientists who were the top profession in previous waves. On average, almost two-thirds of those in 22 countries which have been studied over the three waves rate them as trustworthy (64%), an increase of seven percentage points since 2019 and nine points ahead of their score in September 2018. By contrast, the proportion saying the same about scientists has stayed at about six in ten across all three years (61% in 2021).

Great Britain leads the world in trusting doctors with 72 per cent rating them as trustworthy, a proportion which has risen slightly since 2018 (67%). Doctors are similarly highly trusted by Dutch people (71%) and Canadians (70%).

Yet the biggest changes in trust in doctors over the past few years are seen elsewhere:

In Hungary and Chile, the proportion rating doctors as trustworthy has risen by 19 percentage points between 2019 and 2021. Over the same period there have also been big increases in Saudi Arabia (+17ppt), Poland (+12ppt), Brazil and Russia (both +10ppt).
However, there are some countries which remain less likely to see doctors as trustworthy. South Koreans are the least trusting on just 38%, but this is a ten-percentage point rise since 2018. The Japanese are the second-least likely to find doctors trustworthy on 52%, but there has been a 13 percentage-point increase on this score compared with the 2019 pre-pandemic survey wave. Despite these scores still being low by global standards, it should be noted that this is due to many giving a mid-score, rather than considering doctors to be untrustworthy.
Mexico is the only country to register a fall in the trustworthiness of doctors between 2019 and 2021, with trust falling from 71% to 66%

Many other professions remain at similar levels to those recorded in pre-pandemic waves, including politicians, who have been bottom of the list in all three years. This year just ten per cent on average rate politicians as being trustworthy.

Scientists remain seen as trustworthy by six in ten of the global sample (61%) and their ratings have stayed the same in many markets over the past two years. The largest increases in trust in scientists since 2019 have been recorded in Saudi Arabia (+17ppt), Hungary (+13ppt), Brazil (+9ppt) and Canada +8ppt), while the biggest drops have been in Argentina (-11ppt) and Mexico (-8ppt).

Teachers remain the third-most trustworthy profession for the third wave in a row, with 55% rating them as trusted. As with scientists, in many countries trust scores for teachers have moved little through the pandemic, but there has been a sixteen percentage-point increase in trust for teachers in Saudi Arabia between 2019 and 2021, as well as nine point rises in Hungary and Japan. Over the same period perceptions of trustworthiness have improved in Malaysia (+8ppt), Italy and South Africa (+6ppt), while they have fall in the US (-6ppt) and Argentina (-5ppt).

Globally, three professions stand out as the least likely to be considered trustworthy: government ministers, advertising executives and politicians. This year the Global Country Average has 14% scoring government ministers and 15% advertising executives one or two out of five for trustworthiness and just 10% doing the same for politicians. While these scores are similar to previous years, the level of distrust in these professions has fallen somewhat. Between 2019 and 2021 the proportion who see politicians as untrustworthy across 22 countries has fallen four points from 66% to 62%, while distrust of government ministers has dropped by five percentage points (from 58% to 53%). Advertising executives have also seen a shift; in 2019 nearly half considered them untrustworthy (45%) but now that figure stands at four in ten (39%).

(Ipsos Egypt)

12 October 2021

Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-eg/global-trustworthiness-index-2021

711-712-43-43/Polls

Diversity And Division In Advanced Economies

Wide majorities in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed by Pew Research Center say having people of many different backgrounds improves their society. Outside of Japan and Greece, around six-in-ten or more hold this view, and in many places – including Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Taiwan – at least eight-in-ten describe where they live as benefiting from people of different ethnic groups, religions and races.

Even in Japan and Greece, the share who think diversity makes their country better has increased by double digits since the question was last asked four years ago, and significant increases have also taken place in most other nations where trends are available.

