Korea tops global ranking for ‘worries about the economic future,’ overtaking Japan

Statista survey results released

Korea 42%, Japan 40%, and so on

A survey has found that Koreans ranked first worldwide in concerns about the economic future.

According to the industry on the 21st, results released by global statistics site Statista showed that 42% of Koreans said they are worried about their economic future, placing Korea at No. 1. Japan followed at 40%, with Spain and Brazil at 39% each, and the United States and Germany at 35%.

That Korea shows unusually high levels of economic anxiety is nothing new. Various reports published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also reflect this reality. A 2020 report assessed that “82% of Koreans worry about the overall socioeconomic well-being of their household,” adding that “this is higher than the global average of 67%.”

More recently, however, the rise appears largely attributable to increased economic volatility. Gallup Korea’s economic and household outlook, released on the 20th, has deteriorated. Economic optimism fell to 37% this month from 44% last month, while pessimism rose to 33% from 28%.

In particular, economic pessimism appears to be gaining traction among those with higher living standards. Since May last year, household pessimism among those who rate their subjective standard of living as upper or upper-middle had hovered in the mid-to-high teens, but since the end of last year it has generally been in the 20% range. Among the lower living-standard group, household pessimism—which had remained in the 40% range—recently fell to 30%, but optimism dropped by 10% points to 15%.

Gallup Korea, commenting on the recent trend, said it is “believed to be influenced by the Middle East war, which has driven instability in exchange rates and oil prices and sharp swings in the KOSPI,” while adding that “the shock is smaller than at the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in early 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic period, or the Hamas-Israel war in October 2023.”

Shin Hyun-bo, Hankyung.com reporter greaterfool@hankyung.com