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The latest NatCen survey shows that British people’s sense of threat from China, Russia and the United States has increased, with China increasing by 34 percentage points over 20 years, and a majority of people support increasing defense spending.
The latest “British Social Attitudes” survey released by the British non-profit organization “National Social Research Center” (Natsen) shows that the number of British people who believe that China could pose a serious threat to world peace in the next 10 years has increased by 34 percentage points from 2005 to 2026.
NatCen has been conducting the annual “British Social Attitudes” (BSA) survey since 1983. Each time it focuses on different topics, but the subjects are all British adults over the age of 18. NATSEN’s survey research is generally considered rigorous and reliable, and the BSA is one of NATSEN’s most high-profile regular research projects.
According to the latest survey results released by NatCen, the number of British people surveyed who believed that China could pose a “very serious” or “fairly serious” threat to world peace in the next 10 years was 28% in 2005. However, by 2026, that number has increased to 62%, equivalent to an increase of 34 percentage points over 20 years.
However, the British public still views Russia as the most important security threat, with 89% of them agreeing that Russia is a serious security threat.
Also, the proportion of British people surveyed who believed that the United States posed a “very serious” or “fairly serious” threat to world peace was 47% in 2005 and 74% in 2026, an increase of 27 percentage points.
Among them, between 2024 and 2026, the proportion of British people who view the United States this way will rapidly increase from 36% to 74%, an increase of 38 percentage points in just 2 years.
NatCen’s 2024 survey was conducted ahead of the US presidential election in November of the same year. In the spring of 2025, NatSense conducted another survey four months after the new US President was sworn in in January of that year. At the time, about 71% of British people surveyed believed that the United States was a serious threat. However, that number dropped to 54% in the autumn of the same year, and did not reach 74% until the spring of 2026.
In comparison, the number of British people who believe China is a serious security threat has steadily declined from 69% in 2024 to 62% in 2026.
Also from 2024 to 2026, both the United Kingdom and the United States experienced rotation of political parties. In terms of pragmatic China policy, the British Labor government, which takes office in July 2024, attaches greater importance to “stability” and “pragmatism” of UK-China relations.
NatCen further analyzed that from 2025 to 2026, the proportion of British people who consider China a “very serious” threat will fall from 23% to 18%. Such a changing trend may reflect the current British government’s clear commitment to promoting the stability of UK-China relations. It also shows that the public’s perception and perception of threats is relative: compared to Russia, the threat from China is considered less urgent and a relatively long-term source of risk.
It is noteworthy that British people of different age groups have different opinions about China. NetSense analysis shows that about 71% of British people “over the age of 55” see China as a serious threat, but when it comes to the “18 to 34 years old” range, the number of British people who hold the same view drops to 47%. As for British people “aged 35 to 54”, 63% believe China is a serious threat.
According to NatSense’s survey results, British people in the two age groups “18 to 34 years old” and “35 to 54 years old” are more likely than those in the “55 and older” group to believe that the United States is a serious threat than China.
On the other hand, on the issue of defense spending, about 56% of the British people surveyed supported increasing defense spending. NatCen reported that this is the first time since 1996 that more than 50% of British people surveyed have clearly agreed to increase defense spending.
However, there is also an age difference in viewpoint on this issue. At least 62% of British people “over 55” support increasing defense spending. The proportion of British people holding similar views in the two groups of “35 to 54 years” and “18 to 34 years” are 47% and 30% respectively.
As far as the likelihood of individuals actually participating in actions to defend their country, Natsen analyzed that at least 45% of British people “over the age of 55” believe it is important for individuals to join the military to defend their country. However, the proportion of British people “35 to 54” and “18 to 34” who agree with this view is 24% and 22% respectively. At the same time, almost the same proportion of people in the same age group believe that joining the army is not very important for the defense of the country.
