Majority of people want personal lives, world to change significantly: WEF survey

The WEF/Ipsos survey, that covered more than 21,000 people, found that 72 per cent of the respondents want their personal lives to change significantly rather than returning to pre-COVID-19. The respondents were spread across 28 countries, including India, and nearly nine in ten said they were ready for their lives and the world to change.

Majority of people want the world to change significantly and become more sustainable and equitable, according to a global survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF/Ipsos survey, that covered more than 21,000 people, found that 72 per cent of the respondents want their personal lives to change significantly rather than returning to pre-COVID-19.

The respondents were spread across 28 countries, including India, and nearly nine in ten said they were ready for their lives and the world to change. Also, 86 per cent respondents want the world to become more sustainable and equitable, rather than going back to how it was before the COVID-19 crisis started.

"In all countries, those who share this view outnumber those who don't by a very significant margin (more than 50 percentage points in every country except South Korea)," the WEF said in a release on Wednesday quoting the survey report. A total of 500 individuals from India were covered in the survey.

Out of them, 87 per cent of the respondents totally agreed that they want "the world to change significantly and become more sustainable and equitable rather than returning to how it was before the COVID-19 crisis". As many as 85 per cent of the participants totally agreed on "I want my life to change significantly rather than returning to how it was before the COVID-19 crisis".

According to the report, the samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/ or more affluent than the general population. "The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more 'connected' segment of their population," it added.