LONDON — New analysis from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll reveals that millions of adults worldwide feel that their neighbors and their government do not care about them or their wellbeing “at all.”
At the same time, billions more do feel cared for, and they are more likely to believe their neighbors care than their government does. In 2023, 70% of people worldwide said they felt their neighbors cared about them and their wellbeing “somewhat” or “a lot,” while 64% said the same about their government.
However, one in three adults (34%) said their government does not care about their wellbeing at all, compared with 21% who said the government cares a lot. Twenty-eight percent of adults said their neighbors don’t care about them at all.
The World Risk Poll is the first and only global, nationally representative study of worry about, and harm from, risks to people’s safety. The poll is based on nearly 147,000 interviews conducted by Gallup in 142 countries and territories throughout 2023 and covers places with little to no official data on safety and risk.
Grouping people into four categories — those who feel cared about a lot by both their neighbors and government, cared about a lot by either their neighbors or government, not cared about at all by both, and all other responses — offers a new perspective on global wellbeing.
In total, 15% of the world’s adult population said in 2023 that both their neighbors and government don’t care about them at all, which translates into an estimated 800 million adults — notably more than the 11% who say both care about them a lot.
How Feeling Cared About Adds Up
Feeling cared about a lot by one’s neighbors or governments is related to positive life outcomes. But there is a compounding effect when people feel cared for by both neighbors and governments. The more people feel cared for:
- the safer they feel, whether walking alone at night or worrying about the risk of violent crime
- the more prosperous they feel, living more comfortably on their current income and feeling more optimistic about their standard of living
- the more confidence they have in national institutions, and the more approving they are of their leaders
- the more likely they are to experience enjoyment, the better they feel supported locally, and ultimately, the more likely they are to evaluate their lives positively
Some of these positive outcomes are more closely related to one element of care. For example, feeling cared for a lot by the government is much more strongly linked to having confidence in institutions than feeling cared for a lot by neighbors.
Either way, these data show that feelings of care from the community and society add up when it comes to living good lives.
Big Gaps in Perceptions of Care Around the World
People living in different regions of the globe have different perceptions of how much neighbors and governments care about their wellbeing. Many parts of Asia have some of the highest levels of perceived care for wellbeing from neighbors and governments, whereas Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe have some of the lowest.
In most regions, more people feel their neighbors care about them than their government does, but there are particularly sharp differences in some regions. Three of the five regions with the biggest gaps between neighbor and government care are in Africa, alongside Northern America and Australia and New Zealand, where fewer than one in 10 adults feel cared about a lot by their government.
Bottom Line
The World Risk Poll underscores the important role that governments and communities play in building wellbeing. There are significant disparities in care between different global regions, and much of the world continues to feel no care at all from their leaders and neighbors.
Data from the World Risk Poll highlight an important truth: Feeling cared about likely fuels positive life outcomes and strengthens the bonds that hold communities and societies together. The challenge now is to create a world where everyone, wherever they live and whatever their age, feels a sense of belonging and support.
Discover the World Risk Poll Data Explorer.
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For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.
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