Essentials Initiative
Survey 2018

Results

What percentage of younger people (< 40) often or always worry about becoming ill due to poor hygiene?

More than half of the respondents under 40 worry constantly about hygiene. This percentage drops significantly after that.

Find out more in the detailed results of the survey

37% 51%

Lack of hygiene prevents 7 in 10 people from different activities. Ordering food at food trucks or stalls is one of them. In which country do you think people refrain from eating street food most often?

In all of these countries more than half of the respondents decided not to buy food in the street, with Mexico leading in this category (56%).

Look at how the other countries respond to street food.

Brazil Mexico China

4 in 10 parents often worry about their children’s health. Guess from which activity they actually prevent their children the most?

The concern about the lack of hygiene is highest when it comes to playgrounds, but other activities in public places are similarly prevented.

See where children may not go on a per-country basis.

Playing at children’s playground Traveling with public transport

Are you washing your hands before dinner? Well, not all people do. What is the allocation between doers and deniers do you think?

Nearly 7 in 10 people wash their hands before they eat food.

Find out in what instances people wash their hands more or less often.

85:15 69:31 56:44

In which country – against the current trend – do men wash their hands more often than women?

China is the only country where men do wash their hands more frequently than women, if only by a slight margin.

Find out about the other 14 countries.

Brazil China

When raising hygiene standards people globally believe more in …

More individual responsibility is indeed key for the respondents to improve standards.

Look what other measures should be taken to make a difference.

… legislations regulating hygiene issues more clearly … individuals taking greater responsibility

Different things make us feel uncomfortable around other people. How many of the female respondents answered that this is the case when they have their period?

27% of women feel uncomfortable during their period, 22% even very much so, adding up to nearly every other woman feeling distressed in social situations.

Find out what makes people even more uneasy when surrounded by others.

Nearly half Nearly two thirds

In some markets a majority of women feel uncomfortable during their period. In which one of them does it even rise to 69%?

For 2 in 3 women having their period is still a stigma in Mexico, India and Brazil. However, China is at the top of this list with 7 in 10 women.

See how menstruation affects women in other countries.

Brazil India China Mexico

It is quite common for mothers (73%) to talk to daughters about menstruation. What percentage of fathers do you think speak to their daughters about these matters?

With big differences over the surveyed markets, an average of 4 in 10 men touch upon this topic with their daughters.

Find out more about the country-specific habits.

40% 32% 24%

37% of the respondents know someone who has had or currently has urine leakage – with women being more inclined to share their experience of incontinence. Interested in knowing how many times as often as men?

On a global average 30% know of a woman who openly speaks about her experience of incontinence, while only 10% of the people surveyed know of a man who suffers from the same condition.

Take a look at how men and women from different countries share their urinary incontinence problem experience.

4 times as often 3 times as often 1.5 times as often

Around 22% of all responding workers rarely or never use the toilets where they work. In which of the following countries is this rate the LOWEST?

While Mexico stands out with 35% of people not using toilets at their workplace, the United States ranks only a little higher than the average (24%). In Russia however, only 15% stay away from the washrooms at work.

Find out how for example Sweden, France or Australia are ranked in this regard.

Mexico USA Russia

The reasons for not using toilets at work are numerous. Apart from them being messy, which other compelling reasons do you think cause people to stay away from the washrooms?

Sharing the toilet with other people is generally disliked, more often so when thinking about the person who used it previously.

Look at other interesting reasons why people would not use the washroom at their workplace.

Fear of colleagues using the toilet right after me. When someone is using the toilet before me.

There are mixed opinions on how to combat antibiotics resistance. Restricting its use is certainly a demand, but who should be held more accountable according to the respondents?

Both reasons being on a similar level, the medics should prescribe more restrictively (45%). Individuals should also be using antibiotics responsibly (41%), yet at the same time they are asked to be more conscious of hygiene in general (42%).

See what other measures people deem necessary to combat multi-resistant bacteria.

Medical professionals prescribing antibiotics Individuals using antibiotics

Essentials InitiativeSurvey 2018

Results

Essentials Initiative
Survey 2018