DAVOS, Jan 17: People are turning more pessimistic about the outlook for the global economy and are increasingly concerned about security, a survey for the World Economic Forum showed on Thursday.

Some 36 per cent of those questioned for the WEF by pollster Gallup International said they expected future generations to have a lower standard of living than today, against 33 per cent who saw an improvement.

Gallup talked to some 61,600 people in 60 countries between October and December.

Asked whether the next generation would live in a safer world, 48 per cent said “No,” the same figure as an identical survey in 2006. Twenty-five per cent said “Yes,” down from 26 per cent in 2006.

Those in Western countries were the most pessimistic. In Western Europe, 54 per cent of those surveyed felt the future would be less prosperous alongside 43 per cent of Americans.

On security, 69 per cent in Europe and 61 per cent in the United States said the situation would be worse than today.

The most optimistic on the economic outlook were Africans, with 71 per cent positive on the economy.

The survey, entitled “Voice of the People,” was published ahead of next week’s WEF gathering which will be attended by 2,500 delegates ranging from of heads of government and state, business figures, academics and journalists.

Respondents had a very negative image of political leaders, with 60 per cent saying there were untrustworthy, up from 43 per cent in the 2006 survey, while 43 per cent were critical of business figures.

Politicians were judged to be incompetent by 41 per cent compared with 23 per cent on the same charge for business leaders.

Only eight per cent said they had confidence in politicians, compared with 27 per cent for religious leaders and 16 per cent for journalists.

As for global priorities, 14 per cent said political leaders should put the elimination of poverty first, with economic growth and stopping conflict each on 13 per cent, the war on terrorism got 12 per cent and environmental protection 11 per cent.—AFP