Asked to name the gravest problem facing their country, about one in three Americans answered politics and government, a share matched by only one nation in Gallup's global survey of 107 countries, Taiwan, which lives under the shadow of a possible Chinese invasion. Among the rich and powerful nations, the United States stands nearly alone in that anxiety, and the sharpest fault line runs between the young, who fear they are being locked out of economic life, and their elders, who fear for the machinery of democracy itself. Beneath these numbers lies a long arc of polarization, from scandals o
Americans Stand Out in Gallup Survey for Anxiety Over Politics, and Young Adults' Worries About Affordability
Young people locked out of economic progress
Mark
The headline number is one in three Americans naming politics as the top problem. Why does that stand out?
Mimi
Because of who is ahead of them. Only Taiwan, which faces a possible invasion from China, scored higher. The U.S. tied Slovenia, Spain and South Korea.
Luke
Worth noting it's a share of people choosing a top issue, not a measure of how afraid anyone is. And the margin of error runs 2.4 to 4.7 points depending on country, so close rankings are soft.
Mark
Rich democracies tend to name politics more anyway, right?
Mimi
Yes, Vigers said so. What he found unusual is the combination: worry about democratic stability and about whether people can still get ahead economically.
Mark
And the age split?
Mimi
Roughly a third of those 35 and under named economics or affordability, versus 13% of those 55 and older. Politics flips it: about 4 in 10 of those 35 and older, about 2 in 10 of younger Americans.
Luke
Those are poll shares. The survey doesn't say why each group answers as it does. Vigers's phrase about being locked out is his interpretation.
Mark
Is this just an American story?
Mimi
Not on affordability. Australia, Canada, Ireland, the U.K. and New Zealand show similar youth concern, and Ireland's 57% is near Nigeria and Egypt. France and Germany don't show it.
Luke
Nyhan's claim that economic pessimism makes people willing to destabilize institutions is an expert's argument, not something the poll measured. What the poll does show is the trust gap: 41% versus 21%.
O Pulso
- One in three Americans now names politics and government as the country's top problem, a level surpassed only by Taiwan in the global survey.
- Young Americans under 35 are pressed by the cost of food and shelter, with about a third naming economics against just 13% of those 55 and older.
- Older Americans, by contrast, look to the health of democracy, with about four in ten naming politics as the gravest threat.
- Deep distrust of national institutions is hardening the divide, as the distrustful name politics at nearly twice the rate of those who trust them.
- The warning from experts is that economic pessimism and low trust together could push a polarized nation toward a dangerous refusal to accept electoral outcomes.
Asked to name the gravest problem facing their country, about one in three Americans answered politics and government, a share matched by only one nation in Gallup's global survey of 107 countries, Taiwan, which lives under the shadow of a possible Chinese invasion. Among the rich and powerful nations, the United States stands nearly alone in that anxiety, and the sharpest fault line runs between the young, who fear they are being locked out of economic life, and their elders, who fear for the machinery of democracy itself. Beneath these numbers lies a long arc of polarization, from scandals of earlier decades to the upheavals of recent years, in which trust in institutions has thinned and the question of who holds power has grown harder to accept. What the poll records is less a single crisis than a society weighing two kinds of insecurity at once.
About one in three Americans, asked to name the biggest problem facing their country, pointed to politics and government. In Gallup's latest international survey of 107 countries, only Taiwan, a nation living under the threat of invasion from China, registered a higher share. The United States sat level with Slovenia, Spain and South Korea, and among wealthy, powerful nations it stood almost alone in that company.
The divide inside the country is sharp. Americans 35 and under most often named economic worries, including the rising cost of food and shelter, with about a third citing them, compared with only 13% of those 55 and older. Among older Americans, about four in ten named politics as the foremost problem, while only about two in ten of the young did. Gallup's Benedict Vigers described the young people's worry as a concrete sign of being locked out of economic progress.
The pattern echoes in Australia, Canada and Ireland, where housing affordability has become a crisis and younger people likewise feel the squeeze. Some wealthy countries now register levels of economic anxiety once associated with much poorer ones.
Trust runs through all of it. Americans who distrust their national government, courts and election systems named politics at 41%, while those who trust those institutions named it at only 21%. Dartmouth's Brendan Nyhan warned that people pessimistic about their economic futures may be willing to destabilize institutions further, and that under heavy polarization, accepting an election loss becomes especially hard. Affordability for the young and trust in institutions are the signals to watch.
About one in three Americans, asked to name the biggest problem facing their country, said politics and government. In Gallup's latest international survey, only Taiwan, which lives with the prospect of an invasion from China, posted a higher share. The United States landed level with Slovenia, Spain and South Korea, and apart from rich, powerful nations it stands alone in that company.
The Gallup World poll interviewed people aged 15 and older in 107 countries between March and October of 2025. The margin of sampling error runs from plus or minus 2.4 to 4.7 percentage points, depending on the country. Wealthier countries and democracies tend to name politics and government as a top issue more often. Benedict Vigers of Gallup said the U.S. still stands out for worry 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 age divide inside the country is sharp. Americans 35 and under are the most likely to name economic issues, including the cost of food and shelter, as a top concern. About one-third of young Americans did so, against only 13% of those 55 and older. Among Americans 35 and older, about 4 in 10 named politics and government as the most important problem, while only about 2 in 10 younger Americans did. Vigers called the young people's worry "a literally concrete example of young people being locked out of economic progress."
The pattern is not uniquely American. Young people in Australia, Canada and Ireland also rank affordability as more pressing than older citizens do, and all three, like the U.S., are in the grip of a housing affordability crisis. The only other high-income countries with levels of concern among younger residents similar to Ireland's were Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The crisis has hit the English-speaking world especially hard. France and Germany showed neither the same affordability worries nor the same age gaps.
Some rich countries now sound like poorer ones on this question. In Ireland, 57% of adults named economics or affordability as a top issue, a level matched in countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt and Albania.
Gallup has tracked Americans' top national problem for decades. Politics and government occasionally spiked during national scandals such as Watergate. Since 2000 its importance has climbed gradually, and since 2016 it has ranked near or above Watergate levels. Gallup's Frank Newport said, "It's all mixed up with polarization," noting that concern rises within one major party when the other holds power. The AP's account places the findings after decades of partisan polarization that led to Donald Trump's rise, the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, the largely unsuccessful efforts to prosecute Trump under President Joe Biden, and Trump's return to office, which raised fresh questions about the country's political and constitutional guardrails.
Trust shapes the answers. The U.S. has among the widest splits between people who trust many of its institutions, including the national government, the judicial system and election integrity, and those who do not. Among the distrustful, 41% named politics and government as the top issue. Among those who trust many institutions, only 21% did.
Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist, links the two threads. "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. Low trust, he added, is corrosive, and under high polarization it becomes exceptionally difficult to accept losing an election and the other party holding power. Affordability for the young and trust in institutions are the numbers to watch.
Citações Notáveis
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 all mixed up with polarization.— Frank Newport, Gallup
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