Climate change and international financial instability top a list of seven concerns that publics around the world consider “major threats” to their countries, according to the latest polling of global attitudes by the Pew Research Centre here.

Majorities of respondents in 24 of the 39 countries surveyed by Pew’s Global Attitudes Project (GAP) described climate change as a “major threat”, although the world’s two biggest contributors to greenhouse gases that most scientists believe are responsible for climate change – the United States and China – were not among them.

Only 40 and 39 percent of U.S. and Chinese respondents, respectively, said climate change constituted a “major threat” – the lowest percentages of all the nations surveyed except Pakistan (15 percent), Egypt (16 percent), Israel (30 percent) and Jordan and the Czech Republic (35 percent).

International financial instability ranked second with majorities in 22 of the 39 nations, calling it a “major threat” to their own country. Fifty-two percent of U.S. respondents agreed with that assessment, compared to a high of 95 percent of respondents in Greece, which has been hit especially hard by the Eurozone crisis, and a low of only 15 percent of Pakistanis.

Of the seven possible threats presented to all respondents in the 39 countries, majorities in 15 of the countries called “Islamic extremist groups” a “major threat”, followed by majorities in 13 countries who cited “Iran’s nuclear programme”, and majorities in 11 who named “North Korea’s nuclear program”.

“U.S. power and influence” was cited by majorities in three countries, as was “China’s power and influence”, while a seventh purported threat, “political instability in Pakistan,” was described as a “major threat” by no more than 37 percent of respondents (the U.S. and Italy) in any of the 39 countries surveyed.

The findings constituted one part of this year’s survey by GAP, which has carried out annual multinational polling since 2002. The latest survey, partial results of which are being released in stages over several months, was carried out between March and May this year. Nearly 38,000 respondents were interviewed in the 39 countries.

Co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former U.N. Ambassador John Danforth, GAP’s questions often reflect the particular interests and priorities of U.S. policymakers rather than a more global perspective. Thus, three of the seven questions dealt with threats with some relationship to Islam or predominantly Islamic nations.

In the Americas, this year’s survey included the United States, Canada, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico and Venezuela. In Europe, it included respondents from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Russia, as well as Greece and the Czech Republic.

In the greater Middle East region, the survey covered Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia and Turkey, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Israel, while Asian countries included Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea, as well as Pakistan.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the survey included Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.

In each of the questions about the seven selected “threats”, respondents were given the option of describing it as “major”, “minor” or “not a threat”.

The survey found some significant regional and national differences. In North America, for example, climate change ranked fifth of the seven threats for U.S. respondents, but it was number one in neighbouring Canada, where 54 percent of respondents said it was a major threat.

Similarly, North Korea’s nuclear programme, a major concern in the U.S. media when the poll was taken, topped the U.S. list (59 percent of respondents) of threats, while a mere 18 percent of respondents in the Middle East did so.

Not surprisingly, Iran’s nuclear programme evoked the greatest concern in Israel, where 85 percent of respondents called it a “major threat” to their country. But substantially fewer respondents in the Greater Middle East, including Turkey (36 percent), Egypt (42 percent), Jordan (41 percent), Lebanon (51 percent), Palestine (31 percent), Tunisia (26 percent) and Pakistan (7 percent) agreed with that assessment.

In China, only 18 percent of respondents said they considered Iran’s nuclear programme a “major threat”.

Concern about climate change was most prevalent in Latin America, the Asia/Pacific region, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the survey.

An average of 63 percent of Latin American respondents labelled it a major threat, with the greatest concern registered in Brazil (76 percent) and Argentina (71 percent). Led by South Korea (85 percent) and Japan (72 percent), the median percentage among the eight countries polled in the Asia/Pacific region was 53 percent, although without Pakistan’s 15 percent, the percentage would have been on a par with Latin America.

