Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Visit us at pewresearch.org
Confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel among people around the world has remained relatively high throughout her nearly 16-year tenure. In her last year in office, as Germans prepare to vote for her replacement, a new survey finds all-time high ratings of the German leader in most of the 16 advanced economies surveyed in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Public opinion of Germany is also positive; most hold a favorable view of the country and say that it has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. And among the European Union member states surveyed, many think Germany has about the right amount of influence in the EU.
Europe has experienced a high level of immigration in recent years, driving debate about how countries should deal with immigrants when it comes to social services, security issues, deportation policies and integration efforts. Among these recently arrived immigrants are many who live in Europe without authorization. Coupled with unauthorized immigrants who were already in Europe, their numbers reach into the millions, though together they make up a small share of Europe’s total population. More in our new analysis: ">
Most live in Germany, the UK, Italy and France, and about half had arrived in Europe in recent years.
Europe has experienced a high level of immigration in recent years, driving debate about how countries should deal with immigrants when it comes to social services, security issues, deportation policies and integration efforts. Among these recently arrived immigrants are many who live in Europe without authorization. Coupled with unauthorized immigrants who were already in Europe, their numbers reach into the millions, though together they make up a small share of Europe’s total population. More in our new analysis:
Few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the fall of communism, but they also are not entirely content with their current political or economic circumstances.
Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.
Few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the fall of communism, but they also are not entirely content with their current political or economic circumstances.
A remarkable number of Europeans believe the financial situation for average people in their country has not improved over the past two decades. In Greece, Italy and Spain – three southern European nations hit hard by the financial crisis – large majorities say average people are worse off than they were 20 years ago. And roughly half or more share this view in France and the UK. Two notable exceptions are Poland and Sweden, where about two-in-three believe people are generally better off financially.
While few citizens on the European continent are eager to see their own country depart the EU, many want the chance to have their voice heard through their own referendum on EU membership. Moreover, frustrations with Brussels remain when it comes to economic management and dealing with the refugee issue.
Nearly half of the British public say Brexit will be bad for the UK, compared with almost as many (44%) who say the decision to leave the EU will benefit their nation. Optimistic attitudes toward Brexit are most frequently expressed by people who are 50 or older, have a secondary education or less, and are partial to political parties on the right.
Even before this week’s terrorist bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, England, people across Europe and in the U.S. and Canada had pervasive concerns about the threat of extremism in their countries.
Across 12 countries surveyed from February through April by Pew Research Center, majorities said they were at least somewhat concerned about extremism in the name of Islam in their countries, including 79% who said this in the UK itself.
The number of refugees who have entered Europe this summer has declined compared with last year, but the backlog of asylum applications continues to grow. Read more.
There is overwhelming sentiment across Europe that Brexit would be a bad thing for the European institution: 89% in Sweden, 75% in the Netherlands and 74% in Germany say the British leaving would be not good for the EU.
France is the only country where more than a quarter (32%) of the public says it would be positive for the EU if the UK departed.
In the wake of prolonged economic stagnation, a massive influx of refugees, terrorist attacks and a strategic challenge posed by Russia, many Europeans are weary – and perhaps wary – of foreign entanglements, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Views of their respective countries’ place in the world vary widely, but few see the past decade as a time of growing national importance. And across the continent publics are divided: Many favor looking inward to focus on domestic issues, while others question whether commitments to allies should take precedence over national interests.
Yet Europeans have not completely turned their backs on the world. Although deeply critical of how the European Union has handled the refugee crisis, the economy and Russia, they acknowledge the Brussels-based institution’s rising international prominence and want it to take a more active role in world affairs. Involvement in the international economy is also widely supported and Europeans generally feel an obligation to help developing nations.
Euroskepticism is on the rise across Europe. About two-thirds of both the British and the Greeks, along with significant minorities in other key nations, want some powers returned from Brussels to national governments. And whether favorable or not toward Brussels, most Europeans agree that a British exit would harm the 28-member EU.
Men and women, old and young have all been part of the recent surge of asylum seekers into the European Union, Norway and Switzerland. But a lesser-known story about this surge is the rapid rise in child migrants traveling without an adult guardian.
Since 2008, about 198,500 unaccompanied minors have entered Europe seeking asylum, according to data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency. The first significant jump came in 2014, when the number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum almost doubled compared with 2013, from 13,800 to 23,200. A year later, in 2015, the total quadrupled to a record 96,000. The 2015 total alone accounts for nearly half (48%) of unaccompanied minors that have entered Europe since 2008. Nearly 7% of all first-time asylum applications in 2015 were from unaccompanied minors, the highest share since data on accompanied minors became available in 2008.
Americans and Europeans share many things: a commitment to fundamental democratic principles, a strategic alliance that has shaped the world order for more than half a century, and despite serious economic challenges in recent years, some of the highest living standards in the world. Still, there are notable differences across the Atlantic. As our polling has found over the years, Americans and Europeans often have different perspectives on individualism, the role of government, free expression, religion and morality.
The number of illegal entries into Europe by migrants hit a high point last year, and as their numbers increased, a picture emerged of the land and sea routes many migrants are taking to get there.