Alongside this growing openness to diversity, however, is a recognition that societies may not be living up to these ideals: In fact, most people say racial or ethnic discrimination is a problem in their society. Half or more in almost every place surveyed describe discrimination as at least a somewhat serious problem – including around three-quarters or more who have this view in Italy, France, Sweden, the U.S. and Germany. And, in eight surveyed publics, at least half describe their society as one with conflicts between people of different racial or ethnic groups. The U.S. is the country with the largest share of the public saying there is racial or ethnic conflict.

Notably, however, in most societies racial and ethnic divisions are not seen as the most salient cleavage. Rather, in the majority of places surveyed, more people identify conflicts between people who support different political parties than conflicts between people with different ethnic or racial backgrounds. Political divisions are also seen as greater than the other two dimensions tested: between those with different religions and between urban and rural residents. (For more on the actual composition of each public surveyed on each of these dimensions, see Appendix A.)

In the U.S. and South Korea, 90% say there are at least strong conflicts between those who support different parties – including around half or more in each country who say these conflicts are very strong. In Taiwan, France and Italy, around two-thirds say the political conflicts in their society are strong. Still, in around half of the surveyed publics, fewer than 50% say the same.

In some places, this acrimony has risen to the level that people think their fellow citizens no longer disagree simply over policies, but also over basic facts. In France, the U.S., Italy, Spain and Belgium, half or more think that most people in their country disagree on basic facts more than they agree. Across most societies surveyed, those who see conflict among partisans are more likely to say people disagree on the basic facts than those who do not see such conflicts.

Views on the topic are also closely related to views of the governing party or parties in nearly every society (for more on how governing party is defined, see Appendix B). In every place but the U.S. and Italy, those with unfavorable views of the governing coalition are more likely to say most people disagree on the basic facts than those with favorable views of the government.

Although divisions between racial and ethnic groups as well as between partisans are palpable for many, other types of conflicts are less commonly perceived. For example, in no place surveyed does a majority think there are strong conflicts between people who live in cities and people who live in rural areas. Similarly, only a minority in most countries say there are divisions between people who practice different religions – though around half or more do sense such conflicts in South Korea, France and the U.S.

Beyond divisions between specific groups, there is also a widespread – and growing – sense that societies are more divided now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. A median of 61% across the 17 advanced economies say they are now more divided than before the outbreak, and in all but one of the 13 countries also polled in summer 2020, the sense that societies are more divided than united has risen significantly since last year. Those who describe their society as more divided than before the global health emergency are also significantly more likely to see conflicts between different groups in society and to say their fellow citizens disagree over basic facts.

Spotlight: Divided societies

In the U.S., France and South Korea, at least a majority say that having people of many different backgrounds makes their country a better place to live. Still, these three countries stand out for the degree to which people perceive various conflicts. In each of these places, the publics are among the most likely to describe their society as divided, and this is the case across each of the dimensions asked about: political, racial and ethnic, religious, and geographic.

United States

When it comes to perceived political and ethnic conflicts, no public is more divided than Americans: 90% say there are conflicts between people who support different political parties and 71% say the same when it comes to ethnic and racial groups. (Results of a different question asking specifically about conflicts between Democrats and Republicans also found that 71% of Americans think conflicts between the party coalitions are very strong and another 20% say they are somewhat strong. The sense of conflicts between Democrats and Republicans also increased between 2012 and 2020.)

In terms of divisions between people who practice different religions and between urban and rural residents, again, Americans consistently rate as one of the three most divided publics of the 17 surveyed.

Some of these perceived divisions differ by racial and ethnic background. For example, more Black adults (82%) see conflict between people with different ethnic or racial backgrounds than White (69%) or Hispanic (70%) adults.

Another major axis of division in the U.S. is partisan identification. Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party are much more likely to see conflict between people of different racial and ethnic groups than are Republicans and independents who lean Republican. There are also partisan differences in opinion over whether people who practice different religions or those who live in urban and rural areas have conflicts.

Notably, however, both Democrats and Republicans share a widespread belief that there are conflicts between those who support different political parties. Democrats and Republicans are also equally likely to say Americans disagree over basic facts. For more, see “Americans see stronger societal conflicts than people in other advanced economies.”

