A recent global survey reveals that Americans are ten times more likely than people in other countries to see politics as their biggest threat to personal safety. This suggests that the intense partisan divides in the U. S. are affecting everyday life.
The latest Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll found that one in ten Americans mentioned politics as their greatest risk when asked an open-ended question. This number has increased from 6% in both 2021 and 2023, and is significantly higher than the global average of 1% across 140 nations.
While Americans still primarily cite road accidents and crime as major threats, the survey indicates that the U. S. is the only country where more individuals pointed to politics over personal health issues as a key risk to their safety.
“The U. S. figure of 10% is unprecedented,” said Benedict Vigers, a senior global news writer at Gallup, which collaborated on this research. “No other country ranked higher. It’s ten times the global average.”
“This highlights how charged the political climate has been in the United States for years; people now view political issues not just as national concerns but also as daily risks to their safety while going about their lives.”
The U. S. has consistently ranked among those most likely to point out politics as a personal safety concern throughout all three rounds of the World Risk Poll, but this year marks its first time at the top of the global ranking.
It was nearly tied with Hungary, which reported 9%; polling took place months prior to Hungary’s recent elections. Serbia, Latvia, and Lithuania followed at 6%, while Slovakia, Russia, Myanmar, Spain, and Israel each recorded 5%.
However, America has seen a rise in political violence over recent years, including three assassination attempts against Donald Trump and incidents like Charlie Kirk’s death in 2025. There have also been threats against other officials and significant unrest during the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Localized harassment has increased along with doxing and “swatting” used to intimidate political opposition.
These worries span demographic and ideological lines. There were no significant differences based on age, gender, education level or political affiliation-Republicans, Democrats and independents were equally likely to cite politics as their primary concern.
Participants often blamed opposing parties for fostering insecurity; others pointed to America’s increasingly fractured political landscape.
“I would have to say it’s about how polarized American society has become,” shared one Republican man aged 54.
A male independent respondent aged 42 commented: “I’d say it’s political extremism. I don’t feel much personal risk myself but I worry about fanatics who might turn violent.”
A Democratic woman aged 69 added: “The current political situation really affects my sense of safety; I’m anxious about where things are headed.”
Vigers noted: “Almost all respondents who identified politics as their top safety risk referenced polarization directly or indirectly-either Republicans blaming Democrats or vice versa regarding Trump and his followers being a danger.”
“Others explicitly state that they feel fearful due to today’s heightened polarization affecting their sense of security; this seems unique to America.”
These findings align with other Gallup polls indicating rising discontent among Americans regarding politics. In 2025 one-third of U. S adults named politics and government as critical issues facing the nation-this was notably higher than global medians but surpassed only by responses from citizens of Taiwan and Philippines.
In another poll from 2024, five percent of Americans viewed their own country as its biggest enemy-the highest percentage ever recorded.
At the same time confidence in government appears shaky; by 2025 sixty percent of Americans expressed feeling uncared for by authorities-the highest figure documented thus far-and eleven points higher than reported back in 2020. Only Colombia and Greece showed greater public alienation from governmental institutions among OECD member states.
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