People Are Closer on Climate Than They Think

Mapped: People Are Closer on Climate Than They Think

Climate action often depends on whether people believe others share their concern. However, new survey data suggests many societies may underestimate public support for treating climate change as serious.

This graphic, in partnership with Lloyd’s Register Foundation, shows the gap between personal climate concern and perceived concern among most others using data from World Risk Poll Report 2026.

Climate Concern Is More Shared Than It Looks

The climate perception gap measures how much personal concern exceeds perceived concern among fellow citizens. In many countries, the difference is positive, meaning people care more than they think others do.

Here is a table that shows the climate perception gap by country.

Rank	Country	Climate Change is a Very Serious Threat to the Country in Next 20 Years (%)	Most Other People in (Country) View Climate Change as a Very Serious Threat to the Country in Next 20 Years (%)	Climate Perception Gap (percentage points)
1	Portugal	66	24	42
2	United States	51	10	41
3	Italy	58	20	38
4	United Kingdom	53	15	38
5	Uruguay	63	26	36
6	Spain	63	26	36
7	Argentina	61	25	35
8	France	49	14	35
9	Germany	63	29	34
10	Chile	69	36	34
11	Brazil	70	38	32
12	Cyprus	60	28	32
13	Australia	47	15	32
14	Japan	54	23	31
15	Ireland	53	23	30
16	Greece	62	33	29
17	Slovenia	47	18	28
18	Sweden	42	13	29
19	Hungary	58	30	28
20	Costa Rica	76	49	27
21	Mexico	65	38	27
22	Canada	46	19	27
23	Peru	64	39	25
24	Ukraine	46	21	25
25	Panama	72	48	24
26	Norway	35	11	23
27	Singapore	41	18	23
28	New Zealand	37	14	23
29	Belgium	36	13	23
30	Czech Republic	32	9	24
31	Bolivia	60	38	23
32	Malta	47	26	21
33	Jamaica	45	25	19
34	Mauritius	41	21	21
35	Bulgaria	52	33	19
36	Serbia	44	25	20
37	Iceland	23	4	19
38	Colombia	71	53	18
39	Georgia	67	49	17
40	Romania	58	40	18
41	Armenia	37	19	18
42	Finland	28	10	18
43	Ecuador	63	46	17
44	Honduras	62	45	17
45	Turkey	58	41	18
46	Venezuela	55	38	17
47	Paraguay	54	37	17
48	Switzerland	53	36	17
49	Netherlands	28	11	17
50	Albania	59	45	13
51	Russia	30	16	14
52	Ghana	57	44	14
53	South Africa	49	36	13
54	Taiwan	46	33	13
55	Slovakia	39	26	13
56	Israel	37	24	13
57	Latvia	33	20	13
58	Kenya	59	47	12
59	El Salvador	51	39	12
60	Bosnia Herzegovina	44	32	12
61	Moldova	42	30	12
62	Egypt	31	19	12
63	South Korea	64	53	12
64	Guatemala	55	44	11
65	Tajikistan	54	43	12
66	Luxembourg	52	41	11
67	Algeria	37	26	11
68	Lithuania	27	16	11
69	Guinea	62	52	10
70	Austria	61	51	10
71	Zambia	60	50	10
72	Gambia	52	42	11
73	Uganda	50	40	9
74	Cameroon	45	35	10
75	Mali	42	32	11
76	Estonia	17	7	10
77	Lesotho	58	49	9
78	Sierra Leone	56	47	9
79	Botswana	55	46	9
80	Liberia	53	44	9
81	Burkina Faso	50	41	9
82	Senegal	49	40	10
83	Kosovo	42	33	9
84	Gabon	40	31	8
85	Morocco	33	24	9
86	Tunisia	30	21	9
87	Montenegro	27	18	9
88	United Arab Emirates	27	18	9
89	Malawi	86	78	8
90	Philippines	61	53	8
91	North Macedonia	60	52	8
92	Nigeria	43	35	8
93	Jordan	30	22	8
94	Hong Kong	26	18	8
95	Palestine	25	17	8
96	Vietnam	72	65	6
97	Iraq	38	31	7
98	Indonesia	36	29	7
99	Bahrain	30	23	7
100	Kuwait	16	9	7
101	Zimbabwe	54	48	5
102	Pakistan	49	43	7
103	Azerbaijan	44	38	6
104	Kyrgyzstan	42	36	6
105	Kazakhstan	40	34	6
106	Poland	39	33	7
107	Malaysia	34	28	6
108	Croatia	25	19	7
109	Mozambique	52	47	5
110	Sri Lanka	29	24	4
111	Benin	57	53	3
112	Togo	53	49	4
113	Ivory Coast	48	44	4
114	Thailand	44	40	4
115	Dominican Republic	42	38	4
116	Mauritania	40	36	4
117	Congo Kinshasa	32	28	4
118	Saudi Arabia	11	7	4
119	Nepal	49	46	3
120	Tanzania	48	45	3
121	Denmark	27	24	3
122	Libya	25	22	4
123	Oman	16	13	3
124	Madagascar	63	61	2
125	Bangladesh	44	42	3
126	Niger	44	42	2
127	Congo Brazzaville	43	41	2
128	Mongolia	36	34	2
129	India	33	31	2
130	Laos	31	29	2
131	Cambodia	29	27	3
132	Chad	50	49	2
133	Uzbekistan	44	43	1
134	Namibia	32	31	1
135	Ethiopia	16	15	1
136	Somalia	28	29	0
137	Lebanon	39	41	-2
138	Myanmar	19	21	-2
139	Comoros	34	40	-6
140	China	23	29	-6

Portugal and the United States top the ranking, with gaps above 41 percentage points. Italy and the UK follow, both near 38 points.

Only a handful of countries yield the opposite result, including Somalia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Comoros, and China.

The Largest Gaps Are in Wealthier Countries

High-income countries account for 25 of the top 30 gaps. As a result, the biggest story is not apathy, but a misread of social concern.

Nearly half of people in high-income countries see climate change as very serious. Yet only 20% think most others in their country feel the same.

A Silver Lining for Climate Action

This misperception can matter because people often take cues from those around them. Therefore, correcting the gap could make climate concern feel more mainstream.

That makes the finding a potential silver lining. In high-income countries, people may be closer on climate than public debate suggests.

Meanwhile, climate risk continues to shape the global risk landscape, especially as extreme weather influences economies and policy.