July 4, 2019

Anna Murray 

The Democracy Perception Index 2019 (DPI), the largest single global study measuring citizens’ trust in government, conducted by Dalia Research in collaboration with the Alliance of Democracies and Rasmussen Global, published on June 25 a report which indicates the public want more democracy. The survey was based on nationally representative interviews with more than 175.000 respondents in 54 countries that together represent 75% of the world’s population.

The study, commissioned by a group founded by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) secretary-general, was released ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit at the Royal Danish Playhouse during June 27 and 28, at which world leaders are gathering to discuss both the challenges for the upcoming elections facing global democracies and the opportunities brought forward by technology.

People in each country surveyed, 79% on average, think that it is important to have democracy while 38% around the world say their country is not democratic enough. The results also show that western democracies generally tend to view social media platforms and the global financial industry as threats to democracy. There are more than 40% of people surveyed in Austria, Canada, and the US felt that social media such as Facebook and Twitter have a negative impact on democracy.

But the survey also shows that people in 21 of the 54 countries, the majority of respondents of Austria (66%), Canada (58%), Denmark (59%), Germany (62%), and Switzerland (58%), believe that the US has a negative effect on democracy throughout the world.

Photo:Webshot.