Veterans Command U.S. Respect in Leadership

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

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The voice of the world in numbers

Nov. 11, 2025

Welcome to Front Page, Gallup's indispensable intelligence distilled into five charts that give leaders the insights they need to make their most important decisions.

1. Veterans Command U.S. Respect in Leadership

Stacked Bar Chart: Americans believe military veterans possess leadership qualities.

The Data: Most Americans (83%) agree that people with military experience have strong leadership qualities. Majorities also agree that veterans put the country's interests ahead of their own personal or partisan interests (78%), work well with people from all different backgrounds (77%), and understand complex global security challenges (75%).

Age Differences: At least 65% of all age groups agree with these statements, but U.S. seniors (aged 65 and older) are the most likely to hold these views.

Line Chart: Obesity showing signs of decline in U.S.

The Data: After peaking at 39.9% in 2022, the percentage of U.S. adults who qualify as obese (a function of their self-reported weight relative to height) has gradually declined to 37.0% in 2025.

Health Implications: Previous Gallup reporting has found that being obese corresponds with a higher chance of having diabetes across all age groups, though not all individuals who are obese will develop diabetes.

Line Chart: Economic optimism in Russia softens after three years of war.

The Data: Since 2022, more Russians have said their local economy is getting better than getting worse, but net optimism has narrowed to just nine percentage points in 2025.

Economic Context: After an initial contraction in 2022, Russia's economy staged a sharp rebound, posting reported growth of more than 4% in both 2023 and 2024. However, inflation has remained stubbornly high, exceeding 8%.

Line Chart: Preferred approach to lowering the U.S. crime rate.

The Data: When asked to choose between two approaches to lowering crime in the U.S., a majority of Americans (67%) favor investing more toward “addressing social and economic problems such as drug addiction, homelessness and mental health” over devoting more resources to “strengthening law enforcement” (29%).

Historical Context: Gallup asked questions similar to this from 1989 to 2010, and these also showed a clear public preference for investing more in addressing root causes of crime rather than stricter enforcement.

Line Chart: How juvenile violent offenders should be treated.

The Data: Forty-one percent of Americans say minors aged 14 to 17 who commit violent crimes should be treated the same as adults, down from 46% in 2023 and 65% in 2000, when this item was first asked.

Party Trends: The decline in support for treating juveniles as adults has been driven by Democrats' and independents' support falling by at least half. By contrast, Republicans' views have changed little since the early 2000s.