The world’s biggest worry? Climate change — mostly

Climate change is the biggest worry but not everywhere, according to the Pew Research Center.

By Nelson Graves

Climate change is considered the biggest global threat by much of the world, but the Islamic militant group ISIS is the top worry in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

Those are among the conclusions of a recent poll by the Pew Research Center that underscores how public perceptions vary by country and region, making it difficult to arrive at a global consensus.

Still, with the United Nations Climate Change Conference set to start in December in Paris, negotiators will note that climate change ranks as the biggest global concern, ahead of Islamic insurgency, Iran’s nuclear program or tensions between Russia or China and their neighbors.

Latin America and Africa are especially concerned about climate change, with more than half of those in every Latin American nation surveyed reporting substantial concerns about climate.

In Peru and Brazil, where deforestation rates have started to rise, three-quarters expressed anxiety about climate change.

But in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, the top worry is Islamic State (ISIS), which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq.

Global economic instability was overall the second ranked concern, while Iran’s nuclear program, cyberattacks and regional tensions between Russia or China, and their neighbors, were largely limited by geography.

The Pew survey was conducted in 40 countries among 45,435 respondents from March 25 to May 27. The report focused on those who said they were “very concerned” about each issue.

Here are the results of the survey by country:

http://www.pewglobal.org/interactives/global-threat/iframe/