Audiences around the world consume all types of news, but they are most interested in news close to home. Among the top four news topics surveyed, global medians of at least three-quarters say they closely follow news about their country (86%) or city (78%), compared to fewer than six in ten who say that The same goes for information about other countries in general (57%) and the United States in particular (48%).
The type of news people follow closely varies by age and education level. In about half of the countries surveyed, people aged 50 and over are more likely than younger people to pay attention to news about their city or town. And those with more education are more likely to follow international and American news than those with less education. There are also differences between women and men in their interest in news, particularly international news and American news in particular.
Globally, large majorities follow national news
An overwhelming majority closely follow national news (global median 86%), including a median of 44% who do so. very closely.
Although there are few regional differences in the portions that closely follow national news, there are significant differences in the percentage that follows it. very closely. Less than half in most regions say they follow national news very closely, but the majority do in all six sub-Saharan African countries. Some countries in other regions also stand out, including Turkey (67%), the United States (57%), Germany (53%), Venezuela (53%) and India (50%). At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest rates of following national news very closely are recorded in Hungary (18%) and Italy (20%).
Widespread interest in local news
As with national news, majorities closely follow local news in the 38 countries studied. A global median of 78% say they closely follow the news in their city or town, including 36% who follow local news. very closely.
There is relatively little variation between regions in whether people follow local news closely, but more variation when it comes to following it. very closely. Again, strong interest is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa (median 56%, very close), while it is lowest in Europe (24%). Compared to other regions, India stands out for its percentage of people who follow local news very closely (61%).
In most countries studied, interest in local news is equal to or lower than interest in national news. People follow local news more than national news in only two countries: India and Indonesia.
International and American news represent a lesser share of people’s media diet
Citizens of 37 of the 38 countries surveyed are less likely to closely follow news from other countries than national or local news. A global median of 57% say they follow international news closely, and only 16% follow it. very closely.
Interest in international news varies by geographic region. Europeans are the most likely to say they follow international news closely (median 65%), while Latin Americans express the lowest level of interest in this type of news (35%). On the other hand, the percentage following international news varies little. very closely; in all the countries surveyed, no more than three people in ten say they follow international news very closely.
Even fewer people follow US-specific news than international news in general, with a global median of 48% saying they follow it closely. Yet majorities in 10 countries closely follow news about the United States. In five of these countries, more than seven in ten countries closely follow news about the United States: Canada (78%), Netherlands (75%), Japan (74%), Germany (73%) and Australia (71%). .
Demographic divisions in news interest
In 20 countries, people aged 50 and over are more likely than those aged 18 to 29 to follow local news closely. The biggest difference is in Japan, where 84% of those aged 50 and over follow local news closely, compared to only 47% of those aged 18-29. The differences tend to be larger in Europe: Sweden, Greece, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany all have an age gap of at least 20 percentage points. The only countries where this trend is reversing are the Philippines and Brazil, where respectively 85% and 69% of 18-29 year olds follow local news closely.
Older people also follow national, international and American news more closely than younger people, but the differences are less marked. People aged 50 and over are more likely than people under 30 to follow national news in 12 countries; more likely to follow international news in nine countries; and more likely to follow American news over five years. As with local news, the differences between older and younger people in consumption of national and international news are greater in Europe than in other regions.
In 26 of the 38 countries studied, people with higher education are more likely than those with lower levels of education to follow international news in particular. Educational differences are smaller and less common for national and local news.
This education gap in following international news is at least 10 percentage points in 18 countries. The difference is particularly large in Latin America, where six of the seven countries studied show a gap of 10 points or more.
Men are more likely than women to closely follow international news in 13 countries. The gender gap is widest in Nigeria (22 percentage points) and Tanzania (16 points). Men are also more likely than women to closely follow news about the United States in 12 countries.
