- 16 MAR 2026
The CIS has conducted a survey on fears in today's society, asking Spaniards about their fears, what worries them in their daily lives, and about social and political conflicts, among other issues. 12.3% of people have “many or quite a few fears”; 32.5% have “some”; and 54.8% have “little or no fear.” Among those who tend to have some kind of apprehension, 31.4% say it is mainly related to “personal matters,” another 31.4% to issues “concerning current Spanish society”; and 16.2% to “international issues and the world today.” Fears What Spaniards fear most is “losing a close relative” with an average of 8.18, followed by “losing their health” with 7.85. Losing their sight is also a major concern (7.52) and in fourth place is “contracting cancer” with 7.39 out of 10. Younger people and those over 75 are the age groups that most frequently express fear of losing a family member. The average score for young people aged 18 to 25 is 8.38, and 8.56 for those over 75. The fear of a world war also worries those surveyed and stands at 8.01, followed by the fear of “being judged or prosecuted for a crime that he has not committed” with 7.33 and very close the fear of “an economic crisis” with 7.30. Possible wars When asked about the possibility of a war involving nuclear weapons, 78.9% of Spaniards say it could happen, while 19.4% believe it could not. 41.7% say that the use of nuclear weapons would mean the end of humanity, while 54.1% say that it would not. On the other hand, 67.7% of those surveyed believe that having well-equipped and trained Armed Forces is a necessary guarantee to avoid being the target of aggression or abuse by another country, while 29.6% do not believe so. Regarding social conflicts, 89.9% think that issues such as violence, polarization, or confrontations are on the rise, compared to 9% who think they are not. Democracy and the media 76.6% of Spaniards believe that democracy in Spain has suffered “a great deal or quite a bit of deterioration,” while 20.2% say it has not. Among those who believe this deterioration exists, 82.4% say they are very worried about it, compared to 16.3% who say they are not worried about the deterioration of democracy. Furthermore, 77.1% indicate that the media are contributing to increasing the feeling of fear and dread in society, compared to 20.1% who think not. 13.8% of Spaniards say that, in the last two weeks, fear or worry has kept them awake at night, compared to 62.3% who say “rarely or never”. And 23% admit that “sometimes” they have been kept awake at night. Compared to a year ago, 48.9% say their fears and worries are “much greater or somewhat greater”; 41% say they are the same and only 9.7% say they are “somewhat less or much less”. Regarding the frequency with which citizens have recently experienced feelings of fear or anguish without any specific and identified cause, 80.4% say that it happens "little or none" and only 18.5% say "a lot or quite a lot". Citizen security 67.6% acknowledge that they feel "very or quite safe" walking alone in certain areas of their home after dark, while 29.8% say they feel "not very or not at all safe". Regarding the data by gender, 40.2% of men report feeling “very safe,” compared to 20.3% of women. Similarly, 39.6% of women express feeling “not very or not at all” safe, compared to 29.8% of men. Looking at age groups, younger people express the greatest insecurity; 39.2% of young people between 18 and 24 years old feel “not very or not at all safe.” New technologies 33.1% feel “a lot or quite a bit” afraid that their lives will be controlled by new technologies; 38.7% say they feel “little or no fear”; and 27.5% suffer “some fear”. Emotional distress 14.9% of Spaniards admit to taking some type of medication —antidepressants or anxiolytics— to manage emotional distress, compared to 84.4% who say they do not. Furthermore, 65.8% believe that emotional distress in Spanish society is not being adequately addressed at the moment; 27.2% believe that it is. Regarding the fear of being left without emotional support during difficult times, 32% of those surveyed are “very or quite afraid,” compared to 67.4% who are “little or none.” In fact, 90.1% say they have people with whom they can openly discuss their fears and anxieties, and only 9.2% say they do not. 86.8% say they feel that, whatever they do in their lives, there are external factors beyond their control, compared to 11.2% who do not see it that way. Despite this, 79.4% consider themselves "rather optimistic" in general, 15.5% "rather pessimistic" and 3.5% say they are "balanced, neither optimistic nor pessimistic". In 10 years… 37.2% believe their living conditions will be worse in 10 years, 29.7% say they will be better than now, and 37.2% say they will be the same. These and other data can be found in the study on Fears in today's society, which was carried out from February 20 to 27 and has a sample of 5,015 interviews.