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Crime and violence were the most worrying topics worldwide as of January 2026, with almost **** of the respondents choosing that option. Inflation, as well as poverty and social inequality, followed behind. Moreover, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the situation in Gaza, ** percent of the respondents were worried about military conflict between nations. Only *** percent were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated the world after its outbreak in 2020.

Global inflation and rising prices

Inflation rates have spiked substantially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, the worldwide inflation rate increased from *** percent to *** percent, and from 2021 to 2022, the rate increased sharply from *** percent to *** percent. While rates are predicted to fall by 2025, many are continuing to struggle with price increases on basic necessities.

Poverty and global development

Poverty and social inequality were the third most worrying issues for respondents. While poverty and inequality are still prominent, global poverty rates have been on a steady decline over the years. In 1994, ** percent of people in low-income countries and around one percent of people in high-income countries lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. By 2018, this had fallen to almost ** percent of people in low-income countries and 0.6 percent in high-income countries. Moreover, fewer people globally are dying of preventable diseases, and people are living longer lives. Despite these aspects, issues such as wealth inequality have global prominence.