This year was an improvement on 2021, but Australians’ outlook for next year is still gloomy, new research shows.
Ipsos polling found the number of Australians who think the country had a tough time of it in 2022 fell from the previous year, as did the number of people who thought the year had been bad for their family.
But Australians are expecting a tough time in 2023 on the economic and environmental fronts, while optimism about the year ahead is down compared to previous years.
When questioned on whether they think next year will be better than this year, just 67 per cent of people said yes – a fall from 82 per cent in 2021.
Ipsos Australia deputy managing director David Elliott said the results “aren’t overly surprising”.
“Given it feels like we have emerged from the worst of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes sense that Australians are feeling more positive about 2022 than they did the previous two years,” he said.
“However, it also makes sense that we are less than optimistic about the year ahead, given we are in seemingly turbulent environmental times, having been through severe bushfires then significant flooding events, with predictions of another wet summer, and are amid difficult economic times with rising inflation and rising interest rates.”
These sentiments are displayed in the findings – most Australians expect prices, inflation, interest rates and unemployment to rise.
After a year of record flooding, more than 70 per cent of people expect even more extreme weather events next year, with more than half expecting a natural disaster to hit a major Australian city.
Global sentiment
Globally, people have a similarly poor outlook.
Much of this negativity stems from economic concerns, but includes fears about climate-related disasters, the use of nuclear weapons, and even asteroid impacts and visits from aliens.
Despite most of the world returning to normal in 2022, or as close to normal as possible after two years of pandemic lockdowns, economies around the world have been hit by skyrocketing inflation.
Of more than 24,000 people surveyed internationally by Ipsos, just 46 per cent believe the global economy will be stronger next year, compared to 61 per cent last year and 54 per cent in 2020.
More than half of people surveyed internationally believe there will be more consequences due to climate change in 2023; and more than half expect it will be the hottest year on record where they live.
And one in three of those surveyed think parts of their country will likely become unliveable because of an extreme weather event during the coming year.
These concerns are particularly strong in countries that have been hit hard by natural disasters like earthquakes, fires and tornadoes this year, including Indonesia, Turkey and the United States.
World security is also looming big on people’s minds, with almost half of people surveyed expecting nuclear weapons to be used next year and international conflicts to continue.
On the upside, globally more people believe that people in their country will become more tolerant of each other, with this sentiment up 6 per cent from last year.
Outside of the box predictions
Regarding worst-case scenarios, more than four in 10 people around the world believe it is likely hackers from a foreign government will cause a global IT shutdown, and 22 per cent think an asteroid strike on Earth is likely in 2023.
Asteroids aren’t the only things people expect to hit Earth’s shores, with just under 20 per cent expecting next year to be marked by aliens making a visit to our planet.
Technology is also expected to make huge leaps by some, as 27 per cent of people think it’s likely an implant will be successfully inserted in a human brain to restore lost memories.
Despite gloomy predictions for the new year, many people still intend to make the best of 2023, with three in four people planning to make New Year’s resolutions to do specific things for themselves and others.
