More Americans identify politics as ‘greatest source of risk’ to their safety: Gallup
Researchers say existential anxiety is fueling polarization, with 75% to 86% of participants in one study endorsing at least one such fear.
- According to the 2026 Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll, 10% of Americans identify politics as their greatest personal safety risk, up from 6% in 2021 and 2023.
- The United States statistically ties with Hungary at 9% for the highest percentage of adults identifying politics as a top safety concern, representing 10 times the global average of 1% across 140 countries.
- Although road-related accidents and crime rank as higher threats at 34% and 19% respectively, political concerns appear uniform across demographics, with similar percentages of Republicans, Democrats, and independents citing politics as a top risk.
- Deep distrust persists, with 58% of Americans saying the government ignores their well-being, a sharp rise from 47% in 2021, as respondents variously blamed political extremism, polarization, or specific administrations.
- Polarization may reflect broader existential anxiety, where citizens fear the "other side" represents a real and impending threat to their existence, linked to poor mental health and increased aggression.
7 Articles
7 Articles
"Americans Lead World in Viewing Politics as Risk to Safety" #ELB
Gallup: 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 … Continue reading The post “Americans Lead World in Viewing Politics as Risk to Safety” appeared first on Election Law Blog.
Gallup Finds More Americans View Politics as Safety Risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Political division is becoming a personal safety concern for a growing share of Americans, according to a global survey conducted by Gallup and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. The 2025 World Risk Poll found that 10% of U.S. adults identified politics as the greatest risk to their everyday safety, up from 6% in both 2021 and 2023. That was the highest recorded share among the 140 countries surveyed, although the United States …
Higher share of adults in US than in other countries see danger in politics, poll finds
Americans are more likely than those living in any other nation to name politics as a leading risk to their safety. One in 10 US adults identified politics as the “greatest source of risk” to their daily safety, according to new Gallup polling, up from 6% who said so in 2023 and 2021. The average proportion of people who said politics pose a safety risk across 140 countries is just 1%. In the US, the numbers are similar across party lines, thoug…
Are Our Shared Anxieties Making Us More Combative in Politics?
Opening my social media feed, I’m often confronted with a jarring contrast: intense, diametrically opposed perspectives from different friends. The comments can be laced with insult, character attack, and invective. I’m certainly not the only one noticing this kind of vitriolic polarization. Recent polling suggests a majority of Americans believe that the country cannot overcome its current divisions. As a professor of human development and fami…
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- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources are Center
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