Pew survey: 54% of the world's population - dissatisfied with the functioning of democracy

Almost half of the world's population lives in countries that have organized or will organize presidential or legislative elections in 2024, which requires a closer look at how democracy is perceived to function in those countries.

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey that shows that, in the 31 states under analysis in the spring of 2024, an average of 54% of the population is dissatisfied with their country's democracy, while 45% are satisfied.

The survey, conducted by visualcapitalist.com, consisted of over 900 interviews conducted in each country by phone or face to face. Respondents were asked: "How satisfied are you with the way democracy works in your country?". The respondents had as answer options "very satisfied", "somewhat satisfied", "not very satisfied" or "not at all satisfied". Non-responders were excluded from the analysis. The 2024 poll was conducted before the European Parliament elections on June 9.

Since 2017, the Pew Center has regularly surveyed samples from 12 economically advanced democracies, tracking how satisfied people are with the state of democracy in their country. Overall, satisfaction declined in these countries between 2017 and 2019, then rebounded in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since 2021, however, people in these countries have become more frustrated with their democracies. An average of 49% of these 12 nations were satisfied with how their democracy worked in 2021; today, only 36% share the same opinion.

Satisfaction is lower today than in 2021 in nine of the 12 nations consistently surveyed. In six of these countries, satisfaction fell by double digits: Canada, Germany, Greece, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the same time, satisfaction did not increase in any of the 12 surveyed countries.

In addition to the 12 countries where the Pew Center has consistently asked about satisfaction with democracy over time, 19 more countries were included in the 2024 analysis.

• Europe: 75% of Swedes are satisfied with their democracy, Greeks - only 22%

Analyzing the regions, the cited survey shows that opinions related to the functioning of democracy in Europe vary greatly: 75% of Swedes are satisfied with democracy in their country, but in Greece, the proportion of those satisfied is only 22%. The same is true in the Asia-Pacific region, where more than three-quarters of Indians and Singaporeans are satisfied with the way their democracy works, and in Japan, satisfaction is only 31%. The Pew survey was conducted before the recent elections in India.

In the USA, satisfaction with democracy is 31%, while the lack of satisfaction reaches 68%.

In sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, about two-thirds or more of South Africans, Chileans, Colombians and Peruvians express negative views of their democracies. How people perceive how democracy works is closely related to how they think the economy works in their countries. In all 31 nations surveyed, people who rated the national economy negatively are generally the same people who are dissatisfied with their democracy.

Similarly, the way people perceive the ruling party in their country is related to their evaluations of democracy. In 27 countries, supporters of the governing party or coalition are particularly likely to say they are satisfied with the way democracy works.

In eight countries - Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the US - people with less education are less satisfied than the more educated with how democracy works in their country. In seven countries - Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Peru, Singapore and South Korea - adults under 35 are more satisfied with democracy compared to those aged 50 and over. In other countries where the questionnaires were carried out, there are few differences depending on the level of education or age of the population.