The conclusions are the result of the “Risks that Matter” survey, carried out between November and December of last year with more than 27 thousand people between 18 and 64 years old in 27 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Looking at the next year or two, the main concern in all countries is related to geopolitical risk, indicated by 77% of those interviewed.

Israel, which has been at war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, leads the list of countries most concerned about the issue (88%), but there are eight others that also have a score above 80%: Spain, Portugal (86%), Turkey, Italy, Austria, Greece, Germany and Lithuania.

In the report, the Portuguese once again stand out in most indicators.

Right after geopolitical risk, climate change is a cause for concern for the majority (82%), but also a range of health-related issues.

For 78% of respondents in Portugal, access to quality healthcare or the possibility of getting sick is a concern, with seven in 10 worried about access to quality ongoing care.

Regarding healthcare, half of the Portuguese were willing to contribute 2% more to healthcare, above the OECD average (38%).

On this topic, Portugal is also among the five countries with the highest percentage of people who say they feel worried or very worried, along with Chile, Greece, Mexico and Spain.

When the horizon is the next year or two, there is only one criterion that worries less than half of the Portuguese: the need to give up work or career to care for children, older relatives or those with some illness or disability (49%).

The cross-cutting concerns of the Portuguese are common to other countries such as Chile, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Turkey, where almost all the topics assessed are a cause for concern for the majority of those interviewed.

On the contrary, countries in central and northern Europe stand out, such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, and also South Korea.

In addition to the short term, the survey also assessed concerns over a horizon beyond 10 years, in which climate change and geopolitical risks once again appear at the top for the Portuguese.

In the long term, financial security in old age is another major concern, cited by 85% of respondents in Portugal – well above the OECD average (65%) and again along with Chile (90%), Mexico (87%), Greece (85%), Spain (83%) and Italy (80%).

In financial matters, the report shows that the Portuguese trust family and friends more than the government's social responses to support them in the face of personal financial problems.

Almost 70% believe that their own or another adult in the household could work more to increase their income and almost 60% believe that a friend or family member would be available to help. On the other hand, less than 30% believe that government support would be sufficient.

Portugal is also the second country where most people are concerned about the aging of the population (79%), behind only South Korea (85%).

When asked about public policies to respond to the aging population, the majority advocated, above all, incentives for birth rates and support for greater participation of women and other minorities in the labor market.

In a chapter dedicated to the challenges of new technologies, the report shows that, in general, people tend to highlight the positive impacts and in Portugal, more than half believe that technologies can help make work more compatible with personal life and make work less boring, stressful and mentally demanding.

On the other hand, and as in most countries, the Portuguese are more skeptical about the possibility of being replaced at work by a robot, artificial intelligence or someone who provides the same service on an online platform, and about the possibility of losing their job because they are not good enough with technology.

Specifically in relation to artificial intelligence, the majority believe that it will create more unemployment and just over 30% believe that it will generate more jobs.

For the Portuguese, the biggest impact of artificial intelligence will be the need to retrain workers for different roles.