Ahead of the November presidential election, just 19% of Americans say democracy in the United States is a good example for other countries to follow, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in April.
The most common view – held by 72% of Americans – is that democracy in the U.S. used to be a good example, but has not been in recent years. Another 8% of Americans say U.S. democracy has never been a good example for other countries to follow.
Americans are much more likely than people in other countries to say U.S. democracy used to be a good example. A median of 40% of adults across 34 other countries surveyed in 2024 take this view.
This Pew Research Center analysis examines views of American democracy among people in the United States and in 34 other countries we surveyed this year.
For non-U.S. data, this analysis draws on nationally representative surveys of 40,566 adults conducted from Jan. 5 to May 21, 2024. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Surveys were conducted face-to-face in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Hungary, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey. In Australia, we used a mixed-mode probability-based online panel.
In the United States, we surveyed 3,600 adults from April 1 to April 7, 2024. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
For more information on how people in 34 other countries view democracy in the United States, refer to our June report: “Globally, Biden Receives Higher Ratings Than Trump.”
Here is the question used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.
Americans’ views differ by age, party and voter status
Relatively few Americans overall see the nation’s democracy as a good example for other countries to follow. But adults ages 50 and older are more likely than those under 50 to hold this view. Younger adults, on the other hand, are more likely than older adults to say American democracy has never been a good example (11% vs. 4%).
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are somewhat more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to see U.S. democracy as a good example (22% vs. 17%). This is nearly the reverse of where things stood in February 2021, when 24% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats saw democracy in the U.S. as a good example.
Opinions also differ by voter status. Among Americans who are registered to vote, 21% see U.S. democracy as a good example, compared with 13% of those who are not registered to vote. Registered voters are also somewhat more likely to answer this question.
Globally, views of American democracy differ by country
As in the U.S., the most common view across the other countries we surveyed this year is that American democracy used to be a good example for other nations to follow, but has not been in recent years. However there are big differences by country.
Around two-thirds of adults in Canada (67%) and Japan (65%) say democracy in the U.S. used to be a good example. By contrast, only 12% in Bangladesh, 18% in Ghana and 19% in India hold this view, though sizable shares in Bangladesh and India do not offer an opinion.
Elsewhere, large shares of the public take the view that U.S. democracy has never been a good example for other countries to follow. Around half of adults in Turkey (52%) say this, as do 45% in Tunisia.
And like in the U.S., younger people in other countries are often more likely than their elders to say American democracy has never been a good example. In Greece, for instance, 54% of adults under 35 say this, compared with 34% of those 50 and older. There are also notable age gaps in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.
This pattern is reversed in several other countries. Older adults in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Singapore and Turkey are more likely than younger people to say American democracy has never been a good example.
(Read more about global views of U.S. democracy in our June report.)
Note: Here is the question used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.
