Turkey and Italy are most worried about immigration, while Britain has become much less concerned, a global survey said on Thursday.
According to a recent survey carried out by Ipsos MORI, nearly three in five Turks and Italians said immigration had a negative impact on their country, Reuters reported.
Bobby Duffy, managing director of Ipsos MORI, said in a statement that “the study shows very clearly that immigration remains a major global concern.”
Turkey has taken in some 3 million Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the world’s largest refugee population.
Fewer migrants are going through Turkey to reach Europe since it signed a deal with the European Union last year.
Italy has become the main Mediterranean country through which migrants in boats, largely fleeing violence and poverty in Africa, are reaching Europe.
Britain was one of the most bullish about immigration, with 40 percent of respondents saying it had a positive impact on their country – up from 19 percent in 2011.
In last year’s survey on “What Worries the World,” 42 percent of Britons said they feared migration.
Ipsos MORI carried out its survey of adults under 65 in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.
The pollster interviewed just under 18,000 people in an online poll conducted between late June and early July.