An average of 61 percent of Europeans and nearly 54 percent of Africans also called climate change a major threat, with fears particularly pronounced in Greece (87 percent) and Uganda (66 percent). In the Middle East, the stand-out was Lebanon, where nearly three of four Lebanese (74 percent) saw warming as a major threat.

The greatest fear of international financial stability was found in Europe where an average of 73 percent of respondents called it a major threat. Concern was greatest in the southern European countries – Spain (70 percent) and Italy (75 percent), as well as Greece.

An average of 53 percent of respondents in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa agreed with that assessment.

In East Asia, only 38 percent of Chinese respondents cited financial instability as a major threat, compared to 83 percent of South Koreans, the highest percentage after Greece.

Besides financial worries, Europeans on average were found to be most concerned about Islamic extremist groups, Iran’s nuclear programme, and global climate change in that order.

In the greater Middle East, climate change was ranked as the greatest threat in both Lebanon and Turkey (47 percent), while in Tunisia and Egypt, international financial instability took its place.

That region was also the one which took the most worrisome view of U.S. power, which was ranked as a “major threat” by 68 percent in Palestine and by 44 percent of Turkish respondents.

Global climate change was rated the top major threat in six of the eight countries in the Asia/Pacific region. The two exceptions were Pakistan, where U.S. power topped the threat list (60 percent) followed by Islamic extremist groups (34 percent); and Japan, where 77 percent of respondents cited North Korea’s nuclear programme and 74 percent China’s power.

Climate change topped the list for respondents in all seven Latin American countries, where international financial instability was cited most frequently as the second biggest worry. Forty-one percent and 35 percent of respondents in Argentina and Venezuela, respectively, identified U.S. power as a “major threat”, while majorities of respondents in Brazil in Chile cited Iran’s nuclear programme.

In sub-Saharan Africa, climate change was cited most frequently in three of the six countries – Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, while Islamic extremist groups topped concerns in Nigeria and Senegal. In South Africa, 40 percent of respondents named China’s power as a “major threat.

Chinese power was also considered a major threat by 76 and 74 percent of South Korean and Japanese respondents, respectively, compared to 44 percent of U.S. respondents.

By contrast, 39 percent of Chinese respondents characterised U.S. power as a major threat. Significantly, 66 percent of South Koreans and 49 percent of Japanese, respectively, put the United States in the same category despite their country’s alliance status with Washington.

Despite continuous assurances that the United States favours democratic rule during the 18-month-old “Arab Spring”, majorities or pluralities in six predominantly Muslim countries see Washington as an obstacle to their democratic aspirations, according to a new survey released here Tuesday.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia is generally seen as a stronger advocate of democracy than the U.S. in all six nations, although not as strong as Turkey, according to the poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

The survey, which covered Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey, also found a strong desire in all six countries not only for democratic government, but also for specific concepts associated with democratic governance, including free elections, freedom of religion, free speech, and equal rights for women.

At the same time, majorities of respondents in Pakistan (82 percent), Jordan (72 percent), and Egypt (60 percent) said said they believed their nations’ laws “should strictly follow the teachings of the Quran”.

In Tunisia and Turkey, on the other hand, majorities and pluralities said the law “should follow the values and principles of Islam”, while in Lebanon, the country with the largest percentage of Christians, a 42 percent plurality, said laws “should not be influenced by the Quran”.

The survey, which was conducted from mid-March to mid-April, was part of Pew’s annual series on global attitudes that has run over the last 12 years. A total of 26,000 respondents in 21 countries were interviewed in the poll whose findings on specific issues, such as attitudes toward Iran’s nuclear programme and the popularity of various international leaders, have been and will continue to be released over a period of months.

Because the polling was done in the spring, the latest release, which is focused on attitudes in the six countries as the “Arab Spring” has evolved, does not take account of various recent events, such as the presidential elections and ongoing power struggle in Egypt; the past week’s elections in Libya; the drift toward civil war in Syria and its government’s increased tensions with Turkey and Lebanon; renewed sectarian tensions in Bahrain; and the latest accord between Pakistan and the U.S. re-opening NATO supply routes to Afghanistan – some or all of which could have an impact on respondents’ answers to some questions.

