Looking at the most recent numbers from Morning Consult Political Intelligence's Projections of Country Trajectories, you would be forgiven for thinking that a great many people believe that their ship of state is piloted by fools.

As Visual Capitalist's Chris Dickert and Nick Routley detail below, with the impact of the pandemic, rising inflation, and growing geopolitical instability, it's probably not surprising that most respondents feel their countries are on the wrong track; India and Switzerland were notable exceptions.

Below are some of the stand-out stories that we found digging through the data.

United States

Midterm elections have rarely been kind to the incumbent party in U.S. politics and the cost of living crisis, an unpopular president, and the aftermath of the global pandemic pointed towards an electoral bloodbath. This year's election was also expected to set a new spending record, with over $9 billion raised.