Indians Worry About Inflation And Unemployment: Ipsos Survey

Indian citizens are most worried about Inflation (50 per cent) and unemployment (43 per cent) in March 2023. While their worry levels around these two issues have slightly lessened vis-à-vis Feb levels (Inflation was 52 per cent & unemployment 45 per cent), nevertheless they continue to be glaring. While global citizens were seen to be most concerned about inflation (42 per cent) and poverty and social inequality (31 per cent). These are findings of the Ipsos What Worries the World global monthly survey for March 2023. 

Commenting on the nuances of the survey, Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, “Month after month, the Ipsos What Worries the World monthly survey tracks public opinion on the most important social and political issues for not only India, but for all the 29 markets covered. And local governments can accordingly address them. India has a representative and robust sample of netizens and consuming classes from metros, tier1, tier2 and tier3 cities, covering respondents across age groups from SEC A, B and C. The findings have 95 per cent accuracy levels with a margin of error of +/-5 per cent. “

Top 5 local & global worries in March 2023  

Indian citizens’ top 5 worries were inflation (50 per cent), unemployment (43 per cent), poverty and social inequality (25 per cent), financial and political corruption (24 per cent) and crime and violence (22 per cent).  

While global citizens revealed they were most worried about inflation (42 per cent), poverty and social inequality (31 per cent), crime and violence (29 per cent), unemployment (28 per cent), and financial and political corruption (26 per cent). 

“Indian citizens and global citizens are reeling under almost similar sets of worries. The prolonged pandemic, its collateral impact, global economic slowdown, war in Ukraine etc. are all further intensifying the woes of the common man, because of the heightened economic impact and the rising cost of living. Unexpected rains in March, lackadaisical growth in farm incomes & the El Nino-linked possibility of sub-optimal monsoon may add to our woes in coming months.” added Adarkar.

India continues to bust global trend of pessimism

India continues to bust the global trend of pessimism with almost 6 in 10 (58 per cent) of citizens believing India is moving in the right direction. And only 38 per cent of global citizens being bullish about their nation’s prospects. 

The most optimistic nations emerging were Indonesia (83 per cent), Singapore (82 per cent), Malaysia (66 per cent) and India (58 per cent). Notably, India has receded by 3 points in March over Feb (61 per cent), which was lower than the Jan score of 65 per cent. 

The most pessimistic nations were Argentina (13 per cent), South Africa (14 per cent), and Peru (14 per cent), with their citizens believing their country is on the wrong track.