Percentage of Countries in Each Indicator Level by Characteristic
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Countries covered: 139 & 118
Data type: Survey
Indicator type: Outcome
Data Source: World Risk Poll (WRP)
Years covered: 2019 & 2021
Indicator description
This indicator tracks the public awareness of climate change by measuring the percentage of national populations (15 yrs +) who responded “Very serious threat” to the question:
Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so.
The Indicator is based on the World Risk Poll Survey, conducted by face-to-face and telephone interviews. Data are available for 2019 and 2021. Detailed information can be found here.
Dataset(s) the indicator is based on
The World Risk Poll (which includes a question on climate change) is a module within the Gallup World Poll. Since 2005, The Gallup World Poll has regularly surveyed people in over 160 countries, using randomly selected, nationally representative, samples. The questionnaires are translated into the major conversational languages of each country or territory.
The MECCE Project uses the question “Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so. to construct the indicator Perception of climate change as a serious threat
The Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) World Risk Poll (WRP). LRF is a Registered Charity (Reg. no. 1145988) and limited company (Reg. no. 7905861) registered in England and Wales. The Foundation leads the WRP, a global study of worry and risk, with fieldwork conducted by Gallup Survey Company.
Temporal scope
- Time period(s) collected data is available: The WRP is a 6-year project (2019-2025), with data collection rounds every 2 years, for a total of 4 rounds. Two rounds of data collection are available for 2019 and 2021.
- Frequency of data collection in the past: 2019 and 2021 (two years apart)
- Frequency of data collection in the future: Every 2 years until 2025
- Change over time: Data available for two new countries in 2021: Czech Republic and Iceland. 23 countries that were included in the 2019 survey are not included in the 2021 due to Covid-19 related hazards or restrictions. 36 countries have a change larger than 1 standard deviation. For the global average, there is a difference of -0.25 points between the 2019 and 2021 datasets, indicating a small, negative, but not significant reduction over time of people that think “Climate change is a very serious threat”.
Sample size, characteristics, and geographical coverage
The MECCE Project’s indicator “Perception of climate change as a serious threat” contains data for 139 countries in 2019 and 118 in 2021 that are UNFCCC parties..
The original dataset from the World Risk Poll included 142 countries in 2019 and 121 in 2021.
- 2019: 154,195 respondents.
- 2021: 125, 912 respondents.
The World Risk Poll used population statistics to weight the data by gender, age, and, where reliable data were available, education or socioeconomic status in order to create a nationally representative sample.
All samples are probability-based and nationally representative of the resident adult (15+) population. The coverage area is the entire country, including rural areas.
Country coverage (out of 197 UNFCCC parties) by SDG grouping. Percentage in brackets corresponds to total number of countries per SDG grouping.
2019
2021
Data Preparations
All responses for the World Risk Poll module responses were downloaded. Data from the question relevant for this indicator “Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so.” was used. Answer possibilities were:
- Very serious threat
- Somewhat serious threat
- Not a threat at all
- Don’t know
- Refused
To ensure the results are nationally representative according to a variety of dimensions, The responses were weighted using the provided variable “projection_weight”, created by Gallup. This weight is specifically calculated for each country and survey round.
Since 94% (134 out of 142) of countries had “Refused” (respondents who did not answer the question) percentages below 1%, the category was removed by treating it as missing.
On the other hand, some countries had significant “don’t know” responses such as Laos (55.4%), Nepal (43.8%), Cambodia (42.6%), Morocco (38.0%), and Bangladesh (36.5%). “Don’t know” reflects those that openly don’t know how to answer the questions, either for lack of knowledge of the concept, being unsure about the effects, or any other reasons. The question formulated includes the possibility of answering “don’t know”, perhaps preventing socially desirable responses. As such, it is a valid answer and was kept.
Indicator Calculations
One indicator was calculated from this dataset using weighted data. This means that the data was adjusted based on different population and sampling sizes. The weight used, as provided by Gallup, was the weighting variable: PROJWT (projection_weight) for the variable: “Climate Change a Threat”
Numerators: Weighted number “Very serious threat” responses.
Denominator: Total number of responses to the “Climate Change a Threat” variable weighted by using the variable PROJ_WT_2019 for the 2019 data and the variable PROJ_WT_2021 for the 2021 data, “Refused” responses are treated as missing data.
Indicator = (Numerator / Denominator) X 100.
Indicator scaled used for IDP: up to 20% says ‘Very Serious Threat’ = 1; up to 40%=2; up to 60%=3; up to 80%=4; up to 100%=5
Limitations
This survey entails a complex sampling design, with two modes of data collection (face-to-face and telephone) and weighting to correct for unequal probabilities of household selection and for post-stratification adjustments. Yet public issue polling is still facing an increasing set of challenges including non-response and social desirability bias.
There are clearly cultural differences in the way people may respond to this poll that makes country comparisons less reliable and valid. Assumption that responding “climate change is a threat” implies high public awareness. Studies have shown that many of those that feel strongly against issues like climate “know” a lot about the issue (thus are very aware) but that additional information is just used to buttress whatever their belief might be (e.g., that climate is not a threat).
