Pessimists, misanthropes, and doomsayers, rejoice: you are not alone. A new survey reveals majorities in 15 countries around the world think the world is getting worse.
YouGov asked over 18,000 adults from 17 different countries, “Thinking generally about the world, all things considered, do you think the world is getting better or worse, or neither getting better nor worse?”
In response, a majority of those polled in 15 of the countries, and a plurality in one of the countries, responded the world is getting worse.
The poll discovered the most pessimistic country is France, with 81 percent responding the world is getting worse. Only three percent of those polled in France believe the world is getting better.
America was found to be the sixth most pessimistic country, with 65 percent responding the world is getting worse. Only six percent responded the world is getting better.
Indonesia and China are the only two countries that did not have majorities respond the world is getting worse.
Although a majority in Indonesia did not respond the world is getting worse, a plurality (42 percent) responded the world is getting worse, while 23 percent replied the world is getting better.
China is the only country in which a plurality of those polled think the world is actually getting better. In China, 41 percent responded the world is getting better, while 33 percent responded the world is getting worse.
The YouGov poll was conducted in November and December.