Rise of the Independents

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Rise of the Independents

Line Chart: 43% of Americans identified politically as independent in 2023.

With the Iowa caucuses behind us and the New Hampshire primary in play today, there's one important factor that many are forgetting — and partisans are conveniently ignoring. It's the rise of Americans choosing neither side of the aisle and identifying as independents. While they're not politically aligned or necessarily in agreement on policies or candidates, how their votes swing will be one of the most important factors in the 2024 election.
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2. Lowered Expectations

Line Chart: 52.2% of U.S. adults were thriving based on the Life Evaluation Index in Q4 2023.

Americans' life evaluation ratings are hanging just above some of the darkest periods of the past 15 years. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 52.2% of U.S. adults evaluated their lives positively enough to be considered "thriving" on Gallup's Life Evaluation Index. Throughout 2023, the average score for Americans was a subdued 52.1%, higher than only the Great Recession era and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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3. Lebanon on the Ropes

Line Chart: 91% of Lebanese adults say now is a bad time to find a job locally.

As the war between Israel and Hamas expands beyond Gaza and into Lebanon, we looked at how the Cedar nation is faring after years of economic crisis, political mismanagement and the catastrophe of the Beirut port explosion. Breaking global records in perceptions of government corruption and lack of confidence in financial institutions has been a mainstay of the nation in our trends over the past decade. But Lebanon has also become one of the worst perceived places on the planet to find a job. These metrics paint a picture of a nation ill-equipped to face the brunt of a major conflict.
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4. A Counterintuitive Finding on Affirmative Action

Bar Chart: Expectations among Black adults for the impact of SCOTUS' 2023 affirmative action ruling.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to end affirmative action for college admissions. We asked Americans how they viewed the decision and found an unexpected result among young Black adults. Unlike their elders, the majority of Black Americans aged 18 to 39 consider the decision "mostly a good thing." Even more fascinating was the age split we found among Black Americans on whether the ruling would positively impact higher education in general and Black students in particular.
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5. A Wake-Up Call for Women's Health

Column Chart: Percentage of women tested worldwide for deadly diseases, 2020-2022.

The latest Hologic Global Women's Health Index results are out — and more concerning than ever. For the third year, billions of women continue to go untested for potentially life-threatening conditions such as high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, and sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Many women, including more than four in 10 of those aged 15 to 24, also say they do not feel safe walking alone at night where they live. Read the report.
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And that's Front Page!

Mohamed Younis
Editor-in-Chief
Gallup

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