Global optimism for the new year 2023 is weaker than in previous years. This is reflected in the Ipsos survey report titled *Global Predictions for 2023*.
Ipsos surveyed 24,471 adults across 36 countries. The survey locations included the United States, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The findings show that in 2022, only 65% of respondents were optimistic that next year's conditions would be better than this year's. This is a significant drop compared to 2021, when optimism reached 77%.
Furthermore, only 46% of respondents believe the global economy will improve in 2023. This figure is significantly lower than in 2021, when 61% of respondents believed the economy would improve after the new year.
This level of optimism has also reached its lowest point in the last seven years, as shown in the graph above.
"The year 2022 was marked by Covid-19, international conflict, economic hardship, and climate emergencies; many agree that 2022 was a challenging year," said the Ipsos team in its press release on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
"On average, more than half of the respondents (56%) in 36 countries described 2022 as a bad year for them and their families. Even more respondents (73%) said that this year's conditions were bad for their country," said Ipsos.
Ipsos also found that across all surveyed countries, an average of 73% of respondents felt that electricity and gas prices would rise again in 2023.
Many respondents also believe that food prices, household expenses, and vehicle fuel costs will increase next year.
"Inflation is perceived as a global problem. The majority of respondents believe this problem is primarily caused by the global economic situation (74%) and the Russian invasion of Ukraine (70%)," said Ipsos.