Yes, me worry

What gives Indian consumers sleepless nights? The economy, health and job security, of course "" that's what the rest of the world frets over, after all. But India has some more concerns "" political stability, terrorism and global warming.

Compared with the 23 per cent who worry about job security, 28 per cent cite political stability as a concern "" a 12 per cent hike that brings this issue on par with health and close to the 30 per cent worries for the economy. Terrorism is an issue with one in four consumers, while global warming concerns 18 per cent.

Last time round, India was not in the top 10 lists of countries concerned about various issues. But these new worries are world-class, making India among the top five countries troubled by political stability, global warming and terrorism.

Ironically, India is also second in the Apac list and ninth across the world among nations that have no major concerns: 13 per cent Indians say they have no worries, compared with global and regional averages of 6 and 5 per cent, respectively.

The ACNielsen survey added a new worry this time, when it asked consumers across the world whether they thought a global recession was imminent in the next 12 months. About 27 per cent Indians agreed, which is more or less in line with global and regional thinking (28 and 25 per cent, respectively).

In the event of a downturn in the local economy, Indian consumers biggest concern is inflation "" 52 per cent cited this, compared with 56 per cent for the region and 54 per cent globally.

Unemployment was an issue with half the respondents, while over a third selected political instability and interest rate rises as their biggest concerns. With some slight variations in the numbers, that order holds true for the rest of the world as well.

Latvia expressed the greatest concern about inflation (81 per cent), Singapore's worries centred on unemployment (76 per cent), while Pakistan fears were about political unstability (51 per cent). Portugal and Australia are apprehensive about hikes in interest rates (54 per cent), while China selected falling property prices (27 per cent).

Not everybody is anxious though. About 2 per cent of consumers across the world said they had no worries even if their local economies slowed down. Heading this list is Sweden (9 per cent), while Japan is the least worried in the Apac region (6 per cent). The figure for India: 2 per cent.