World War Three is just around the corner and the planet is teetering on the brink¹ of all-out conflict - according to people in major Western nations, at least.

 

第三次世界大战即将爆发，世界即将面临全面冲突——至少主要西方国家的民众是这样想的。

 

A new poll shows the public are somewhat gloomy about the future, fearing a "worldwide conflict" is looming².

 

With superpowers backing different sides in the bloody³ conflict in Syria, Isis continuing to fight in the Middle East, a spate⁴ of terrorist attacks across the globe and Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump⁵ both talking a tough game, the YouGov survey of 9,000 people across nine countries found popular opinion thinks world peace has rarely been further away.

 

People in the US were most likely to predict a world war, while French, German and British people were also pessimistic.

 

Some 64 percent of Americans think the world is close to a major war, compared to just 15 who think world peace is likely.

 

Britons are only slightly more hopeful: 19 percent believe peace is possible but 61 percent say war is a distinct possibility.

 

In contrast, people in Nordic countries including Sweden, Finland and Norway were much less inclined to believe the world is on the brink of war. Denmark had the population most cheerful about the prospects⁶ of peace: 39 percent of Danes predicted world peace compared to 45 percent forecasting the opposite.

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