If the last years have shown us anything, it’s that a lot can change, fast. While many events cannot be foreseen, can others? Ipsos asked more than 23,700 people across 33 countries about their predictions for the coming year, with a survey on topics ranging from technology to the environment and world security. This data is based on one survey alone and although it does not focus on additional knowledge of experts and analysts, it does capture a snapshot of sentiments and standpoints in different countries and regions.
As the following chart shows, many people around the globe seem to be in agreement over the likelihood of global temperatures set to rise. Eight in ten respondents said that next year, we can expect the world to warm further still. This belief was most widespread in Indonesia (91 percent), the Philippines (89 percent) and Malaysia (88 percent). In a similar vein, more than seven in ten (72 percent) of respondents said they expect to see more extreme weather events in the country that they live in than last year. Meanwhile, many respondents were doubtful over whether the government in their country would introduce more demanding targets to reduce carbon emissions more quickly, with only 52 percent of respondents saying it was likely authorities would act in such a way. Respondents in China were the most optimistic about this prospect (84 percent).
Views on whether the conflicts currently raging in the Middle East and Ukraine will come to an end in 2025 were pessimistic. Only around two in ten people thought it would be the case in the Middle East. In Ukraine, closer to three in ten thought the same, but this still marks a four percentage point drop on predictions from the same time one year ago. Just one in three people worldwide thought that people in their country would become more tolerant of one another, marking a fall of two percentage points since last year.
In terms of the online world, nearly two thirds of respondents said that they expect AI will replace jobs in their country in 2025. At the same time, 43 percent agreed that AI will lead to many new jobs being created in their country. When asked whether respondents thought that many more people will live in virtual worlds next year, 59 percent of respondents agreed it likely would be the case - up from 56 percent in 2022.
