Americans’ views about what they consider most pressing vary sharply by age, according to new international polling from Gallup that also suggests the United States is an outlier in its anxiety about how the political system is functioning. In the survey, Americans were particularly likely to rate politics and government as the top issue facing their nation, and the report found that the gap between political anxiety and economic anxiety depends strongly on whether respondents are younger or older. Gallup said the findings set the United States apart from other rich and powerful countries in the study.
The poll showed that about one-third of Americans rated politics and government as the top issue facing their nation, behind only Taiwan—which faces the prospect of an invasion from China—and on par with countries including Slovenia, Spain and South Korea. Gallup also found the United States stood out for the anxiety younger residents expressed about economic issues, with affordability and other pocketbook concerns showing up more often among younger Americans than among young adults in many other countries surveyed.
Benedict Vigers of Gallup said the United States’ position was “really unique in that regard,” describing how the country’s concerns blended economic outlook with anxiety about whether it remains possible to get ahead. Vigers said the survey was conducted from March to October 2025, and the poll’s results come after years of partisan polarization in the United States, a period that included the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, largely unsuccessful efforts to prosecute former President Donald Trump during Joe Biden’s administration, and Trump’s return to office, which raised new questions about the country’s political and constitutional guardrails.
The Gallup world poll also found that younger Americans were more focused on affordability and related economic issues than older Americans. Those aged 35 and under were most likely to list economic issues—including the affordability of food and shelter—as a top issue, while older Americans were far more likely to cite politics. Gallup reported that about one-third of young Americans in the poll named economics and affordability as a top concern, compared with about 13% of those 55 and older.
The survey found similar patterns in other countries struggling with housing affordability crises, including Australia, Canada and Ireland, where younger citizens ranked affordability as more pressing than older ones. Gallup said the level of concern among younger people in the United States about the economy and affordability also matched concerns seen in some countries outside the group of high-income nations, including examples where a majority of adults in Ireland listed economics or affordability as a top issue.
For older residents, Gallup reported that politics and government dominated as the leading concern. About 4 in 10 Americans ages 35 and older said politics and government were the most important problem facing the country, compared with about 2 in 10 younger Americans. Gallup said its tracking over decades shows that politics and government occasionally spiked in periods such as Watergate, but since 2000 the importance of the issue has risen gradually, reaching levels that have hovered near or above Watergate levels since 2016.
Frank Newport of Gallup said the issue is “all mixed up with polarization,” adding that the issue rises among one of the two major parties when the other one is in power. Newport also said the domestic survey found older people are more likely to rank politics and government as the top issue. Gallup said the United States also has one of the widest splits between people who trust many institutions—such as the national government, the judicial system and election integrity—and those who do not.
Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist, said low trust can be toxic in democracies. “Having a stable society and rule of law without social trust is really difficult,” Nyhan said. He added that “Low trust is corrosive. Under conditions of high polarization, it makes it exceptionally difficult to accept losing an election and accept the other party being in power.” Nyhan also said economic pessimism can increase instability, saying: “A world where people aren’t optimistic about their economic futures is one in which they’re willing to destabilize institutions even further.”
The Gallup world poll surveyed people ages 15 and older in 107 countries between March and October 2025. The margin of sampling error ranged from plus or minus 2.4 to 4.7 percentage points.