In a global survey of 107 nations, roughly one in three Americans now say politics and government are the most pressing problem their country faces, a worry sharpened by decades of partisan division and by the tremors of recent years. Only Taiwan, living under the shadow of a possible Chinese invasion, registered more concern, placing the United States alongside Spain, Slovenia and South Korea in a way that sets it apart from other wealthy powers. Beneath that unease runs a generational split, with younger Americans fixed on the cost of living while their elders brood over the health of the re
Americans Stand Out in Anxiety Over Politics and Youth Economic Worries, Gallup Global Survey Finds
Locked out of economic progress
Mark
Gallup says Americans are second only to Taiwan in naming politics as their top problem. Why is that striking?
Mimi
Because Taiwan faces a possible invasion. The U.S. is at about one-third, level with Slovenia, Spain and South Korea, and it's the only rich, powerful country standing out this way.
Luke
Worth saying what that ranking measures. It's the share naming politics as the top issue, not a measure of how bad things are.
Mark
And young Americans worry about something different?
Mimi
Yes. About a third of those 35 and under cite economics and affordability, versus 13% of those 55 and older. Older Americans lean toward politics.
Luke
The age split is clear in the data. But the 35 cutoff and the 55-plus group are different bands, so don't read it as one clean line.
Mark
Is this just a housing story?
Mimi
Partly. Australia, Canada and Ireland show the same youth gap, and all have housing crises. France and Germany don't.
Luke
The source links the housing crisis to those countries, but the poll itself doesn't prove housing is the cause.
Mark
What about trust?
Mimi
Among distrustful Americans, 41% name politics as the top issue, versus 21% of those who trust institutions. Nyhan calls low trust corrosive.
Luke
That's a correlation, and Nyhan's warning is an expert's view, not a finding of the poll. The margin of error runs up to 4.7 points, too.
Der Puls
- About one in three Americans now name politics and government as the nation's most urgent problem, a level surpassed only by Taiwan among 107 surveyed countries.
- Older Americans, 35 and up, are roughly twice as likely as younger ones to see the political system as the core crisis, while the young press their worries about food, rent and the prospect of getting ahead.
- Roughly a third of Americans under 35 name affordability as a top issue, nearly triple the share of those 55 and older, and the same housing squeeze is gripping Australia, Canada and Ireland.
- Among those who distrust major institutions, 41 percent point to politics as the top problem, while only 21 percent of those who trust them do, and researchers warn this gap could tip democratic stability.
In a global survey of 107 nations, roughly one in three Americans now say politics and government are the most pressing problem their country faces, a worry sharpened by decades of partisan division and by the tremors of recent years. Only Taiwan, living under the shadow of a possible Chinese invasion, registered more concern, placing the United States alongside Spain, Slovenia and South Korea in a way that sets it apart from other wealthy powers. Beneath that unease runs a generational split, with younger Americans fixed on the cost of living while their elders brood over the health of the republic itself. The pattern suggests that economic hope and public trust are not separate matters, but two threads that tighten or loosen together.
About one in three Americans told Gallup's global pollsters that politics and government are the most important problem facing the country. Among the 107 nations surveyed, only Taiwan, which lives with the threat of invasion from China, expressed more worry. That places the United States in an uncomfortable company of middling concern, set apart from its fellow wealthy nations.
The anxiety has deep roots. It grows from decades of partisan polarization, from the rise of Donald Trump, the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the failed efforts to prosecute him afterward, and from his return to office, which has reopened questions about the guardrails of American democracy. Gallup's long record shows political concern climbing since 2000 and sitting near Watergate-era highs since 2016. Analysts note that the worry tends to swell in whichever party is out of power.
Age divides the mood. Some four in ten Americans over 35 name politics as the central problem, while only about two in ten of the young do. The younger generation looks instead to the pocketbook, with roughly a third of those under 35 citing affordability, against just 13 percent of people 55 and older. Similar youthful economic anxiety appears in Australia, Canada and Ireland, where a housing crunch has left young people feeling shut out of prosperity.
Trust sharpens the divide. Americans who distrust national institutions, the courts, and the integrity of elections are far more likely to fix on politics. Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth warns that without economic optimism and social trust, it becomes harder to accept electoral defeat, and the country's stability is tested. The question now is whether the economic gloom of the young and the institutional doubts of their elders will keep feeding one another.
About one in three Americans named politics and government as the most important problem facing their country, according to new international polling from Gallup. Among the 107 countries surveyed, only Taiwan, which faces the prospect of an invasion from China, scored higher. The United States landed on par with Slovenia, Spain and South Korea, a placement that separates it from other rich and powerful nations.
Gallup conducted the World Poll between March and October of 2025, interviewing people aged 15 and older. The margin of sampling error ranges from plus or minus 2.4 to 4.7 percentage points. Wealthier countries and democracies are generally more likely to list politics and government as a top concern. But Benedict Vigers of Gallup said the United States is unusual in being worried both about the stability of its democratic system and about whether it is still possible to get ahead economically. "It's really unique in that regard," he said.
The finding follows decades of partisan polarization in the United States. That stretch includes the rise of President Donald Trump, the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, the largely unsuccessful efforts to prosecute Trump during Joe Biden's administration, and Trump's return to office, which has raised new questions about the country's political and constitutional guardrails. Gallup has tracked Americans' top national issue for decades, and concern about politics and government has spiked during scandals like Watergate. Since 2000 it has climbed gradually, and since 2016 it has sat near or above Watergate levels. Gallup's Frank Newport said the trend is "all mixed up with polarization," noting that the issue rises among one major party when the other holds power.
The worry is not evenly spread by age. About 4 in 10 Americans 35 and older called politics and government the most important problem, against about 2 in 10 younger Americans. Younger people lean toward the pocketbook. Those 35 and under were most likely to cite economic issues, including the cost of food and shelter. About one-third of young Americans named economics and affordability as a top issue, compared with only 13% of those 55 and older.
That pattern appears in other rich countries too, notably Australia, Canada and Ireland. Like the United States, all three are dealing with a housing affordability crisis, and in each, younger citizens ranked the issue as more pressing than older ones did. Vigers called it "a literally concrete example of young people being locked out of economic progress." The survey found that some wealthy countries worry about affordability at rates similar to some African nations: 57% of adults in Ireland cited economics or affordability as a top issue, comparable to Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt and Albania. Beyond Ireland, the only high-income countries with similarly high concern among younger residents were Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. France and Germany showed neither the affordability concern nor the age gap.
Trust appears to matter as well. The United States has among the widest divides between people who trust institutions such as the national government, the judicial system and election integrity and those who do not. Among the distrustful, 41% ranked politics and government as the top issue. Among those who trust many institutions, only 21% did.
Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist, links the economic and political anxieties. "A world where people aren't optimistic about their economic futures is one in which they're willing to destabilize institutions even further," he said. He added that stable society and rule of law are hard to sustain without social trust, and that under high polarization, low trust makes it exceptionally difficult to accept losing an election and the other party holding power.
The survey is the latest of many showing anxiety, in the U.S. and abroad, about the economy and democratic governance. What bears watching is whether the economic pessimism of younger Americans and the institutional distrust of older ones continue to feed each other.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Low trust is corrosive. Under conditions of high polarization, it makes it exceptionally difficult to accept losing an election and accept the other party being in power.— Brendan Nyhan, Dartmouth political scientist
It's a literally concrete example of young people being locked out of economic progress.— Benedict Vigers, Gallup
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