Climate change seen as top threat: International poll
More people worried about power and influence of the US
BERLIN Climate change is the top security concern in a poll conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre, followed by terrorism and cyber attacks while respondents in a growing number of countries are worried about the power and influence of the US.
In 13 of 26 countries, people listed climate change as the top global threat, with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) topping the list in eight and cyber attacks in four, the non-profit, non-partisan Pew Research Centre said in its report.
Worries about climate change have risen since 2013, with double-digit percentage point increases seen in countries including the US, Mexico, France, Britain, South Africa and Kenya, according to the poll of 27,612 people conducted last year.
NUCLEAR
North Korea's nuclear programme and the global economy were also significant concerns, while respondents in Poland named Russian power and influence as the top threat.
The largest shift in sentiment centred on the US, it said, with a median of 45 per cent of people naming US power and influence as a threat last year, up from 25 per cent in 2013, when Mr Barack Obama was US president.
In 10 countries, including Germany, Japan and South Korea, half of respondents or more saw US power and influence as a major threat to their nation, up from eight in 2017 and three in 2013, the poll showed.
In Mexico, where those concerns have spiked since the election of US President Donald Trump, the percentage jumped to 64 per cent, the poll showed.
Mr Trump has railed against illegal migration and the North American Free Trade Agreement, and is pressing to build a wall between the two countries.
Last year, a median of 61 per cent of respondents across all countries represented viewed cyber attacks as a serious concern, up from 54 per cent in 2017. The number of countries that saw ISIS as a threat fell by double-digit percentage points in Israel, Spain, the US and Japan. - REUTERS
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