The week before the 2022 midterm election, at least ** percent of people in the United States felt that inflation, jobs & the economy, and healthcare, and national security were very important issues leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. Climate and the environment was rated as being one of the least important issues for Americans and American voters.

When asked to choose the single most important issue for the upcoming 2022 congressional midterm elections, economic policy and abortion are the top concerns. The importance of abortion in 2022 has nearly tripled since the midterm elections of 2018. Respondents indicated that healthcare and immigration are also important. Healthcare was the most important issue in 2018 but has since dropped 12 percentage points.

In the first week of November, 2022, ** percent of Democrats said that civil rights were very important when casting their vote in the midterm elections versus ** percent of Republicans. Further, ** percent of Republicans said the climate was very important, compared with ** percent of Democrats. Republicans were much more likely to classify taxes and government spending as very important.

In the week before the 2022 midterm election, the top issue for U.S. adults in the lead-up to the midterm elections was inflation and prices. Climate and the environment as well as healthcare were also top issues for voters. Criminal justice reform and foreign policy were least likely to be ranked as most important issues.

In a survey conducted in 2022, 64 percent of the opinion leaders and prominent journalists surveyed in Latin America said that job creation and economic growth was the most important problem Latin America would face in the incoming 18 months. The second main issue according to these experts was inflation and economic instability.

Inflation was the most worrying topic worldwide as of May 2025, with ********* of the respondents choosing that option. Crime and violence, as well as poverty and social inequality, followed behind. Moreover, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza, *** percent of the respondents were worried about military conflict between nations. Only *** percent were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated the world after its outbreak in 2020. Global inflation and rising prices Inflation rates have spiked substantially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, the worldwide inflation rate increased from *** percent to *** percent, and from 2021 to 2022, the rate increased sharply from *** percent to *** percent. While rates are predicted to fall by 2025, many are continuing to struggle with price increases on basic necessities. Poverty and global development Poverty and social inequality were the third most worrying issues for respondents. While poverty and inequality are still prominent, global poverty rates have been on a steady decline over the years. In 1994, ** percent of people in low-income countries and around one percent of people in high-income countries lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. By 2018, this had fallen to almost ** percent of people in low-income countries and 0.6 percent in high-income countries. Moreover, fewer people globally are dying of preventable diseases, and people are living longer lives. Despite these aspects, issues such as wealth inequality have global prominence.

In the first week of November, 2022, education and the economy were the most important issues in the lead up to the 2022 midterm elections for those aged between 18 and 29. Inflation/prices was the issue most commonly characterized as 'very important', and was particularly popular among those aged 45 and older.

In 2022, ** percent of surveyed Generation Z said that protecting access to clean water and fresh air was important to the kind of America in which they want to live, followed by ** percent who advocated for the importance of reducing gun violence and mass shootings in America. A Gen Z perspective These findings may reflect the fact that Americans have been experiencing a rise in gun-related violence, mass shootings, and climate change concerns in the last few years, at the same time that Gen Z has been aging into adulthood. In addition, Gen Z have had to grow up in midst of political tension following social conflicts such as the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affecting marginalized groups, race-related protests over police brutality, and a ban on abortion recently implemented in many U.S. states, making it unsurprising that the majority of the generation also promoted the importance of preserving individual rights and freedoms, addressing systemic racism, upholding women’s reproductive rights, and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable populations. Generational differences Differing from older generations in the U.S., Gen Z were least likely to identify as Republican, to trust in the government, and to say that they are proud to live in the United States, with only ** percent of Gen Z being proud to live in the U.S. in comparison to ** percent of Baby Boomers. Gen Z were also found less likely to have a religious upbringing or have participated in religious services when they were growing up. In addition, they were found more likely to identify as part of the LGBTQ community.

In a survey conducted between 2022 and 2023, stark divisions between Democrats and Republicans emerged on a number political issues. One of the most pronounced disparities was in regards to government responsibility for ensuring universal healthcare access, with less than one-third of Republicans in favor compared to 85 percent of Democrats. Furthermore, environmental protection emerged as another polarizing topic, with just 26 percent of Republicans prioritizing it over energy development, in contrast to the 81 percent of Democrats who regarded it as a top priority.

According to exit polls from the 2022 midterm election, voters who saw crime as the most important issue were more likely to vote for Republican candidates in the House of Representatives races. ** percent of voters who said crime was the most important issue to their vote cast their vote for Republican candidates. Conversely, voters who prioritized abortion were more likely to vote for Democratic candidates. The midterm elections were held on November 8th, 2022.

As of June 2022, American voters trust the Democratic party to handle the environment and climate change the most, while trusting Republicans to handle issues like inflation and the economy more. Inflation, the economy, and climate change are expected to be important issues in the upcoming midterm elections in November, 2022.

This survey displays the share of people in Virginia about what they think is the most important health issue faced in their state, as of April 2022. As much as 38 percent of the survey respondents believed that drug use, the opioid epidemic, or substance abuse are the most important health issue being faced by the people of Virginia.

During a 2024 survey fielded in the United States, approximately ** percent of responding adults said businesses, in general, should take a public stance on current events. Two years earlier, in 2022, the share was ** percentage points higher.

Exit polls from the 2022 midterm election for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona showed that voters who stated their most important issue to be immigration were more likely to vote for Republican candidate Blake Masters, with ** percent of such voters stating they voted for him in the election. Democratic incumbent candidate Mark Kelly won re-election in the 2022 midterm.

