A new study by Statista Consumer Insights across 21 countries reveals that environmental protection is not considered a major issue by the majority of citizens.
The proportion of individuals identifying environmental protection as a ‘key national’ concern ranged from 19% to 46%, Statista‘s study found, with notable variations across different regions.
Brazil leads the way
In Brazil, concern for the environment was highest, with 46% of respondents considering environmental protection issues as ‘among the most important issues in their country’. This was followed by Mexico, where 41% answered likewise.
In China (32%) and India (37%), meanwhile, while environmental protection ranked as the second and fourth most important issue, respectively, it was lower than other priorities such as health, unemployment, education, and poverty, Statista noted.
In Europe, the importance attributed to environmental protection varied significantly, with 38% of respondents in Italy identifying it as a major issue, compared to just 25% in the Netherlands. In the UK, some 29% viewed environmental protection as a key issue.
Low consideration in the US
In the United States, environmental protection was ranked as the 13th most important issue overall, with 27% of respondents highlighting it as a major concern among 19 issues considered.
The findings suggest that environmental protection, while acknowledged as an issue by a sizeable proportion of consumers, often competes with other more pressing socio-economic issues among members of the public.
The study encompassed between 12,000 and 60,000 respondents in each of the countries surveyed, with surveys being undertaken between October 2023 and September 2024. Read more here.
