A survey commissioned to test global opinion on the G20 has revealed that South Africans believe that reducing global poverty should be at the top of the priority list. In other G20 countries, those surveyed listed access to enough food and clean water, providing humanitarian aid, and preventing famine and conflicts as major global challenges they would like to see addressed.
The survey was commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, a global philanthropic organisation, to examine which issues matter most to the public ahead of the G20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend.
Conducted by Focaldata between October 31 and November 7, the poll captured the views of 19,192 adults across all G20 countries (excluding Russia), representing nearly 60% of the world’s population and around three-quarters of global GDP.
Responses were collected in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
At least 39% of South Africans surveyed cited reducing global poverty as important to them, followed by fixing the global economy at 37%, and preventing war and conflict at 33%. No other country identified “reducing global poverty” as its number one priority, the poll found.
Furthermore, 68% of South Africans polled agreed when asked if the US and China should cooperate more on AI, the highest percentage of all G20 countries.
Across other G20 nations, 60% of respondents said their governments should cooperate more to address global challenges, even if it requires compromising national interests, while 63% ranked at least one humanitarian or international development issue among their top three priorities.
“When asked to pick three issues that are most important to them, 63% of respondents selected at least one of access to enough food and clean water; reducing global poverty; providing humanitarian aid after natural disasters, famines, or conflicts; or preventing childhood death and disease in poor countries. In fact, in every country, except for South Korea, more than half of respondents selected at least one of these in their top priorities,” the survey found.
I think this should reassure leaders they can be bold, and they won’t be leaving their people behind.
— Eric Pelofsky, Rockefeller Foundation vice-president
In Japan, about six in 10 adults (59%) surveyed ranked preventing war and conflict as the dominant priority requiring international cooperation. This was followed by Germany (55%), South Korea (54%), and Saudi Arabia (50%).
And 27% of respondents in India selected this issue as their second-highest priority after tackling global climate change (28%). This was also the case in China (28%), where the global economy and trade/jobs (34%) were the only issues to rank higher.
Eric Pelofsky, vice-president and senior advisor at The Rockefeller Foundation, said the results of the survey should convince world leaders to be bold in their decision-making, knowing they have the support of their communities.
“Do I have aspirations that this will persuade leaders to do something that they’re opposed to, diametrically opposed to? No. But do I think this provides political space for leaders to do what they’d like to do? I think this should reassure leaders that they can be bold and they won’t be leaving their people behind. They’ll be right in step with their communities.”
The current survey follows an earlier poll of 34 countries, released before the UN General Assembly in September, which found that 75% of respondents support global cooperation if it effectively solves problems.
Pelofsky said the UN survey showed that people support international cooperation but need to understand why it is valuable to them. He urged government leaders and stakeholders to do a better job of linking global initiatives to the everyday lives of citizens. “The first report makes it clear that people need to draw a direct connection between what international cooperation is, and what delivery is. The connection has to be explicit. It has to be precise.”
Pelofsky said another reason the foundation commissioned the survey was for leaders to realise the impact of dramatic cuts to overseas development assistance (ODA).
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) projects a 9–17% drop in net ODA in 2025 following cuts from major providers, including the shutdown of the US Agency for International Development programmes and support by the Trump administration.
The OECD reports that bilateral ODA to sub-Saharan Africa could fall 16–28%, with health funding dropping up to 60%.
Pelofsky highlighted the importance of African nations participating in and leading the G20 Summit, and praised the addition of the African Union as a member in 2023. “There’s a really important nuance that would be lost if you didn’t have a very strong representation of the African continent.”
Pelofsky noted that surveyed citizens often wanted deeper and faster action than their leaders. “They are willing to say there should be a division of labour, and international organisations should be leading on global poverty, food and clean water, humanitarian aid, [and] preventing childhood death and disease.”
The survey also suggested that people in the world’s largest economies strongly back international cooperation, while expecting national governments and the private sector to play supporting roles to global institutions in solving global issues. “For all the bad-mouthing of the UN, World Bank, IMF or other international organisations, it seems like the people surveyed feel confident they should be leading on those issues,” Pelofsky added.
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