Americans, Germans and Brits all think their countries are going in the wrong direction

A majority of Germans (58%), French (65%) and British people (72%) think that their respective countries are on the wrong the track, according to a poll of more than 18,500 people across 26 nations.

The Ipsos MORI survey, conducted between 23 June and 7 July, also found that a staggering 86% of Italian respondents thought the G7 nation was heading in the wrong direction. The findings paint a bleak picture of some of the world's most developed nations, with 57% of Americans stating that the US is going in the wrong direction under Donald Trump.

The research also revealed that unemployment is still the top global issue, with the highest levels of concern in Spain (65%), Italy (63%) and South Korea (63%).

But only 12% of Germans and 14% of cited joblessness as a worry. Terrorism, following a string of recent attacks in the UK, is now the single biggest issue that Britons worry about at 43%, up 11% on May.

"We're now behind only Turkey, France and Israel in seeing terrorism as the primary national concern and are the most concerned about the rise of extremism across all countries. But our healthcare worries also continue to stand out compared with other countries, with only Hungary, Poland and Brazil showing higher levels of concern," said Gideon Skinner, a research director at Ipsos MORI.

"More generally, leading up to and following the snap election, optimism about the direction the country is going in has been in steady decline with only 28% who now think we are heading in the right direction."

The figures come amid the two-year-long Brexit talks between the UK and the EU, and after the release of the latest Eurobarometer from the EU Commission. The poll, of more than 33,100 people across the 28-nation bloc between 20 and 30 May, also ranked terrorism as a top concern at 44% (+12 from autumn 2016) compared to immigration at 38% (-7), which had been a top concern since spring 2015.

"Terrorism is the number one concern for the EU in 21 Member States, while this was the case in one country only in autumn 2016. Terrorism and immigration are mentioned as the top challenges in all countries except for Portugal and Sweden." the EU Commission noted.

The research also revealed that a majority of EU nationals – or 56% (+6%) – are optimistic about the future of the EU, just a year after the UK for a so-called Brexit.