WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Climate change and fiscal volatility are seen as the top global threats, a survey by the Pew Research Center in Washington indicated.
Concern about climate change was particularly notable in Latin America, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Asian-Pacific region, results of the 2013 Spring Pew Global Attitudes Survey released Monday indicated, with majorities in Lebanon, Tunisia and Canada also saying climate change is a major threat to their countries.
In contrast, U.S. respondents indicated they were relatively unconcerned about global climate change. Four in 10 Americans said the issue poses a major threat, placing the United States with China, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Pakistan as countries least concerned about this issue of the 39 countries surveyed, Pew said.
The survey also found that at least half of the European Union nations surveyed, as well as majorities in most Middle Eastern and African countries, consider international financial instability a major threat.
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Majorities in the United States, and in many European and African countries, said they consider Islamic extremist groups a major threat, Pew said.
In Europe, concern about Islamic extremism was common in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Britain. Among the African countries surveyed, Islamic extremism was a major concern in Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya. In the Middle East, majorities in Lebanon, Tunisia and Israel expressed concern about Islamic extremist groups.
Americans and Europeans also voiced concern about Iran's nuclear program. While fewer in most Middle Eastern countries surveyed shared this concern, 85 percent of Israelis and 51 percent of Lebanese see Iran's nuclear program as a major threat.
North Korea's nuclear program is a serious concern for U.S. respondents. Fifty-nine percent say it poses a major threat to the United States. Pew said only South Korea, Japan, Italy and the Philippines reported more concern.
Results for the survey are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews conducted in 39 countries among 37,653 respondents from March 2 to May 1, 2013. Survey results are based on national samples. The margin of error ranged from 3.1 percentage points to 7.7 percentage points.
