Challenges of Nations

In April and May 2023, the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) asked a total of 8,008 people in eight countries the following question: "In your opinion, what are the most urgent tasks that need to be solved in [respondent's country of residence] today?"

The respondents were not given any answers, but were invited to answer openly and spontaneously. In this way, the NIM is continuing the "Challenges of Nations" study series, which the institute last conducted in 2018. A first exciting finding: The variety of problems, i.e. the number of challenges mentioned per person, has increased significantly compared to the last survey, from 2.2 to 5 topics mentioned. This is probably partly due to the change in methodology (online interviews from 2023 on), but numerous new topics have also become the focus of public debate since 2018. Additionally, in contrast to previous waves, there is no longer one major national problem; instead, a greater number of topics have high scores. This is an indication that societies are becoming more differentiated.

In addition to the question regarding the most urgent tasks that need to be resolved today, the NIM also asked about the tasks that will need to be solved in the future. A look at the figures reveals a slight shift in priorities. Relatively, the majority of respondents in all eight countries indicate that environmental and climate protection will be an important task to be solved in the future. When asked about the current challenges, this topic area was mentioned fourth most frequently. Awareness of the problem of environmental and climate protection continues to grow.

• Across all countries, the most frequently mentioned task which requires immediate attention today is the development of prices and purchasing power. This is followed by crime and security, the healthcare system, and environmental and climate protection.

• Overall, the variety of problems appears to be increasing. In the 2023 survey, significantly more urgent tasks were mentioned per country and person than in the 2018 survey. This could also be an indication of further differentiation in societies.

• Interestingly, the demographic characteristics of income and gender play almost no role in the identification of urgent social problems. By contrast, the greatest differences are found among age groups. The perception of problems is therefore a generational issue.

• Across all countries, the most frequently mentioned task which needs to be solved in the future, is environmental and climate protection. This is followed by crime and security, the healthcare system, and price and purchasing power development.

• For the future, respondents seem to expect that many of today's pressing issues will be less acute. This is particularly true of the issue of price and purchasing power, which has almost halved in mentions. The only topic that is gaining in importance is environmental and climate protection.