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Almost 1/3 of Americans See Terrorism as Biggest Threat

What is the biggest threat in the world today?  A recent Media and Public Opinion (MPO) Research Group poll found that 30% of Americans believe that terrorism is the biggest threat to world security.

Around 10% of Americans chose either North Korea, Iran, or China. Incidentally, an identical number of Americans, one in ten, believe that the US is as big of a threat to world security. This may come as a surprise to some who are used to hearing about the threats to world security posed by the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs as well as cyber attacks emanating from China.

Those Americans who believe that the US is the biggest threat to world security also tend to think the country is headed in the wrong direction, by a margin of two to one. Those who think that Iran, North Korea or China are the biggest threats to world security are almost twice as likely to think that the country is headed in the wrong, rather than the right, direction.
Americans who believe that environmental disasters are the biggest threat to security are also more likely to believe the country is going in the right direction, by more than four to one. Moreover, those who approve of President Obama show significantly more concern over the environment than those who disapprove of Obama.

In terms of demographics, those who view North Korea as the biggest threat to world security tend to be democrats and women by a margin of almost 2 to 1 in both instances. Those who view the United States as the biggest threat to world security also tend to be registered democrats and women.

This data was based on a survey of 501 people over the month of May 2013. The margin of error is 4.38%.

Whitney Cox:
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