France

On three of the four dimensions asked about, French adults are among the most likely to say there are conflicts – and the highest share in France perceives divisions between rural and urban residents. Partisanship plays some role in perceived divisions. Supporters of the Republicans, a right-of-center party, tend to see more conflicts than supporters of the Socialist Party or the ruling En Marche. For example, 76% who support the Republicans say there is conflict between people of different racial or ethnic groups, compared with 56% of Socialist Party supporters or 54% of En Marche supporters.¹ French women are also more likely to see conflicts in many parts of their society than are men.

South Korea

More in South Korea than in any other public surveyed say there are conflicts between people who practice different religions (61%) in their society. They are also tied with the U.S. as the society where the highest share sees partisan divisions: 90% of South Koreans say this, including 50% who say such conflicts are very strong. And, on issues between ethnic and racial groups and between rural and urban residents, South Korea is consistently one of the top three most divided publics.

There is no single pattern to the divisions that South Koreans perceive in their society. Rather, depending on the conflict in question, different cleavages emerge. For example, when it comes to conflicts between rural and urban residents, those with lower incomes are more likely to identify conflicts than those with higher incomes. Younger South Koreans, for their part, are more likely to say there are racial or ethnic conflicts in their society than are older people, and those with higher education levels also agree relative to those with lower education levels.

Spotlight: Societies with fewer divisions

Singapore

The small island nation of Singapore is one of the least divided societies surveyed. Although it is ethnically and racially diverse – and even boasts four official languages that correspond with the dominant ethnic groups – fewer Singaporeans (25%) report conflicts between people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds than nearly any other public surveyed. Singaporeans are also among the least divided religiously, with only 21% saying there are conflicts between people who practice different religions, despite being quite heterogeneous religiously. Notably, however, perceived divisions vary based on people’s self-reported ethnic and religious identity. For example, ethnic Indians and Malays are more likely to see political, ethnic and religious conflicts than ethnic Chinese. Similarly, Muslims are somewhat more likely to see conflicts both between those who practice different religions and those of different racial and ethnic groups than are self-reported Buddhists or Christians.

Singapore also stands out for seeing the fewest divisions between people who support different political parties (33%). The nation-state is largely governed by the People’s Action Party, which garnered around 61% of the vote and 89% of parliamentary seats in the most recent 2020 election, with the Worker’s Party securing the remainder. Singaporeans were not asked about conflicts between rural and urban residents because the nation-state is entirely urban.

Spain

Spaniards are the least divided among the 17 publics surveyed when it comes to geography, with only 12% of the public saying there are conflicts between rural and urban residents. Only 19% report conflicts among those who practice different religions, making it one of the two least religiously divided societies. And only around a third see conflicts between those with different racial and ethnic backgrounds, which ranks the country in the bottom three for this division as well. Still, when it comes to partisan differences, Spaniards see more conflicts. This country – which has active separatist movements, and has seen the collapse of the two-party system and the rise of populist parties – is one where a 58% majority see at least some conflict between those who support different political parties. Spaniards on the ideological left are somewhat more likely than those on the right to describe conflicts between partisans.

Taiwan

The share of adults in Taiwan who say there are conflicts between people who practice different religions (12%) is smaller than the share who say the same in any of the other places surveyed. They are also among the least likely to report conflicts between rural and urban residents (15%) and between those with different racial and ethnic backgrounds (22%). Still, adults in Taiwan do see major divisions between those who support different political parties: 69% say there are conflicts, which ranks the island among the top three most politically divided locations. Supporters of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and nonsupporters are equally likely to see such political disagreements.

These are among the findings of a new Pew Research Center survey, conducted from Feb. 1 to May 26, 2021, among 18,850 adults in 17 advanced economies. Other key findings include:

People on the ideological left are often more likely to say diversity improves their societies, as well as to describe discrimination as a problem. But when it comes to identifying conflicts between different racial and ethnic groups, the relationship varies. In the U.S. and Greece, those on the left are more likely to describe these racial tensions than those on the right, whereas in Sweden, Italy and Germany, the opposite is true.

