Survey finds citizens of emerging Asian countries more optimistic about personal, national futures

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- While citizens of high-income and African countries have a negative outlook about their personal and their country's futures, citizens of emerging Asian countries including China, India and Saudi Arabia are much more optimistic, finds a new survey.

A global survey of 130,000 citizens from 13 countries, conducted by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, in partnership with market research leader Ipsos, has also revealed that the top priority concerning most people is the rising cost of living.

This is more than those worried about poverty and social inequalities (2nd), unemployment (3rd), global warming (7th) or COVID-19 (8th), showed the survey results that were unveiled at FII Institute's PRIORITY Summit in New York City, which hosted leading speakers from around the globe to discuss pressing issues and find solutions to help world leaders address the priorities of their citizens.

"This is a landmark survey that should ring alarm bells for governments all over the world," said Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute. "These results show that citizens everywhere are very concerned with the increasing costs of living. We are giving them the roadmap to address these concerns."

"Our mission at the FII Institute is to identify global challenges facing humanity and to find practical solutions to help leaders and decision-makers to address them. That is why we have held this keynote PRIORITY Summit in New York during the week that the United Nations General Assembly is meeting," said Attias in a press release.

The FII Institute will be hosting its flagship event, the Future Investment Initiative, in Riyadh from Oct. 25 to 27. More than 300 speakers and 5,000 delegates are expected to participate in the event.