April 13, 2020 A biweekly digest of the Center's latest findings from its worldwide public opinion surveys and demographic research · Subscribe ↗
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COVID-19 and Americans’ worldviewWith the United States at the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic, it comes as little surprise that Pew Research Center's new survey finds Americans more concerned about the spread of infectious disease than other global threats. But it’s not the only issue that’s seen increased concern. Americans are more worried about a range of challenges – from climate change to the global economy to China’s growing influence abroad. As we seek to understand how Americans and others are responding to the COVID-19 crisis, we’re committed to bringing a global perspective to the pandemic and its connection to other changes in the world. James Bell Vice President of Global Strategy, Pew Research Center | |
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 Americans continue to see many international issues – including terrorism, the spread of nuclear weapons and cyberattacks – as major threats to the well-being of the nation. But as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, the greatest threat named by Americans in a new Pew Research Center poll is the spread of infectious diseases.
 People in the United States and around the world are turning to the internet to do their work and stay connected with others as the COVID-19 outbreak forces people to stay home and away from the office and crowds. A median of 77% across 34 countries use the internet at least occasionally or own an internet-enabled smartphone, according to a spring 2019 Pew Research Center survey. But there are stark digital divides. Younger people, those with higher incomes and those in wealthier countries are more likely to be digital technology users.  The movement of people across borders has come to a standstill in much of the world as countries close their borders to visitors – and sometimes their own citizens – in response to the coronavirus outbreak. At least nine-tenths (93%) of the world’s population, or 7.2 billion people, lives in countries with restrictions on people arriving from other countries who are neither citizens nor residents, such as tourists, business travelers and new immigrants.  Across Europe, 91% of students in primary and secondary school were studying English in 2017 – more than all other foreign languages learned combined by a large margin, according to data from Eurostat. The next-most studied languages in European schools are French, German and Spanish, each garnering no more than 15% of students participating in 2017.  Canadians and Mexicans give different answers when they are asked for the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the United States, according to Pew Research Center data. President Donald Trump’s name is by far the most frequently mentioned word among Canadians, followed by a range of primarily negative descriptors. Mexicans mention Trump, too, but more often cite words related to economics. From our research79% The share of Americans who name infectious disease a major threat to the United States, 27 percentage points higher than the level of concern about infectious disease seen during West Africa’s Ebola outbreak in 2014. | |
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Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank. As a neutral source of data and analysis, Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. © 2020 Pew Research Center |
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