Key findings:
- More than half of U.S. adults say they’re fearful for what the year 2022 holds in store for both the U.S. (51%) and the world (54%).
- In addition to the grim outlook for the U.S. and the world, adults have less hope for themselves. 30% say they’re more fearful about what 2022 holds in store for themselves.
- Covid fatigue: 35% said they’d like to hear less about COVID-19 in 2022.
- Amid current concerns of inflation and economic woes, 50% expect 2022 to be a bad year for the U.S. economy.
- Politics remains top of mind for many: 17% cite ‘democracy’ as the most important issue—second to “jobs and the economy” at 31%.
2021 vies for the lead as ‘worst year’
About half (51%) of adults in the U.S. say they’re fearful for what the year 2022 holds in store for the country, and slightly more (54%) are fearful for what 2022 holds in store for the world, according to a new Axios|SurveyMonkey poll. The percentage who say they are fearful about what’s in store for the world exceeds last year’s 36% as well as the pre-pandemic results from 2018 (48%) and 2017 (52%).
Think 2020 was bad? This year vies to compete as most described their year to be “exhausting” (43%) and “worrisome” (43%), on par with 2020 levels (45% and 46%, respectively), but up substantially from 2018 (30% and 28%, respectively).
Lack of hope reaches an all-time high
In addition to the grim outlook for the U.S. and the world, adults have less hope for themselves. Three in 10 (30%) say they’re more fearful about what 2022 holds in store for themselves, reaching an all-time high compared to those who said the same in 2020 (25%), 2018 (22%), and 2017 (28%).
Older adults are most likely to have concerns about the upcoming year compared to younger generations. One in 4 (40%) of those in the Silent Generation and 36% of Boomers are fearful for what lies ahead in 2022 compared to only 16% of Gen Z.
Covid fatigue sets in
Almost two years into the pandemic, most adults say they’re feeling tired, and not necessarily due to symptoms of COVID-19. When asked about one thing they’d like to hear less of in the next year, about 3 in 10 (35%) said COVID-19.
Their pandemic fatigue may be, in part, led by the hope for it to improve in the next year. Around 6 in 10 (61%) say they’re hopeful about what 2022 holds in store for the pandemic. However, hope has waned compared to this time last year; more than 7 in 10 (76%) felt 2021 would bring relief to the pandemic.
Economic concerns carry over to 2022
Amid current concerns of inflation and supply chain woes, half (50%) of adults feel 2022 will be a bad year for the U.S. economy with almost 2 in 10 (17%) predicting it will be a “very bad year” for the economy. Despite Gen-Z’s usual optimism, this remains true across the majority of generations, yet white adults are among the most likely to have a negative outlook for the economy in the coming year (56%). In comparison, only 28% of Blacks, 44% of Hispanics, and 41% of Asians feel the same.
Politics remains top of mind for many: 17% cite ‘democracy’ as the most important issue—second to “jobs and the economy” at 31%. The issue of 'democracy' is particularly popular among those with a postgraduate degree (31%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (24%). On the contrary, only 9% of those with a high school degree or less, 15% of Republicans and 7% of independents view the issue with the same level of importance.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Jobs and the economy 31%33%28%Democracy 17%19%14%Health care 16%13%19%Education 8%8%9%The environment 8%7%10%Immigration 7%8%5%Terrorism 2%1%2%Foreign policy 2%2%1%Other (please specify) 8%9%7%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?Survey dates: –It’s almost the end of the year. What word or words would you use to describe the year you had in 2021? (Select all that apply.)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Exhausting 43%38%48%Worrisome 43%40%45%Chaotic 31%29%33%Hectic 21%19%23%Hellish 18%16%21%Great 14%14%15%Meh 12%13%11%Awesome 8%7%9%Epic 5%5%5%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: It’s almost the end of the year. What word or words would you use to describe the year you had in 2021? (Select all that apply.)Survey dates: –How about for the country as a whole, which of these words describes 2021 for the United States? (Select all that apply.)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Worrisome 55%53%57%Chaotic 45%45%45%Exhausting 32%29%35%Hellish 27%25%29%Hectic 22%19%25%Meh 8%8%9%Great 6%7%6%Awesome 4%4%4%Epic 4%4%4%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: How about for the country as a whole, which of these words describes 2021 for the United States? (Select all that apply.)Survey dates: –Looking ahead to next year, are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for you personally?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 More hopeful 68%66%70%More fearful 30%33%28%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: Looking ahead to next year, are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for you personally?Survey dates: –Looking ahead to next year, are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the U.S.?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 More hopeful 48%46%50%More fearful 51%53%49%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: Looking ahead to next year, are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the U.S.?Survey dates: –How about for the world in general? Are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the world in general?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 More hopeful 44%42%46%More fearful 54%57%52%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: How about for the world in general? Are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the world in general?Survey dates: –Finally, what about the coronavirus pandemic? Are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the coronavirus pandemic?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 More hopeful 61%64%59%More fearful 37%35%39%No answer 2%2%3%Question wording: Finally, what about the coronavirus pandemic? Are you more hopeful, or more fearful, about what the year 2022 holds in store for the coronavirus pandemic?Survey dates: –Joe Biden?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Net positive 44%41%47%Very good year 11%9%12%Good year 34%32%35%Net negative 53%58%49%Bad year 22%20%23%Very bad year 32%38%26%No answer 3%1%4%Question wording: Joe Biden?Survey dates: –The U.S. economy?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Net positive 48%46%49%Very good year 8%9%7%Good year 40%37%42%Net negative 50%53%47%Bad year 33%34%32%Very bad year 17%19%15%No answer 2%1%3%Question wording: The U.S. economy?Survey dates: –U.S. politics?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,602 1,355 1,247 Net positive 38%35%40%Very good year 6%6%5%Good year 32%29%35%Net negative 59%62%57%Bad year 36%36%36%Very bad year 23%26%20%No answer 3%2%4%Question wording: U.S. politics?Survey dates: –
