Mumbai: The Feb 2024 wave of the Ipsos What Worries the World shows that at least 78 per cent of the urban Indians polled believe India is moving in the right direction. Interestingly, there was an eight per cent surge seen over Jan 2024. On the contrary, six in ten global citizens said their country is on wrong track.

Countries belonging to the global south were at the top of the heap. Signalling the new shift in growth and optimism. The markets being Indonesia (80 per cent), India (78 per cent), Singapore (76 per cent), Thailand (68 per cent), Argentina (60 per cent), Malaysia (57 per cent) etc. Countries most downbeat about the future and believing their country is on wrong track and at the bottom of the heap were – Peru (16 per cent), South Africa (18 per cent), France (23 per cent) and Hungary (23 per cent).

What worries urban Indians and global citizens

Ipsos What Worries the World global survey also covers views on the top issues citizens believe their countries are facing. In Feb top issues enlisted by Indians included – Inflation (49 per cent), unemployment (43 per cent), education (35 per cent), crime and violence (23 per cent) and financial and political corruption (21 per cent). For global citizens their top worries included inflation (36 per cent), poverty and social inequality (30 per cent), crime and violence (30 per cent), unemployment (26 per cent) and financial and political corruption (62 per cent).

"In Feb we witness more Indians being confident about the future and about how we are doing as a country. India has always been resilient during torrid times. Even with the 2 wars (Ukraine & Gaza) impacting global economies including India, increasing inflationary conditions and leading to massive job cuts. We have shown stability and consistency in growth. As a country we are defining our own set of priorities for trudging forward . A confident nation has a positive impact on its citizens. Indians worry about inflation, unemployment, education, crime and corruption the most. The survey highlights issues to flag it to the govt that some of these areas need attention. Though inflation continues to be the No.1 global worry as well," stated Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar.

"It’s a double whammy of issues Indians are dealing with - high cost of living and unemployment. And these issues continue to sit on the top, for 2 years in a row now. Global polycrisis has accentuated it for India as we live in an interconnected world and no country is insulated from it,” added Adarkar.