Satisfaction with democracy has declined in recent years in high-income nations
Many worldwide are dissatisfied with how democracy is working. In several high-income democracies, dissatisfaction has been on the rise since 2021.
Germany
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Ratings of the EU remain broadly positive in member countries, but have gone down slightly since 2022
In two surveyed countries that are not EU members – the United States and the United Kingdom – majorities also have a favorable view of the organization.
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Support for legal abortion is widespread in many places, especially in Europe
Majorities in most of the 27 places around the world surveyed in 2023 and 2024 say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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Measuring partisanship in Europe: How online survey questions compare with phone polls
We compared three different online survey methods in certain countries to see which one would most closely replicate our phone results.
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How People in 24 Countries Think Democracy Can Improve
We asked over 30,000 people what would help democracy work better in their country. Key themes in their responses were addressing basic needs and improving or rebuilding the political system.
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What Can Improve Democracy?
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
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Germans stand out for their comparatively light use of social media
Internet use is nearly ubiquitous in Germany, but social media use is not. In fact, Germans stand out internationally for their relatively light use of social media.
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Who likes authoritarianism, and how do they want to change their government?
The share of the public that supports authoritarian systems ranges from 85% in India to 8% in Sweden.
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Representative Democracy Remains a Popular Ideal, but People Around the World Are Critical of How It’s Working
A 24-country survey finds a median of 59% are dissatisfied with how their democracy is functioning, and 74% think elected officials don’t care what people like them think.
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Majorities in most countries surveyed say social media is good for democracy
Across 27 countries surveyed, people generally see social media as more of a good thing than a bad thing for democracy.
