Global views on democracy - A new WIN & Leger poll shows that even though democracy is thoroughly accepted worldwide, many people believe their governments do not follow the general will

MONTREAL, Nov. 19, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - WIN, the world's leading association in market research and polling and its Canadian partner Leger, the largest Canadian-owned polling, research and strategic marketing firm, have published today an opinion poll on democracy in the world - 60,190 people were interviewed in 62 countries across the globe.

Headlines

• The world population shows a high degree of acceptance for democracy: 76% believe that democracy may have problems but it is the best system of government. There is consensus all over the world.
• However, when asked about whether they feel their countries are governed by the will of people the scope of the consensus falls considerably: half of those surveyed (50%) agree but 46% disagree.
• When asked if they believe their country is governed by the will of the people, 51% of Canadians agreed while 44% disagreed. On this question, Canada ranks 20^th among the 62 surveyed countries.
• The two countries where most people say that the general will prevails are Fiji and Afghanistan. The two where most people believe the opposite are Armenia and Latvia.
• The survey highlights both a strong acceptance of democracy as a principle and criticism of how the system actually works.

Jean-Marc Leger, Founder and President of Leger and President of WIN, said: 'The survey finds that democracy has not failed as a norm, but doesn't make unanimity. Those who have practiced democracy the longest, especially in Europe, are the most doubtful about the idea that their country is governed by the will of the people. WIN International dug deeper on this important question in its 'Voice of the People 2015 book' based on ten year trend data.'

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Methodology: The End of Year Survey is an annual tradition initiated in 1977. It is conducted every year since then. This year it was carried out by the WIN Network in 65 countries around the world.

The questions asking for agreement with "Democracy may have problems but it is the best system of government" and "The country is governed by the will of people" were asked in 62 countries as part of the WIN End of Year Survey.

Global Sample Size and Mode of Field Work: The questions asking for agreement with "Democracy may have problems but it is the best system of government" and "The country is governed by the will of people" were asked in 62 countries as part of the WIN End of Year Survey.

A total of 63,898 persons were interviewed globally for the End of Year survey. In each country a representative sample of around 1000 men and women was interviewed either face to face (31 countries; n=33862), via telephone (12 countries; n=9784) or online (22 countries; n=20356). The field work was conducted during September 2014 - December 2014. The margin of error for the survey is between 2.14 and 4.45 +3-5% at 95% confidence level. The global average has been computed according to the share of the covered adult population of the surveyed countries.

VISIT THAT LINK TO ACCESS THE COMPLETE RESULTS OF THE OPINION POLL

About the WIN Network:

WIN is the leading association in market research and polling and is made up of the 75 largest independent market research and polling firms in their respective countries with combined revenue of over €500 million and covering 95% of the world's market.

 

SOURCE Worldwide Independent Network Of Market Research

Natacha Vanasse, [email protected], 514 982-2464 # 138