What Students in 40 Countries Say About Their Future

The world has never been so alive with possibility; opportunities we once thought inconceivable are now right in front of us. 

Over the years, Oxford Scholastica has welcomed thousands of young people from across the globe – and while the students who join us are excited for the future ahead, they also face high levels of uncertainty in a world of climate change, misinformation and political upheaval.

To better understand how teenagers view their future, we surveyed over 1,000 students across 40 countries. We measured optimism across multiple dimensions – personal, economic, environmental and political – and identified students’ core concerns for the future.

The findings reveal not only where students feel confident but also where support is needed, offering valuable insights for educators, policymakers and researchers to empower the next generation.

Methodology: How Student Data Was Collected

Global Trends in Overall Student Optimism Across 40 Countries

The following table summarises the average student rating across the 40 countries surveyed for all four dimensions: personal, economic, environmental and political.

Overall Optimism: Average Student Outlook

• Highs: The most overall optimistic students are found in South Asia and Africa, with Sri Lanka appearing at the top of all countries.
• Lows: The lowest levels of overall optimism appear in Europe and the Middle East, with students in Kuwait expressing the lowest overall optimism. 
• Global trend: Differing regional factors such as political instability, economic pressures and climate anxiety likely contribute to more pessimistic outlooks.

What this tells us: Students’ overall optimism levels are measurably affected by the stability and prospects of the regional social, economic and political systems around them. 

How Students Feel About Their Future Across Four Dimensions

Personal Optimism: Students’ Confidence in Their Own Lives

Personal optimism captures how students feel about their own future, including their education, personal career, goals and relationships. 

• Highs: Nepal scores a perfect 5.00 in personal optimism – the only country to do so – and is followed closely by Armenia, Brazil and Cyprus.
• Lows: Rwanda scores lowest yet remains moderately optimistic at 3.50.
• Global trend: Students in 39 of 40 countries rate personal optimism the highest of all four dimensions, including countries with lower overall optimism like Kuwait and Rwanda.

What this tells us: Students maintain a strong sense of self-belief and personal agency, showing resilience even when external factors are uncertain.

Economic Optimism: Belief in Future Financial Success

Economic optimism reflects how confident students are about future job opportunities, financial stability and economic conditions.

• Highs: Nepal leads again with a score of 4.80, followed by Kazakhstan, Canada, Kenya and the UAE.
• Lows: Rwanda and Ghana again rank within the five lowest-scoring countries – alongside Poland, Turkey and Albania.
• Global trend: Economic optimism is generally high regardless of national wealth.

What this tells us: Students across all countries perceive economic success as relatively attainable, indicating a strong sense of personal capability and agency.

Environmental Optimism: Hopes for the Planet

Environmental optimism measures how hopeful students feel about the future of the environment, climate change and the planet’s natural resources. 

• Highs: African countries lead, with Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa scoring well above the global average of 3.37.
• Lows: France is a clear negative outlier, reflecting a wider trend of climate change anxiety among youth, particularly in high-income countries.
• Global trend: African countries tend to be more environmentally optimistic, while several European and East Asian nations are less so.

What this tells us: While students in some countries feel confident about environmental progress, concerns about climate change remain prominent. This may be particularly evident in countries where teenagers perceive insufficient action or political engagement on environmental issues.

Political Optimism: Trust in Government and Global Policies

Political optimism reflects students’ positivity regarding government actions, policies, global relations and political stability. 

• Highs: Even in countries with high overall optimism, like Kenya and Nepal, political optimism scores remain lower than personal or economic optimism.
• Lows: Kuwait and several European nations show deep pessimism politically, often aligning with low environmental optimism in the same countries.
• Global trend: Students across the globe rate political optimism the lowest of the four dimensions.

What this tells us: While students tend to feel confident in their personal and economic futures, they often doubt the stability and effectiveness of the political systems around them.

How the UK Ranks in Student Optimism Worldwide

• Highs: Personal (4.31) and economic (4.02) optimism score the highest – aligning with worldwide trends – but remain below the global average.
• Lows: Environmental optimism (3.06) is markedly low, placing the UK in the bottom ten globally. Political optimism (3.04) is also very low, ranking in the bottom eleven countries.

What this tells us: Even in a well-resourced country like the UK, perceptions of political instability and slow progress on climate action significantly dampens overall optimism among students. The UK’s position in the bottom ten is exemplary of a worldwide loss of confidence among young people in the systems beyond their control.

Teenagers’ Top Concerns About the Future

• Highs: Climate change is by far the biggest concern students have for the future, appearing in the top three for 32 countries. Political instability is also a prominent worry, appearing in the top three for 24 countries.
• Lows: Job automation and affordable housing do not appear as a primary concern for any of the surveyed countries.
• Global trend: Students’ top concerns cluster around environmental risks and political systems. Issues relating to governance, access and long-term societal stability dominate over personal or economic worries.

What this tells us: These findings align with students’ optimism levels across personal, economic, environmental and political dimensions. Primary concerns lie in systemic and structural challenges rather than immediate personal fears.

What Does This Mean?

This mismatch between high personal and economic optimism and low confidence in environmental and political systems suggests a generation that feels capable individually but uncertain about the world they will inherit. These concerns are apparent worldwide, with the majority of students predominantly worried about the future effects of climate change and political instability.

The next generation is resilient, ambitious and self-assured, but acutely aware of the structural challenges that could shape their future. For educators, policymakers and researchers, these insights highlight specific areas where regional interventions could make a positive impact.

Further Reading

By Amy Alsop

Amy Alsop is a Content Editor at the Oxford Scholastica Academy and a postgraduate of the University of Oxford. She brings expertise in academic research, clear communication and data-driven insight, helping students and families understand complex information with confidence.