Respondents were asked about prospects for a safer and more economically prosperous world but the results show there is still lack of optimism on both counts, most notably in Western Europe and North America. The survey, now in its fifth year, also found that business leaders are widely held in better esteem than their political counterparts but significant proportions still criticize both sets of leaders, with dishonesty heavily associated with political leaders.

Gallup International questioned 61,600 people in 60 countries for the “Voice of the PeopleTM” survey. The interviews, which were carried out between October and December 2007, represent the views of almost 1.5 billion global citizens. The survey comes ahead of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos (23-27 January). This year’s theme is: The Power of Collaborative Innovation.

Commenting on the survey findings, Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman and Founder of the World Economic Forum, said: “The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos is the most comprehensive meeting in the world for tackling the increasingly complex problems that face us all. This survey shows that if we are to restore confidence in the future, we need to take concerted, global action. The Annual Meeting brings together a unique group of the world’s leading business and political leaders as well as the heads of the world’s most important NGOs and religious and cultural leaders. It is here that we can once again focus on the issues that face us all and make a positive contribution to improving the state of our world.”

“This survey is unmatched in its ability to gauge the views and the mood of the people of the whole world. No other poll can match the Voice of the PeopleTM survey to capture what the world is really thinking, and what it demands of its leaders,” added Meril James, Secretary-General of Gallup International Association, which carried out the research.

The findings are remarkably consistent with last year’s results. Opinions about whether the next generation will live in a safer world show similar levels of pessimism compared to previous years – a quarter (25%) think the world will either be a lot or a little safer but they are outweighed by almost half of all respondents (48%) who feel that the next generation will live in a little or a lot less safe world.

Regionally, Western Europe is the most pessimistic region in the world about future prospects for safety – two-thirds (69%) in this region feel the next generation will live in a less safe world (either a lot less safe or a little less safe) while only one in ten (11%) feel the world will be a lot or a little safer for the next generation.

North America (USA and Canada) is the next most pessimistic region, with six out of ten (62%) also supporting the view that the world will be a less safe place for future generations, while only 13% felt that the world would be a safer place. It is also worth noting that two-thirds of the Americans interviewed (61%) also held the view that the world would be a less safe place for future generations with slightly more than one in ten (14%) maintaining the opposite view that the world would be either a lot or a little safer.

However, in the Middle East, an area of the world that has experienced many conflicts in recent times, the region’s population is still not upbeat about prospects for safety in the future. Almost a quarter of those interviewed (23%) feel it will be safer (a lot or a little), compared with more than half (51%) who feel the opposite.

Within the Middle East region, interviews were conducted in Iraq where there is slightly more optimism on the issue of safety. In Iraq, six in every ten (61%) interviewed at the end of 2005 thought the next generation would live in a safer world; in 2006 this proportion had declined to nearly half this figure with only a third (36%) believing it. In 2007 it has risen again slightly to four in ten (40%) who believe the next generation will live in a lot or a little safer world.

This question was first asked in 2003 and then again in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Voice of the PeopleTM surveys. This year’s results maintain the drop in optimism found last year compared to 2005 – showing similar opinions to those declared in 2003 and 2004.

Respondents were also asked whether they think the future generation will live in a world of greater or less economic prosperity. The results show that there has been a significant fall in optimism regarding this element.

Opinions are divided regarding this matter: a third of global respondents (33%) indicated that the next generation will live in a lot or little more economically prosperous world than now, a similar proportion (36%) felt it would be a lot or a little less prosperous for the future generation.

Once again, Western Europe is the most pessimistic region with less than one in five (19%) feeling the world will be more prosperous for the next generation, while more than half (54%) think it will be a lot or a little less prosperous. Although American citizens are also not overly optimistic about economic prospects − a quarter here (27%) think the next generation will have a lot or a little more prosperity − fewer US citizens (43%) than those in Western Europe feel that the next generation will be a lot or a little less prosperous economically than now.

Africans are very optimistic about prosperity for future generations with 71% overall in the five countries included in the survey stating that the next generation will live in a little or a lot more prosperity than now. This is particularly true of Nigerians (78%) and Kenyans (67%) although it should be noted that the survey was taken before the recent unrest in Kenya.

Again, results here reflect a trend, with a decline in the proportion of people believing that the next generation will live in a more prosperous world, as shown by Figure 4.

People were also asked to say what they think leaders should focus on in the coming year, another trend question since 2004. In previous years, economic objectives such as eliminating poverty, promoting economic growth and closing the gap between rich and poor scored marginally higher than the other priorities offered. This year, while these priorities are still present, they are joined by reducing wars, the war on terror and protecting the environment.

The Voice of the PeopleTM also asked respondents to compare the characteristics of political leaders with those of business leaders.

As in previous years, business leaders are consistently rated more positively than political leaders, with criticisms of the latter group featuring heavily on their dishonesty – mentioned by six out of ten global citizens (60%) – a considerable increase from the 43% who mentioned this last year. Indeed, negative associations with politicians have all increased considerably since last year and while this is also true of business leaders, the increase is much less marked.

Latin Americans are the most critical of their politicians regarding honesty. In this region, more than three-quarters (77%) said political leaders are dishonest. But seven out of ten Africans (71%) and the same proportion of US citizens also think this is a characteristic of their political leaders. Perhaps surprisingly, it is in the Middle East (48%) and in Western Europe (50%) where citizens are least likely to level this criticism at their political leaders.

It is hardly surprising therefore that when asked which groups of people they trust, politicians are the least likely group with only 8% globally saying they trust them. Teachers are trusted by a third (34%) of the global population This is so in every region but Africa, where the vast majority, 70%, declared they trust religious leaders, and in the Middle East where the military/police leaders are the most trusted people (mentioned by 40%, duplicating the trust in religious leaders).

When asked to whom they would like to give more power, again teachers feature heavily with more than a quarter of all global citizens questioned (28%) saying they want to vest more power in this group. They are also joined by intellectuals (defined as writers and academics), to whom a quarter wishes to give more power in their country.