Rural areas were not included in all countries, indicating that marginalized populations might not be represented in the study. There are also general concerns about the validity of public issue polling.
Countries from Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) was not available.
Acknowledgements
The MECCE Project would like to thank the Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) World Risk Poll (WRP) for making their data open access.
LRF & Gallup (2020). The Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019 Methodology. Available at: https://wrp.lrfoundation.org.uk/data-resources/

Countries covered: 139 & 118
Data type: Survey
Indicator type: Outcome
Data Source: World Risk Poll (WRP)
Years covered: 2019 & 2021
Indicator description
This indicator tracks the public awareness of climate change by measuring the percentage of national populations (15 yrs +) who responded “Very serious threat” to the question:
Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so.
The Indicator is based on the World Risk Poll Survey, conducted by face-to-face and telephone interviews. Data are available for 2019 and 2021. Detailed information can be found here.
Dataset(s) the indicator is based on
The World Risk Poll (which includes a question on climate change) is a module within the Gallup World Poll. Since 2005, The Gallup World Poll has regularly surveyed people in over 160 countries, using randomly selected, nationally representative, samples. The questionnaires are translated into the major conversational languages of each country or territory.
The MECCE Project uses the question “Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so. to construct the indicator Perception of climate change as a serious threat
The Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) World Risk Poll (WRP). LRF is a Registered Charity (Reg. no. 1145988) and limited company (Reg. no. 7905861) registered in England and Wales. The Foundation leads the WRP, a global study of worry and risk, with fieldwork conducted by Gallup Survey Company.
Temporal scope
- Time period(s) collected data is available: The WRP is a 6-year project (2019-2025), with data collection rounds every 2 years, for a total of 4 rounds. Two rounds of data collection are available for 2019 and 2021.
- Frequency of data collection in the past: 2019 and 2021 (two years apart)
- Frequency of data collection in the future: Every 2 years until 2025
- Change over time: Data available for two new countries in 2021: Czech Republic and Iceland. 23 countries that were included in the 2019 survey are not included in the 2021 due to Covid-19 related hazards or restrictions. 36 countries have a change larger than 1 standard deviation. For the global average, there is a difference of -0.25 points between the 2019 and 2021 datasets, indicating a small, negative, but not significant reduction over time of people that think “Climate change is a very serious threat”.
Sample size, characteristics, and geographical coverage
The MECCE Project’s indicator “Perception of climate change as a serious threat” contains data for 139 countries in 2019 and 118 in 2021 that are UNFCCC parties..
The original dataset from the World Risk Poll included 142 countries in 2019 and 121 in 2021.
- 2019: 154,195 respondents.
- 2021: 125, 912 respondents.
The World Risk Poll used population statistics to weight the data by gender, age, and, where reliable data were available, education or socioeconomic status in order to create a nationally representative sample.
All samples are probability-based and nationally representative of the resident adult (15+) population. The coverage area is the entire country, including rural areas.
Country coverage (out of 197 UNFCCC parties) by SDG grouping. Percentage in brackets corresponds to total number of countries per SDG grouping.
2019
2021
Data Preparations
All responses for the World Risk Poll module responses were downloaded. Data from the question relevant for this indicator “Do you think that climate change is a very serious threat, a somewhat serious threat, or not a threat at all to the people in this country in the next 20 years? If you do not know, please just say so.” was used. Answer possibilities were:
- Very serious threat
- Somewhat serious threat
- Not a threat at all
- Don’t know
- Refused
To ensure the results are nationally representative according to a variety of dimensions, The responses were weighted using the provided variable “projection_weight”, created by Gallup. This weight is specifically calculated for each country and survey round.
Since 94% (134 out of 142) of countries had “Refused” (respondents who did not answer the question) percentages below 1%, the category was removed by treating it as missing.
On the other hand, some countries had significant “don’t know” responses such as Laos (55.4%), Nepal (43.8%), Cambodia (42.6%), Morocco (38.0%), and Bangladesh (36.5%). “Don’t know” reflects those that openly don’t know how to answer the questions, either for lack of knowledge of the concept, being unsure about the effects, or any other reasons. The question formulated includes the possibility of answering “don’t know”, perhaps preventing socially desirable responses. As such, it is a valid answer and was kept.
Indicator Calculations
One indicator was calculated from this dataset using weighted data. This means that the data was adjusted based on different population and sampling sizes. The weight used, as provided by Gallup, was the weighting variable: PROJWT (projection_weight) for the variable: “Climate Change a Threat”
Numerators: Weighted number “Very serious threat” responses.
Denominator: Total number of responses to the “Climate Change a Threat” variable weighted by using the variable PROJ_WT_2019 for the 2019 data and the variable PROJ_WT_2021 for the 2021 data, “Refused” responses are treated as missing data.
Indicator = (Numerator / Denominator) X 100.
Indicator scaled used for IDP: up to 20% says ‘Very Serious Threat’ = 1; up to 40%=2; up to 60%=3; up to 80%=4; up to 100%=5
Limitations
This survey entails a complex sampling design, with two modes of data collection (face-to-face and telephone) and weighting to correct for unequal probabilities of household selection and for post-stratification adjustments. Yet public issue polling is still facing an increasing set of challenges including non-response and social desirability bias.
