Political Issues

Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics.

63% of Americans are pessimistic about the country’s moral and ethical standards, and 59% are pessimistic about its education system.

Six-in-ten U.S. adults say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022.

Six-in-ten U.S. adults say being a man helps a lot or a little when it comes to a person’s ability to get ahead in the U.S., compared with 14% who say it hurts

Despite the Chinese Communist Party's ban on religion, some 6% of party members formally identify with a religion.

Black workers account for about 13% of all U.S. workers, including those who work full time, part time and are self-employed.

The share of Americans who say the United States stands above all other nations in the world has declined modestly over the past four years.

53% of U.S. adults say people overlooking racial discrimination is a bigger problem than people seeing it where it really didn’t exist.

Americans’ understanding of digital topics varies notably depending on the subject. For example, majorities of U.S. adults know what cookies on websites do and can identify a secure password, but far fewer can recognize an example of two-factor authentication.

Test your knowledge of digital topics and terms by taking our nine-question quiz. Then, compare your score with knowledge measured among the American public.