---
title: "Appendix B: Political categorization"
description: "For this analysis, we grouped people into two political categories: those who support the governing political party (or parties) in their country, and those who do not. These categories were coded based on the party or parties in power at the time the survey was fielded and on respondents’ answers to a question asking which […]"
date: "2024-07-02"
authors:
  - name: "Moira Fagan"
    job_title: "Research Associate"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/moira-fagan/"
  - name: "Sneha Gubbala"
    job_title: "Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/sneha-gubbala/"
  - name: "Jacob Poushter"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jacob-poushter/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/07/02/appendix-b-political-categorization/"
categories:
  - "Global Image of Countries"
  - "NATO"
  - "War & International Conflict"
  - "War & International Conflict"
datasets:
  - name: "American Trends Panel Wave 145"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/american-trends-panel-wave-145/"
  - name: "Spring 2024 Survey Data"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/spring-2024-survey-data/"
---

# Appendix B: Political categorization

For this analysis, we grouped people into two political categories: those who support the governing political party (or parties) in their country, and those who do not. These categories were coded based on the party or parties in power at the time the survey was fielded and on respondents’ answers to a question asking which political party, if any, they identify with in their country.[1. Governing parties were not updated to account for elections that occurred after the survey was fielded and resulted in a new party (or parties) serving in government. Language used to measure party identification varied from country to country.]

In countries where multiple political parties govern in coalition (as is the case in many European countries), survey respondents who indicate support for any party in the coalition were grouped together. In Germany, for example, where the Social Democratic Party governed with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party at the time of the 2024 survey, supporters of any of the three parties were grouped together. In countries where different political parties control the executive and legislative branches of government, the party holding the executive branch was considered the governing party.

Survey respondents who did not indicate support for any political party, or who refused to identify with one, were categorized as *not* supporting the government in power. Party identification was not asked about in the Philippines or Tunisia.

The table below outlines the governing political parties in each survey country.

[![A table showing our political categorization.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/gap_2024-07-02_russia-nato_b_01.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=179641)

---

**Next:** [Appendix C: Classifying European political parties](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/07/02/appendix-c-classifying-european-political-parties.md)