The ninth annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears has just come out, but you won’t see ghosts or ghouls anywhere on this list.
- The survey is done by asking a random sample of 1,014 adults across the country about 97 different fears, with topics ranging from the environment to natural disasters to the economy.
- This year’s biggest fear has been the number one fear in America since 2015: Corrupt government officials.
- While it continues to top the list, the percentage of Americans who are very afraid or afraid of corrupt government officials has dropped from 62% last year to 60.1% this year. The high was in 2020-21 when it was 79.6%.
Top 10 Fears of 2023 % of Very Afraid or Afraid
- Corrupt government officials 60.1%
- Economic/financial collapse 54.7%
- Russia using nuclear weapons 52.5%
- The U.S. becoming involved in another World War 52.3%
- People I love becoming seriously ill 50.6%
- People I love dying 50.4%
- Pollution of drinking water 50.0%
- Biological warfare 49.5%
- Cyber-terrorism 49.3%
- Not having enough money for the future 48.0%
Source: The Mercury News
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