Pakistani Opposition Leaders Get High Marks in Run-up to Elections
By Richard Wike When 91% of the public thinks the country is on the wrong track, it’s usually a good sign for the opposition’s electoral hopes, and as Pakistan prepares for parliamentary elections on May 11, supporters of two major opposition parties are feeling optimistic. Moreover, as a new Pew Research Center poll highlights, the [...]
Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware
Violence plunged through the 1990s, but has declined less dramatically since 2000. Despite the drop, 56% of Americans believe gun crime is higher today than 20 years ago.
A Dismal Public Mood in Pakistan
Roughly nine-in-ten Pakistanis believe the country is on the wrong track, and about eight-in-ten say the economy is in poor shape. Meanwhile, concerns about extremist groups have increased markedly.
After Boston, Little Changes in Views of Islam and Violence
The public is split on whether Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers, but there are sizable partisan, demographic and religious differences in views of Islam and violence.
South Koreans Remain Strongly Pro-American
By Jacob Poushter As newly-elected President Park Geun-hye prepares to visit Washington, DC to meet with President Obama on Tuesday, South Koreans continue to express overwhelmingly positive views of the United States and its president. The two leaders are expected to discuss a strategy to deal with recent North Korean provocations, including a third nuclear [...]
How Mexicans in the United States See Their Identity
By Drew DeSilver Cinco de Mayo, which comes this Sunday, has in the past few decades become widely celebrated in the United States, and not just among the 33.7 million U.S. residents of Mexican origin. (It’s not, as sometimes thought, Mexico’s Independence Day — that’s Sept. 16. Rather, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory [...]
On Eve of Tight Election, Most Malaysians Satisfied Overall
By Drew DeSilver As Malaysians head to the polls this Sunday in what the BBC calls the nation’s “most hotly contested general election,” most report feeling satisfied with the direction of their country. The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, along with its predecessor the Alliance Party, has been Malaysia’s dominant political force since independence in 1957. But [...]
U.S. Foreign Policy: Key Data Points from Pew Research
Despite the difficult foreign policy problems facing the United States, most Americans agree that the nation should focus more on problems here at home. At the same time, the public expresses robust support for an active approach to world affairs.
Mexicans See Less Progress on Drug War; Split on Peña Nieto
By Drew DeSilver Among the topics likely to come up during President Obama’s trip to Mexico is the nature and extent of the two countries’ cooperation in fighting Mexico’s drug-smuggling cartels. Under former President Felipe Calderón, the United States greatly expanded its role in Mexico, primarily through an agreement called the Merida Initiative (which also includes Central [...]
Middle Eastern and Western Publics Wary on Syrian Intervention
By Bruce Stokes Growing evidence that the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad may have used chemical weapons against its own people has led to calls for the Obama administration to intervene in the Syrian civil war. In August 2012, President Barack Obama said: “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to [...]