Younger respondents tend to say people of different backgrounds make their society a better place to live – but also tend to see more conflicts and discrimination in their society than older people. For example, in Greece, around six-in-ten of those under age 30 say having people of many different ethnic groups, religions and races improves their society, compared with only around four-in-ten of those ages 65 and older who say the same. Yet those under 30 are also around twice as likely – or more – as those ages 65 and older to report conflicts between people who support different parties, between different ethnic groups, and between different religious groups.
In some publics, people who think the economy is doing well tend to see fewer conflicts between groups in their society and see more benefits stemming from diverse people living around them.

Diverse society seen positively in most advanced economies

Across most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed, majorities – and in many cases, large majorities – say that having people of many ethnic groups, religions and races makes their society a better place to live. This opinion is most strongly held in Singapore, where 92% say that having people of different ethnic groups, religions and races makes Singapore a better place to live. Eight-in-ten or more in New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and Taiwan also say having people of many different backgrounds makes for a better place to live.

But this opinion is not universally held. About half of Greek and Japanese adults say that having a diverse society makes their country a worse place to live. Still, this represents significant declines from 2017, when majorities in Greece (62%) and Japan (57%) said diversity makes their country a worse place to live.

In fact, attitudes have generally become more open to diversity since the question was last asked in 2017. The share who say having people of many different backgrounds makes their society a better place to live has increased significantly in nine of 11 countries where the question was posed in both 2017 and 2021. Views have changed most dramatically in Greece, where 45% now say having people of many different backgrounds makes their society better compared with just 21% who held that view in 2017, an increase of 24 percentage points.

While majorities in nearly every survey public agree that diversity in society is a positive, younger people and those with more education are significantly more likely than older people and those with less education to hold this opinion.

For example, 84% of Italians ages 18 to 29 say having people of many different backgrounds makes Italy a better place to live, while about half (51%) of Italians ages 65 and older agree. Italy also has the largest attitudinal gap between those with a postsecondary education or more and those with less than a postsecondary education: 89% of more educated Italians view diversity positively, compared with 58% of educated Italians with less education, a gap of 31 points.

Wealthier people express more positive views of diversity than those with lower incomes in some of the places surveyed. For instance, nine-in-ten Britons with higher incomes say having people of many different ethnic groups, races and religions makes the UK a better place to live; eight-in-ten Britons with lower incomes say the same. Income gaps also appear in Italy, Australia, France, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Singapore and the U.S.

And in 12 of 17 advanced economies, those who say the current economic situation is good are significantly more likely to say diversity makes their society better than those who say the economic situation is bad.

Large divides on the question appear between supporters and nonsupporters of right-wing populist parties in Europe, many of which advocate for strict anti-immigration policies and openly oppose multiculturalism (for more on how populist parties are defined, see Appendix C). The divide is largest between those with favorable and unfavorable views of Sweden Democrats (48% vs. 89%, respectively).

On the other hand, supporters of center and left-wing populist parties in Italy, Greece, France and Spain are more likely to say diversity makes their country a better place to live.

Discrimination seen as a serious problem in most advanced economies

When it comes to racial and ethnic discrimination, a median of 67% say it is a serious or very serious problem in their own society, though views vary widely.

Americans and Canadians generally agree that racial and ethnic discrimination is at least a serious problem in their respective countries. Around three-quarters of Americans think so, as do around two-thirds of Canadians.

Across Europe, a median of around seven-in-ten say discrimination against people based on their race or ethnicity is a serious or very serious problem, while only about a quarter think it is not too serious of a problem or not a problem at all. Italy reports the highest percentage of adults who say racial and ethnic discrimination is a very serious problem (46%).

