LONDON — Although Americans are most likely to name road accidents and crime as the two biggest threats to their personal safety, no other population in the world is more likely to identify politics as a safety concern.
According to a 2026 Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll report, one in 10 U.S. adults identify politics as the greatest source of risk to their personal safety when asked an open-ended question. This is up from 6% in both 2021 and 2023 and 10 times the global average of 1% across 140 countries.
The U.S. statistically ties with Hungary (at 9%, measured several months before the recent election) for the highest percentage of adults identifying politics as their top safety concern. Other countries with relatively high percentages of mentions include Serbia, Latvia and Lithuania (at 6% each) and Slovakia, Russia, Myanmar, Spain and Israel (all at 5%).
The U.S. has ranked among the countries most likely to cite politics as a personal safety risk in all three waves of the World Risk Poll. However, 2025 marks the first time it has reached the top of the global ranking.
Concerns About Safety Risk From Politics Span U.S.
Across the U.S., there are no statistically significant differences in mentions of politics by gender, age, education level or political affiliation. Similar percentages of Republicans, Democrats and independents alike name politics as their top safety risk.
Polarization unites these responses, whether people express it directly or indirectly. Many Democrats cite the current administration, while many Republicans point to the Democratic Party — both indirect demonstrations of polarization. However, others from across the political spectrum name polarization and the wider political climate directly when thinking about risks to their safety:
“I would have to say the state of polarization of the American people.” (Republican, 54, Male)
“I would say political extremism. I don't have a lot of personal risk, but I do feel the biggest risk is people that are fanatical about their position and that they could be violent.” (Independent, 42, Male)
“The political situation has a lot to do with the fact whether if I am safe or not. I am concerned where we're going or might go.” (Democrat, 69, Female)
This finding aligns with other Gallup research. In 2025, one in three U.S. adults (33%) named politics and government as the most important problem facing the country, far above the global median of 8%, and higher than every country or territory except the Philippines (51%) and Taiwan (50%). In 2024, 5% of Americans named the U.S. itself as its own greatest enemy, the highest figure on record.
Most Americans Feel Government Doesn’t Care About Them
Underlying these concerns is a deepening sense of disconnection from the government. In 2025, more than half of U.S. adults (58%) said the government doesn't care about them at all, a record high and 11 percentage points above the figure from 2021. Four percent feel cared about “a lot” and 38% “somewhat.”
Among the 38 member countries that make up the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), only Colombia (72%) and Greece (69%) outrank the U.S. on perceptions that the government doesn’t care at all about people’s wellbeing.
Risk Perceptions Vary Compared to Rest of World
While the U.S. stands out globally for its high level of concern about political risks to safety, it is not seen as the single biggest risk. One in three U.S. adults (34%) name road-related accidents as their most top-of-mind daily safety risk, more than twice the global average of 14%. Roughly one in five (19%) point to crime and violence, compared with a global average of 10%.
Globally, it is more common for people to worry about risks from personal health conditions (11%) than political risks (1%), unlike in the U.S., where twice as many people name politics (10%) as name health conditions (5%). The U.S. is the only country among 140 surveyed in the World Risk Poll where more adults say politics is a bigger daily risk to their safety than personal health conditions.
Bottom Line
Road accidents and violent crime remain the primary safety concerns for most Americans, while also claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. But the one in 10 U.S. adults who name politics as their top safety risk is higher than any other country in the World Risk Poll (except for Hungary, at 9%) and appears tied to polarization across the political spectrum.
That politics now feels riskier to Americans than the health conditions responsible for over seven in 10 U.S. deaths every year shows just how deeply the political climate has embedded itself in daily life.
Read more in the World Risk Poll report, The Quiet Hazards: How Everyday Risk Shapes Daily Life, from Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
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