South Africans worry a lot.

To be fair, we also have a lot to worry about, according to the latest Ipsos ‘What Worries the World’ study.

The study surveyed 28 countries across the globe about their biggest worries. The findings were based on 20 787 interviews conducted between August 24 and September 7, among adults aged 16-64.

According to BusinessTech, China came out on top with 92% confidence in national direction.

Saudi Arabia (78%) remains in second place with India (67%) in third position. Malaysia (65%) rising-8-percentage points to fourth place.

At the other end of the spectrum – Brazilian, Spanish, South African, French and Peruvian citizens have the greatest apprehension about the direction taken by their country.

Only 19% of South Africans believe that the country is on the right track, dropping 7% since last year, and a staggering 33 percentage points since March this year.

That’s when national optimism was at 52%, following Zuma’s ousting and Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment as the new ANC party leader.

The study found that the majority of people around the world worry about five things.

…financial/political corruption (34%), unemployment (33%), poverty/social inequality (33%), crime and violence (31%), and healthcare (24%).

South Africa follows these international trends for the most part, with the exception of crime and violence, for which it is now the highest ranked country in the world (62%). In addition, education (21%) replaces healthcare  (12%) as a chief worry according to the South Africans surveyed.

Conversely, South Africans are not in the least bit concerned with things like access to credit (1%), childhood obesity (1%), climate change (1%), and terrorism (2%) when compared to other countries.

Here’s what really keeps us up at night:

I think we can all relate.

[source:businesstech]