In the Asia-Pacific region, views on the topic vary more widely than in Europe and North America. At least six-in-ten Australians and New Zealanders say discrimination against people based on their race and ethnicity is a serious or very serious problem in their country. Taiwan, Singapore and Japan are the only places surveyed where majorities say discrimination is either not too serious or not a problem at all.

In 14 of the 17 advanced economies surveyed, younger people are significantly more likely than older people to say racial or ethnic discrimination is a very serious problem. This is is especially true in Italy, where two-thirds of Italians ages 18 to 29 say racial or ethnic discrimination is a very serious problem, while only about one-third of Italians ages 65 and older say the same.

Age gaps of 20 percentage points or more also appear in Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Even in Japan, where only 7% overall say racial or ethnic discrimination is a very serious problem, adults under 30 are 10 points more likely than those 65 and older to hold this view (13% and 3%, respectively).

While there are few differences in responses by education or income, women are more likely than men to say racial or ethnic discrimination is a serious or very serious problem in 13 of 17 publics surveyed.

In keeping with previous findings that ideological divisions in the U.S. are wider than in other countries, the U.S. is by far the most ideologically divided on the question of racial and ethnic discrimination. About two-thirds of Americans on the left say racial and ethnic discrimination in the U.S. is a very serious problem; only 19% of Americans on the right hold that view.

Still, there are significant left-right divides in many other countries on the seriousness of racial and ethnic discrimination. Australians, Canadians and Italians on the left are more than 20 points more likely than those on the right to say discrimination based on race or ethnicity is a very serious problem in their country.

Perceived social conflict

To understand how people view divisions in their societies, we asked about the strength of the conflict that people see between various groups, including: 1) those who support different political parties, 2) those with different ethnic or racial backgrounds, 3) those who practice different religions and 4) those who live in cities compared with those who live in rural areas. (For more on each society’s composition across these four dimensions, see Appendix A.)

We created a summary index of perceived social conflict by averaging responses across the four questions. Higher values indicate that, on average, people see more friction between groups in their society.

Perceived conflict is highest in the U.S., South Korea and France. Notably, Koreans are much more likely than others in the Asia-Pacific region to view conflict among social groups. Four of the five publics with the lowest conflict scores are in this region: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand. In contrast, conflict scores tend to be relatively higher in North America and Europe. Here, Spain is the exception, with a generally low average. Though the overall magnitude varies across the 17 publics surveyed, most show the same pattern when it comes to which groups are more or less likely to be divided. Overall, people see the strongest conflicts among those who support different political parties and those with different ethnic or racial backgrounds. In comparison, people tend to see less conflict among those who practice different religions. And relatively few see strong tensions between people who live in cities and people who live in rural areas.

Perceived conflict between supporters of different political parties

A median of 50% across the 17 publics surveyed say there are strong conflicts between people who support different political parties. This sentiment is particularly high in the U.S. and South Korea, where nine-in-ten see tensions between different party backers. At least half in both countries say these conflicts are very strong.

Compared with their southern neighbors, Canadians see their country as much less divided across party lines. Only 44% think there are strong partisan conflicts. (The survey was conducted before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election in August 2021.)

In Europe, majorities in France, Italy, Spain and Germany say there are strong conflicts between supporters of different political parties. A quarter or more in France and Italy see these tensions as very strong. Sweden and the Netherlands are among the least politically divided countries in this region, with 35% and 38% seeing strong conflicts, respectively. While people in South Korea are the most likely in the Asia-Pacific region to see strong conflicts between different party backers, nearly seven-in-ten in Taiwan hold the same view. Relatively few in the rest of the region say there are strong partisan conflicts in their society. Singaporeans feel particularly united when it comes to politics; 17% say there are no conflicts at all.

In many of the European countries surveyed, younger adults are more likely than those ages 65 and older to say there are strong conflicts between supporters of different political parties. Younger and older Greeks are especially divided. Only 39% of Greeks ages 65 and older think there are strong partisan tensions in their country, compared with 82% of Greeks ages 18 to 29.

