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.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
People in advanced and emerging economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life.
We asked respondents in both countries to, in their own words, define what democracy means to them. Most commonly, people mention three broad concepts: freedom and human rights, elections and procedures, and having a voice in government.
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.
Most in advanced economies say voting, taking steps to reduce climate change and getting a COVID-19 vaccine are ways to be a good member of society; fewer say this about attending religious services.
Large majorities in most of the 19 countries surveyed have negative views of China, but relatively few say bilateral relations are bad.
Much larger shares of people in most nations see China’s influence growing than say the same of the United States.
Family is preeminent for most publics but work, material well-being and health also play a key role.
We examine how the U.S. and China stack up to one another on more than 10 measures of international public opinion, spanning from confidence in their leaders to views of their universities and technological achievements.
Older Americans, those with more education and men tend to score better on our 12-question quiz about international knowledge. Republicans and Democrats have roughly the same levels of international knowledge, while conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats tend to score better than their more moderate counterparts.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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