Gütersloh (ots) - Democracy is on the defensive. This is shown by the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index 2026 (BTI). The BTI was first surveyed twenty years ago, when democracies were still in the majority. Today, 56 percent of the 137 countries surveyed by the BTI are ruled autocratically. However, this rarely leads to better governance. Autocracies are more susceptible to corruption, less capable of shaping ...
Gütersloh (ots) - The EU-wide uniform CO2 price for the building and transport sectors planned from 2028 will change the heating costs of 100 million households. A study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung shows that in many countries, including Germany, the additional burdens are likely to be limited. In Scandinavia, households could even see some relief. But in some Central and Eastern European regions, heating costs would go ...
Gütersloh (ots) - Most people these days look online for answers to questions on health. However, many have doubts on the integrity and quality of the information provided by social media platforms and AI chatbots. The Bertelsmann Stiftung would like to contribute to promoting reliable sources and increasing confidence in digital information on health by means of its ...
Gütersloh (ots) - As the new Geoeconomic Interconnectivity Index (GEOII) shows, the EU should strategically leverage economic relations in its neighbourhood to remain competitive over the long term with China, Russia and the United States. The index measures interconnectivity in the areas of trade, finance and economic policy between the EU and neighbouring countries. ...
Gütersloh / Vienna (ots) - In light of advancing climate change, creating a climate resilience strategy in Germany, Europe and around the world is essential for coming generations. A strategy of this kind demands change in society and the economy towards a sustainable lifestyle and production methods. Scientists from the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and of Social Sciences will debate how this can be achieved, along ...
Gütersloh (ots) - A shifting geopolitical landscape, sluggish growth, digital transformation, the climate crisis and demographic change are testing the capacity of OECD and EU countries to innovate and adapt like never before. Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway are among the best positioned. But the analysis of 144 indicators from the Bertelsmann Stiftung's ...
Gütersloh (ots) - The most powerful AI systems of our time were developed and are controlled by a small number of private companies – including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, and DeepSeek. These companies don’t just dominate the development of models, they control the basic infrastructure of the AI ecosystem: computing capacities, training data, and ...
Gütersloh (ots) - Germany should be restored to a growth path and should give new impulse to innovation, along with its European partners. Because prosperity is a significant guarantor of a stable democracy. Digital sovereignty is the anchor of a strong Europe. Germany can once again be a country of pioneering innovation and a pacesetter for the continent. For this, ...
Gütersloh (ots) - How determined are OECD and EU countries in pursuing the goal of climate neutrality by 2050? A recent monitoring report by the Bertelsmann Stiftung reveals that Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Spain are setting the pace with their effective policy strategies. In contrast, Canada, Australia, Israel, Poland and Hungary need to significantly ramp up their ...
Gütersloh (ots) - Many young adults in the EU share the feeling that they are lonely. Around 57 per cent of young Europeans aged from 18 to 35 feel moderately or strongly lonely, according to a new Bertelsmann Stiftung study entitled “Loneliness of Young People Compared across Europe in 2024.” The data for the EU-wide survey derive from the European opinion research tool eupinions. While loneliness among young people ...
Gütersloh (ots) - A clear majority of Europeans are willing to take greater responsibility for their own interests in a changing world order. This is the key finding of an eupinions survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung in the 27 member states of the European Union. The figures show a clear shift in opinion in Europe: at the end of 2017, only a quarter of citizens wanted more European engagement. The majority of ...
Berlin/Gütersloh (ots) - At this year’s World Health Summit in Berlin, the WHO Youth Council presented its vision for healthier societies. The World Health Organization’s Youth Council is calling on policymakers to better leverage the potential of young people. The Bertelsmann Stiftung and major youth organizations support the initiative. Better involvement of and support for young people is essential to creating a ...
Gütersloh (ots) - The sluggish rate of progress made in the energy transition is putting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the middle of the century at risk. A comparison of four European countries shows that Denmark and Norway are making significant strides in transitioning to renewable ...
Gütersloh (ots) - Young Europeans largely take a positive view of the European Union. They are nevertheless less motivated than the older population groups to participate in the European Elections, according to a new "eupinions" poll. Civil rights and combating climate change are of particular significance to them. Young people from the age of 16 in several EU ...
Gütersloh (ots) - 60 percent of Europeans intend to cast their ballots in the European Elections in June. This would be around 10 percent more than in the last elections five years ago. This is the outcome of the new "eupinions" survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The survey also reveals that 75 percent of the European electorate know Ursula von der Leyen by ...
Gütersloh (ots) - The mood on the German apprenticeship market has improved appreciably. However, many young people with low school qualifications see their chances of securing an apprenticeship as poor. It remains to be seen whether the apprenticeship guarantee passed recently by the German federal government will be able to help. Almost three quarters of young ...
