Crime tops SA worry list
2006-12-20 12:05
Cape Town
South Africans are among the least optimistic nations about local job prospects and the future of the economy in the next 12 months, a 46-country survey showed on Wednesday.
According to ACNielsen's bi-annual Consumer Confidence Index major concerns bugging consumers worldwide are the economy, health and job security.
Crime (58%), however, stays top on South Africans' worry list, followed by the economy (34%), health (32%) and job security (29%).
Other countries where consumers list crime as a major concern include New Zealand (32%), Malaysia (28%), Estonia (25%) and Russia (22%).
Although the world's least optimistic markets hail mostly from Europe, Turkey (82) remains at the bottom of the list, along with Korea, Portugal Japan and another three countries.
Across Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) countries, Greece and South Africa rate among the least optimistic along with Turkey, with scores of 100 apiece - just above the global average of 99.
UAE riding wave of confidence
Clinching the top three places in the index are Indians (137), Norwegians (134) and Danes (129). Russians' confidence also continues to ride high, with the country being among the top 16 leaders in ACNielsen's Confidence Index, scoring 107 (+2 from the previous survey).
ACNielsen highlights the UAE, in 4th place with a score of 123, as riding high on a wave of strong consumer confidence.
"There is no doubt that the UAE are riding the crest of an economic well-being - recording one of the highest Confidence Index scores affirms the solid performance of the market in terms of economic growth and job prospects," said Lennart Bengtsson, Regional President, ACNielsen, EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa).
Globally, consumers in Indonesia and Thailand are most worried about the economy (65%), followed by Taiwan (62%) and Hong Kong (61%). In EEMEA, Greece and Turkey are most concerned about the economy (46%), followed by Russia, Latvia and Lithuania (all 44%).
According to the ACNielsen survey health remains one of the top concerns for third world consumers, but the level of concern has declined substantially for Europe despite 6 of the top 10 most concerned markets originating from the region.
Hungarians worry most about jobs
Hungary, which topped the world as the most concerned about health in the first half of 2006 has been overtaken by China as the world's most concerned about health (67%), followed by Czechs (51%) and Finns (49%).
Topping the world as the most concerned about job security is Hungary where nearly two thirds of consumers worry about their jobs. Chilean and Vietnamese consumers follow closely with 62% and 60% respectively.
Bengtsson said it is worth noting that concern about terrorism has not been sustained following the renewed terrorist threats since mid 2006. "Globally, only 15% of consumers considered terrorism a major concern, led by India (31%), the UK (26%), and Denmark (25%)."
Least on the minds of consumers is global warming, with only 7% citing it as a major concern.
According to ACNielsen the Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumer's confidence in the job market, status of their personal finance and their readiness to spend.
The latest survey, conducted in late October/early November, polled about 25 408 internet users in 46 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, the Baltics and the Middle East. EEMEA Region countries included in the survey are Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and UAE.