In September 2025, prices had increased by three percent compared to September 2024, according to the 12-month percentage change in the consumer price index — the monthly inflation rate for goods and services in the United States. The data represents U.S. city averages. In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of the change in price level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal. A projection of the annual U.S. inflation rate can be accessed here and the actual annual inflation rate since 1990 can be accessed here. InflationOne of the most important economic indicators is the development of the Consumer Price Index in a country. The change in this price level of goods and services is defined as the rate of inflation. The inflationary situation in the United States had been relatively severe in 2022 due to global events relating to COVID-19, supply chain restraints, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More information on U.S. inflation may be found on our dedicated topic page. The annual inflation rate in the United States has increased from 3.2 percent in 2011 to 8.3 percent in 2022. This means that the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has weakened in recent years. The purchasing power is the extent to which a person has available funds to make purchases. According to the data published by the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) was about 258.84 in 2020 and is forecasted to grow up to 325.6 by 2027, compared to the base period from 1982 to 1984. The monthly percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban consumers in the United States was 0.1 percent in March 2023 compared to the previous month. In 2022, countries all around the world are experienced high levels of inflation. Although Brazil already had an inflation rate of 8.3 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year, while the inflation rate in China stood at 0.85 percent.

In 2025, it was estimated that over 163 million Americans were in some form of employment, while 4.16 percent of the total workforce was unemployed. This was the lowest unemployment rate since the 1950s, although these figures are expected to rise in 2023 and beyond. 1980s-2010s Since the 1980s, the total United States labor force has generally risen as the population has grown, however, the annual average unemployment rate has fluctuated significantly, usually increasing in times of crisis, before falling more slowly during periods of recovery and economic stability. For example, unemployment peaked at 9.7 percent during the early 1980s recession, which was largely caused by the ripple effects of the Iranian Revolution on global oil prices and inflation. Other notable spikes came during the early 1990s; again, largely due to inflation caused by another oil shock, and during the early 2000s recession. The Great Recession then saw the U.S. unemployment rate soar to 9.6 percent, following the collapse of the U.S. housing market and its impact on the banking sector, and it was not until 2016 that unemployment returned to pre-recession levels. 2020s 2019 had marked a decade-long low in unemployment, before the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw the sharpest year-on-year increase in unemployment since the Great Depression, and the total number of workers fell by almost 10 million people. Despite the continuation of the pandemic in the years that followed, alongside the associated supply-chain issues and onset of the inflation crisis, unemployment reached just 3.67 percent in 2022 - current projections are for this figure to rise in 2023 and the years that follow, although these forecasts are subject to change if recent years are anything to go by.

A report held in ********* among Gen Z and millennials in the United States found that ** percent followed news about food and cooking in 2022, whereas just ** percent interacted with foreign or international news. The share of respondents engaging with sports and national politics fell between 2015 and 2022, whilst a higher share reported following news about the environment and natural disasters in the most recent survey compared to seven years prior.

In August 2025, the public debt of the United States was around 37.27 trillion U.S. dollars, a slight decrease from the previous month. The U.S. public debt ceiling has become one of the most prominent political issues in the States in recent years, with debate over how to handle it causing political turmoil between Democrats and Republicans. The public debt The public debt of the United States has risen quickly since 2000, and in 2022 was more than five times higher than in 2000. The public debt is the total outstanding debt that is owed by the federal government. This figure comprises debt owed to the public (for example, through bonds) and intergovernmental debt (debt owed to various governmental departments), such as Social Security. Debt in Politics The debt issue has become a highly contentious topic within the U.S. government. Measures such as stimulus packages, social programs and tax cuts add to the public debt. Additionally, spending tends to peak during large global events, such as the Great Depression, the 2008 financial crisis, or the COVID-19 pandemic - all of which had a detrimental impact on the U.S. economy. Although both major political parties in the U.S. tend to blame one another for increases in the country's debt, a recent analysis found that both parties have contributed almost equally to national expenditure. Debate on raising the debt ceiling, or the amount of debt the federal government is allowed to have at any one time, was a leading topic in the government shutdown in October 2013. Despite plans from both Democrats and Republicans on how to lower the national debt, it is only expected to increase over the next decade.

In mid-2022, consumers in the United States were the most concerned about recycling and waste reduction, as well as water pollution and ocean protection. Between ** and ** percent of surveyed American consumers selected these sustainability topics as the most important to them.

The most recent polling data from February 2025 puts the approval rating of the United States Congress at 29 percent, reflecting a significant increase from January. The approval rating remained low throughout the 118th Congress cycle, which began in January 2025. Congressional approval Congressional approval, particularly over the past few years, has not been high. Americans tend to see Congress as a group of ineffectual politicians who are out of touch with their constituents. The 118th Congress began in 2023 with a rocky start. The Democratic Party maintains control of the Senate, but Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives after the 2022 midterm elections. The House caught media attention from its first days with a contentious fight for the position of Speaker of the House. Representative Kevin McCarthy was eventually sworn in as Speaker after a historic fifteen rounds of voting. Despite the current Congress having a historic share of women and being the most diverse Congress in American history, very little has been done to improve the opinion of Americans regarding its central lawmaking body. Ye of little faith However, Americans tend not to have much confidence in many of the institutions in the United States. Additionally, public confidence in the ability of the Republican and Democratic parties to work together has decreased drastically between 2008 and 2022, with nearly 60 percent of Americans having no confidence the parties can govern in a bipartisan way.