In terms of respondents’ desire for democratic government, the survey found few changes from similar questions posed in last year’s poll, with the greatest enthusiasm found in Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt.

And while democratic governance remained popular, most respondents in Jordan, Tunisia, and Pakistan said they would rather have a “strong economy” than a “good democracy”. Egyptians were roughly split on the issue, while Turks and Lebanese favoured democracy over a strong economy.

Asked whether respondents would have more confidence in democracy as opposed to a “strong leader”, strong majorities in Lebanon (80 percent), Turkey (68 percent), Egypt and Tunisia (61 percent) opted for democracy, as did a 49-percent plurality in Jordan. By contrast, 61 percent of Pakistanis opted for a “strong leader”.

More respondents in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood won parliamentary and presidential elections in the past year, Pakistan, and Lebanon said that Islam was playing a “major role” in public life compared to a year ago. Two-thirds of Egyptians said it was playing a major role – up from 47 percent last year; similarly, 62 percent of Pakistanis agreed with the proposition – up 16 percentage points from last year.

In Tunisia, where the Islamist Ennahda Party swept elections late last year, 84 percent of respondents said Islam was playing a major role. Tunisia, which had not been polled by Pew before, was a major focus of the latest release.

Led by Egypt (76 percent) and Tunisia (69 percent), solid majorities in the four Arab states expressed optimism that the past year’s uprisings would lead to more democracy in the region. Respondents in the non-Arab states were significantly more doubtful: only 34 percent of Turkish respondents and 21 percent of Pakistanis said they would lead to more democracy.

Asked about specific elements that were important in democracy, Lebanese and Turkish respondents showed the greatest appreciation for such attributes as free elections, freedom of religion, free speech, free press, equal rights for women, and a narrow gap between rich and poor, while Pakistanis and Jordanians were somewhat less supportive in most of those categories.

And, while majorities ranging from 58 percent in Egypt to 93 percent in Lebanon agreed with the proposition that women should have equal rights as men, the survey found substantial gender gaps in all of the countries except Turkey.

The gap was most pronounced in Jordan, where 82 percent of women said they believed in gender equality, while only 44 percent of men agreed.

Moreover, the belief in gender equality broke down when more-specific questions were asked.

Majorities ranging as high as 86 percent (Tunisia) in all six countries except Lebanon (50 percent) said men should have more of a right to jobs when unemployment is high; majorities in Tunisia (75 percent), Pakistan (62 percent), and Turkey (52 percent) said men make better political leaders than women; and majorities in Pakistan (87 percent), Jordan (73 percent), Lebanon (51 percent) said families should have a say over who their daughters marry.

Perhaps the most remarkable finding was the perception that Saudi Arabia, which has been accused by dissidents throughout the Middle East of leading a counter-revolution against the Arab Spring, supported the spread of democracy in the region more than the U.S.

Two-thirds of Egyptians said Riyadh favoured democracy and nearly two-thirds of Jordanians (64 percent) agreed, as did 52 percent of Pakistanis. Lebanese respondents were split on the question, while pluralities in Turkey and Tunisia said Saudi Arabia opposed democracy.

In five of the six countries, on the other hand, pluralities or strong majorities (over 70 percent in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia), Turkey was rated a stronger supporter of democracy.

The U.S., on the other hand, was regarded as an opponent of democracy by pluralities or majorities in all six countries, most notably in Jordan (67 percent).

Israel, however, was rated as the most opposed to democracy in the region: a median of 78 percent of respondents characterised it in that way. Significantly, opinion on that question was strongest in Egypt, where nearly nine out of 10 respondents (88 percent) said Israel was an “opponent” of democracy.

*Jim Lobe’s blog on U.S. foreign policy can be read at http://www.lobelog.com.