Similar, though smaller, differences can also be seen in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Outside of Europe, a third of older adults in Japan see their country as politically divided, compared with roughly half of those under 30.

Notably, there are very few differences by ideology or support for the governing party. In the U.S., for example, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are just as likely as Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to think there are strong partisan tensions in the U.S. (both 90%).

There is a relatively strong correlation between perceptions of partisan conflict among the general public and the views of experts (r=+0.72). In publics where larger shares of survey respondents say there is tension between different party backers, experts generally report greater political polarization (according to the V-Dem political polarization measure, which quantifies the extent to which trained coders view each public as polarized into antagonistic political groups).

Additionally, the share of people across the 17 publics surveyed who say there are very strong conflicts between supporters of different political parties is moderately correlated (r=+0.59) with the share of seats received by the second-largest party in an election. For example, in the 2020 election in Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received 54% of the seats in Taiwan’s legislature while the Kuomintang (KMT) – the second-largest party – received 34%, making for a relatively divided chamber. Roughly three-in-ten in Taiwan say there are very strong partisan conflicts in their society. Toward the other end of the spectrum, one can look at Japan, where the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 59% of seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 election, while the second-largest party – the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) –received just 11%. In Japan, a much smaller share of the public describes very strong tensions between different party supporters (8%).

Perceived conflict between people with different ethnic or racial backgrounds

Many people across the 17 advanced economies surveyed see strong conflicts between people with different ethnic or racial backgrounds (a median of 48%). People in the U.S. (71%), France (64%) and Italy (57%) are particularly likely to view these tensions as strong, with around a quarter in each country who say they are very strong. While majorities in South Korea and Germany also say there are strong conflicts in their society, only around one-in-ten rate them as very strong.

In Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands, people are more likely to say there are strong conflicts between people from different ethnic or racial backgrounds than between people who support different political parties. In Sweden, for example, while only 35% see their country as politically divided, 50% see tensions based on race or ethnicity.

In about half of the publics surveyed, women are more likely than men to say that there is friction between people from different ethnic backgrounds. For example, 49% of German men compared with 61% of German women hold this view. Similar gender differences are seen in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Overall, there are few ideological differences. In Germany, Sweden and Italy, those on the right of the ideological spectrum are more likely than those on the left to see strong conflicts between people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This pattern is reversed in Greece and the U.S., with those on the left more likely to say that there are racial or ethnic tensions in their countries.

Consistent with the ideological differences in the U.S., Democrats (82%) are much more likely than Republicans (58%) to say there are strong conflicts based on race and ethnicity in their country. And Black Americans (82%) see more conflict between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds than White (69%) and Hispanic Americans (70%).

Perceived conflict between people who practice different religions

Overall, fewer people see strong religious conflicts, compared with conflicts based on politics or race. A median of 36% across the 17 publics surveyed say there are strong conflicts between people who practice different religions in their society.

South Korea and France are the only places surveyed where more than half of people say there are strong divisions based on religious beliefs. And in France, almost a quarter say these conflicts are very strong.

Roughly half of Americans say there are strong conflicts between people who practice different religions in their country, including 13% who say there are very strong conflicts.

In Europe, people in Spain are by far the least likely to say there are strong religious tensions. Only 19% of Spaniards hold this view. More say that there are no conflicts between different religious groups at all in their country (30%).

Again, South Korea is an outlier in the Asia-Pacific region. Koreans are nearly twice as likely as those in Japan, which has the second-highest share in the region, to say there are religious tensions in their country. In contrast, roughly three-in-ten in Singapore and Taiwan say there are no religious conflicts at all.

Adults under 30 are more likely than those ages 65 and older to see strong religious divisions in Greece, Belgium, Japan, Italy, the U.S., Spain and Taiwan. And again, Greeks are the most polarized by age, with 60% of younger adults and 24% of older adults saying there are strong conflicts based on religion in their country.