There are clearly cultural differences in the way people may respond to this poll that makes country comparisons less reliable and valid. Assumption that responding “climate change is a threat” implies high public awareness. Studies have shown that many of those that feel strongly against issues like climate “know” a lot about the issue (thus are very aware) but that additional information is just used to buttress whatever their belief might be (e.g., that climate is not a threat).
Rural areas were not included in all countries, indicating that marginalized populations might not be represented in the study. There are also general concerns about the validity of public issue polling.
Countries from Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) was not available.
Acknowledgements
The MECCE Project would like to thank the Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) World Risk Poll (WRP) for making their data open access.
LRF & Gallup (2020). The Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019 Methodology. Available at: https://wrp.lrfoundation.org.uk/data-resources/
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |||||
2019 | 2021 | 2019 | 2021 | 2019 | 2021 | 2019 | 2021 | 2019 | 2021 |
Egypt | Egypt | Afghanistan | Afghanistan | Albania | Australia | Argentina | Albania | Chile | Chile |
Ethiopia | Jordan | Algeria | Algeria | Australia | Bangladesh | Austria | Argentina | Costa Rica | |
Yemen | Myanmar | Armenia | Armenia | Belarus | Belgium | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | Austria | Greece | |
Saudi Arabia | Azerbaijan | Cambodia | Belgium | Benin | Brazil | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | Portugal | ||
Bahrain | China | Benin | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Colombia | Brazil | Spain | |||
Bangladesh | Congo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Cyprus | Canada | ||||
Cambodia | Denmark | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Ecuador | Colombia | ||||
China | Estonia | Bulgaria | Cameroon | El Salvador | Costa Rica | ||||
Denmark | Finland | Burkina Faso | Dominican Republic | Swaziland | Croatia | ||||
Estonia | Gabon | Cameroon | El Salvador | Guatemala | Cyprus | ||||
Finland | India | Canada | France | Honduras | Ecuador | ||||
India | Indonesia | Chad | Germany | Hungary | Georgia | ||||
Indonesia | Iraq | Congo | Ghana | Ireland | Greece | ||||
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | Israel | Croatia | Guinea | Italy | Hungary | ||||
Iraq | Kazakhstan | Dominican Republic | Honduras | Lesotho | Ireland | ||||
Israel | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | France | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | Malawi | Italy | ||||
Côte d’Ivoire | Latvia | Gabon | Côte d’Ivoire | Malta | Mexico | ||||
Jordan | Lebanon | Gambia | Jamaica | Mexico | North Macedonia | ||||
Kazakhstan | Lithuania | Georgia | Japan | Namibia | Panama | ||||
Kuwait | Mongolia | Germany | Kenya | Panama | Peru | ||||
Lao People’s Democratic Republic | Morocco | Ghana | Kyrgyzstan | Paraguay | Philippines | ||||
Lebanon | Mozambique | Guinea | Malaysia | Peru | Poland | ||||
Libya | Nigeria | Jamaica | Mali | Romania | Portugal | ||||
Lithuania | Pakistan | Japan | Malta | Singapore | Romania | ||||
Madagascar | Russian Federation | Kenya | Mauritius | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Sierra Leone | ||||
Mauritania | Tajikistan | Kyrgyzstan | Republic of Moldova | Uruguay | Slovakia | ||||
Mongolia | United Republic of Tanzania | Latvia | Namibia | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | Republic of Korea | ||||
Myanmar | Thailand | Liberia | Nepal | Viet Nam | Spain | ||||
Nepal | Tunisia | Luxembourg | Netherlands | Zambia | Türkiye | ||||
Niger | United Arab Emirates | Malaysia | New Zealand | UK | |||||
Norway | Uzbekistan | Mali | Nicaragua | Uruguay | |||||
Pakistan | Iceland | Mauritius | Norway | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | |||||
State of Palestine | Republic of Moldova | Paraguay | Viet Nam | ||||||
Saudi Arabia | Montenegro | Senegal | |||||||
Sri Lanka | Morocco | Serbia | |||||||
Sweden | Mozambique | Singapore | |||||||
United Republic of Tanzania | Netherlands | Slovenia | |||||||
Thailand | New Zealand | South Africa | |||||||
Tunisia | Nicaragua | Sri Lanka | |||||||
Turkmenistan | Nigeria | Sweden | |||||||
United Arab Emirates | North Macedonia | Switzerland | |||||||
Uzbekistan | Philippines | Togo | |||||||
Poland | Uganda | ||||||||
Russian Federation | Ukraine | ||||||||
Rwanda | USA | ||||||||
Senegal | Zambia | ||||||||
Serbia | Zimbabwe | ||||||||
Sierra Leone | Czech Republic | ||||||||
Slovakia | |||||||||
Slovenia | |||||||||
South Africa | |||||||||
Republic of Korea | |||||||||
Switzerland | |||||||||
Tajikistan | |||||||||
Togo | |||||||||
Türkiye | |||||||||
Uganda | |||||||||
Ukraine | |||||||||
United States of America | |||||||||
Zimbabwe |