Twenty-five years after the United Nations’ Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action pledged to take the necessary steps to “remove all obstacles to gender equality and the advancement and empowerment of women,” support for gender equality is strong around the globe. Across 34 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center, a median of 94% think it is important for women in their country to have the same rights as men, with 74% saying this is very important.
As we enter May, here’s a brief update on how Pew Research Center is covering COVID-19. If there is a single takeaway from what we’ve seen over the first two months, it is that the personal, economic, health and opportunity effects of this crisis differ widely, and those disparities may grow and persist. Ensuring that we cover the full spectrum of how this crisis is disrupting people’s lives – not just national averages – is critically important.
Why public opinion polls don’t include the same number of Republicans and Democrats
While the notion that polls should include an equal number of Republicans and Democrats makes some sense, it’s based on a misunderstanding of what polling is intended to do.
The goal of a national political survey isn’t to artificially even the playing field. It’s to represent groups in their actual proportions within the country. And a wide range of evidence shows that there are more Democrats than Republicans in the United States today.
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Measuring European Public Opinion
Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.
Few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the fall of communism, but they also are not entirely content with their current political or economic circumstances.
President Trump garners the most public confidence in his ability to negotiate favorable trade agreements with other countries and to make good decisions about economic policy. Still, close to half the public says they lack confidence in Trump to handle these two issue areas.
Read more in our report: Trump Begins Third Year With Low Job Approval and Doubts About His Honesty
A challenging aspect of designing opinion surveys in countries with different cultures and languages is making sure we understand what people are thinking about the subject we’re studying, in their own words. So when we began our recent study of mobile phone and social media use in 11 emerging economies, we started by conducting focus groups with diverse participants in four of the countries studied: Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and Tunisia.
Here’s an explanation of how these focus groups helped inform our survey.
Japanese feel better about their economy than at any time in nearly two decades. But the overall mood in Japan remains wary, if not pessimistic. The prevailing view is that average people are worse off than before the Great Recession, while few think the next generation will fare any better. Automation is one reason the future may not be so bright for ordinary people: Majorities of Japanese say growing reliance on robots and computers will lead to joblessness and income inequality. And less than half the public is satisfied with the way democracy is working in Japan, while more than half hold the view that politicians do not care about ordinary people, that they are corrupt and that elections ultimately do not change much.
Keep reading: Despite Rising Economic Confidence, Japanese See Best Days Behind Them and Say Children Face a Bleak Future
How the world views the U.S. and its president in 9 charts
America’s global image today is complicated. On balance, people around the world continue to give the United States favorable ratings and say it respects the individual liberties of its people. More countries also prefer the U.S. as the world’s leading power over China. At the same time, many express frustration about America’s role in the world and say they have little confidence in President Donald Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 25 nations.
Here are nine charts that show how people in these countries see the U.S. and its president:
Western Europeans have strikingly negative views of Trump. In the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain – four nations the Center has consistently surveyed over the past 15 years – there is a clear pattern in public perceptions of U.S. presidents. People in these countries generally had little confidence in President George W. Bush to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Their confidence was much higher in Bush’s successor, President Barack Obama, but it plunged following Trump’s election in 2016. This year, confidence in Trump remains low in Germany, France and Spain – but it is up slightly in the UK. Of the 25 countries surveyed, a median of 70% lack confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs.
Views of the U.S. are favorable on balance, but concerns are evident. Across the 25 countries surveyed, a median of 50% have a favorable opinion of the U.S., while 43% have an unfavorable view. Likewise, a median of 51% say the U.S. respects the personal freedoms of its people, compared with 37% who say it does not. However, there is international concern about America’s role in world affairs. Large majorities say the U.S. doesn’t take the interests of other countries into account when making foreign policy decisions. Also, a global median of 37% believe the U.S. is doing less to help address major global problems than it used to.
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America’s global image plummeted following the election of President Donald Trump, amid widespread opposition to his administration’s policies and a widely shared lack of confidence in his leadership. Now, as the second anniversary of Trump’s election approaches, our new survey finds that Trump’s international image remains poor, while ratings for the United States are much lower than during Barack Obama’s presidency.
International publics express significant concerns about America’s role in world affairs. Large majorities say the U.S. doesn’t take into account the interests of countries like theirs when making foreign policy decisions. Many believe the U.S. is doing less to help solve major global challenges than it used to. And there are signs that American soft power is waning as well, including the fact that, while the U.S. maintains its reputation for respecting individual liberty, fewer believe this than a decade ago.
Even though America’s image has declined since Trump’s election, on balance the U.S. still receives positive marks – across the 25 nations polled, a median of 50% have a favorable opinion of the U.S., while 43% offer an unfavorable rating. However, a median of only 27% say they have confidence in President Trump to do the right thing in world affairs; 70% lack confidence in him.
Frustrations with the U.S. in the Trump era are particularly common among some of America’s closest allies and partners. In Germany, where just 10% have confidence in Trump, three-in-four people say the U.S. is doing less these days to address global problems, and the share of the public who believe the U.S. respects personal freedoms is down 35 percentage points since 2008. In France, only 9% have confidence in Trump, while 81% think the U.S. doesn’t consider the interests of countries like France when making foreign policy decisions.
Critical views are also widespread among America’s closest neighbors.
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Also, use our interactive tool to explore how individual countries view the U.S. and its president, and how these views have changed over time.
Donald Trump receives generally negative ratings from the public across a range of personal traits and characteristics. Just 24% of Americans say Trump is even-tempered, while nearly three times as many (70%) say that description does not apply to him. Fewer than half say that Trump is a strong leader (43%), well-informed (38%), empathetic (36%) or trustworthy (34%).
Opinions are more divided over whether Trump keeps his promises or is able to get things done. A large majority (68%) – including about half of Democrats – says Trump is “someone who stands up for what he believes in.”
Trump gets lower ratings than his predecessors in recent midterm years – Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton – for being trustworthy, empathetic and well-informed. However, Trump fares comparatively well in public perceptions of his ability to get things done.
Trump’s overall job rating stands at 38% and remains deeply divided by gender, race and educational attainment. While men are divided in views of Trump’s job performance (46% approve, 47% disapprove), more than twice as many women disapprove (63%) than approve (30%).
Roughly seven-in-ten Russians say their government did not try to meddle in the U.S. presidential election in 2016. In contrast, 85% say the U.S. tries to shape the internal affairs of other countries. Globally, Russians believe their country is playing an increasingly important role.
Major world events in 2016 rattled public confidence in polls. Our new video explains why well-designed polls can be trusted.
While many Americans say it is very important that the tone of debate among political leaders be respectful, few say this is actually happening in the country. The public also has little tolerance for the use of personal insults by politicians.
A majority of Americans find little or no common ground with Donald Trump on many or all issues, but the share who say they agree with him on many or all issues has risen since last August. About six-in-ten Americans rate the ethical standards of the Trump administration negatively.
Americans generally agree on the ideals and values that are important for democracy in the United States. But for the most part, they see the country falling well short in living up to these ideals. There is broad support for making sweeping changes to the political system.