Different kinds of religious conflict

The survey included two questions measuring perceived religious conflict: 1) conflict between people who practice different religions and 2) conflict between people who are religious and people who are not religious. The separate questions were included to determine if people viewed tensions between, for example, Christians and Muslims, as stronger or weaker than conflicts between people who identify with a religion and those who do not.

The differences between these two questions were negligible. In most countries, similar shares say there are strong conflicts between people who practice different religions and between those who are religious and those who are not. Across the 17 publics surveyed, the correlation between the questions was extremely high (r=+0.97). Considering the similarities between the questions, we focus on just one for our analysis: conflict between people who practice different religions.

However, perceptions of religious conflict differ somewhat by ideology in several countries. For example, conservatives in the U.S. are more likely to see strong conflicts between people who are religious and those who are not (50%) than between different religious groups (39%). Liberals respond nearly the same to both questions. And in Sweden, people on the left are less likely to see conflicts between people who are religious and those who are not (12%) than between different religious groups (26%).

In Germany, Canada and Italy, there are ideological divides in the extent to which people see conflicts between those who are religious and those who are not, with people on the right more likely to see conflicts than those on the left. But people on the left and right in these countries agree on the extent to which there are conflicts between different religious groups.

Perceived conflict between people who live in cities and people who live in rural areas

A median of just 23% say there are strong or very strong conflicts between people who live in cities and people who live in rural areas. Half say there are not very strong conflicts and 20% say there are no conflicts at all between these groups. (Medians are based on 16 publics. This question was not asked in Singapore, a geographically small island nation with an entirely urban population.)

Again, France, South Korea and the U.S. stand out as particularly divided. Roughly 45% in each country say there are strong or very strong tensions based on geography. Elsewhere, no more than three-in-ten share this sentiment.

Spaniards are the most likely to say that there are no conflicts at all between those who live in cities and those who live in rural areas (49%). In Europe, at least a quarter in Belgium, Italy and Greece say the same.

Similarly, many in the Asia-Pacific region – with the exception of South Korea – say there are not very strong or no conflicts based on what type of area people live in. Roughly one-in-five or more in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Taiwan say there are no divisions at all between city-dwellers and people who live in rural areas.

People across the ideological spectrum tend to agree that there are limited conflicts based on the type of area people live in. In the U.S., however, people on the left (53%) are more likely than those on the right (38%) to say that there are strong or very strong conflicts between people who live in urban areas and people who live in rural areas.

In six European countries – Belgium, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Greece – those with a secondary education or below are more likely than people with postsecondary education to say that there is friction based on where people live in their country. In the U.S., the opposite is true; people with more education are more likely than those with less to say there are strong conflicts between people in urban and rural areas.

Majorities of some publics say most people agree on basic facts

A median of 39% believe there are fundamental disagreements over basic facts in their society. In France and the U.S., about six-in-ten say most people in their country disagree over basic facts, while half or more also hold this view in Italy, Spain and Belgium. In contrast, roughly two-thirds or more in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Germany think most people agree on basic facts, even if they disagree about policies.

This high sense of disagreement over facts may be due, at least in part, to struggles to combat pandemic-related conspiracy theories. In most places surveyed, those who believe COVID-19 has made their society more divided are much more likely to say people disagree over basic facts than those who say COVID-19 has made their society more united.

Perception of political conflicts is strongly tied to whether adults think their fellow citizens agree or disagree on basic facts. In every public surveyed, those who say there are very strong or strong conflicts between people who support different political parties are more likely to think people disagree on basic facts. This divide is largest in Sweden: 62% of Swedes who say there are political conflicts think most people disagree about basic facts, compared with only 37% of Swedes who say there are not very strong or no conflicts between people who support different political parties.²

Views on the topic are closely related to views of the governing party or parties in each place surveyed. Outside of the U.S. and Italy, in every other public those with unfavorable views of the governing coalition are more likely to say most people disagree about basic facts than those with favorable views of the government.

(PEW)

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/10/13/diversity-and-division-in-advanced-economies/