The Kaiser/Pew Global Health Survey, a unique new partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Global Attitudes Project, examines how people around the world perceive and prioritize health in their countries and gauge the efforts of donor nations. As the report details, there is great variation in how health figures into people’s lives, and to what extent it is viewed as a problem for governments to address. Key findings from the 47-country survey include:

• Public health priorities in low and middle income countries. Preventing and treating HIV/AIDS is the top-rated health priority in the countries surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Fighting hunger and malnutrition is the top priority among countries surveyed in Latin America and the Middle East. And access to health care is seen as the top priority in Central/Eastern Europe. Almost all low and middle income countries surveyed rate each health issue quite high. Majorities in 23 of 34 low and middle income countries say every one of the nine health issues asked about should be “one of the most important” for their government to address.
• HIV/AIDS. Among “high prevalence countries” (defined here as those with an estimated HIV prevalence of 5% or more) and “next wave countries” (considered to be at earlier, but emerging, stages of their epidemics with large populations potentially at risk for HIV infection), large majorities say that HIV is a bigger problem now than it was five years ago, but there is also a strong sense of progress in terms of HIV prevention and treatment in most countries.
• Foreign aid resonates with recipients. Majorities in nearly every country surveyed say wealthier countries are not doing enough to help poorer nations with problems such as economic development, reducing poverty, and improving health. But among countries surveyed that were major recipients of development aid, people were much more likely to say that wealthy nations are “doing enough” to help poorer nations. Among the countries most likely to say wealthy nations are doing enough are Indonesia and sub-Saharan African nations, which have been the focus of tsunami relief and efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, respectively. In addition, the survey shows substantial support among wealthier nations to do more to help poorer nations.

When asked why people leave their country to live in another country, solid majorities in every Latin American, Eastern European, and African country surveyed, as well as in several Middle Eastern and Asian countries, say it is for job opportunities. This opinion is nearly unanimous in Senegal, Bolivia, Poland, Morocco, Bangladesh, Peru, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Slovakia, and Mali, where more than nine-in-ten say jobs are the main reason people emigrate.

The survey also finds that more than one-in-five in eleven countries, including nearly half in Lebanon (47%) and Bangladesh (45%), say they receive money from relatives living in another country.

Widespread Support for Restricting Immigration

Support for tighter border control is high both in the affluent countries of the West and in the developing world. With the exception of Japan, South Korea and the Palestinian territories, majorities in every country polled say their countries should restrict immigration more than they do now. This view is particularly widespread in Africa, where at least three-quarters in seven of the countries surveyed agree that the entry of people into their country should be more restricted, and in southern Asian countries. More than nine-in-ten in Ivory Coast (94%) and almost as many in South Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia (89% each) agree.

Majorities of Americans and Canadians also say that there should be more restrictions on people entering their countries than there is today. Three-quarters of Americans and 62% of Canadians express that opinion. These concerns are shared by Latin American publics as well. About three quarters of Venezuelans (77%), Chileans (74%) and Bolivians (73%) agree that their countries should restrict and control immigration more than they do today, as do solid majorities of Brazilians (72%), Mexicans (71%) and Argentines (68%) and just slightly more than half of Peruvians (51%).

Among European publics, Italians express the most concern about the levels of immigration to their country. Fully 87% of Italians agree that their country should restrict and control the entry of people more than it does today. (Italians also are more likely than any other public surveyed to say immigration is a very big problem in their country; for more details see “ Global Opinion Trends 2002-2007: A Rising Tide Lifts Moods in the Developing World ,” released July 24.)

This sentiment is shared by more than seven-in-ten in Spain (77%), Britain (75%), the Czech Republic (75%) and Russia (72%), and more than six-in-ten in France (68%), Germany (66%), Slovakia (64%) and Ukraine (63%). Narrow majorities in Sweden, Bulgaria and Poland (53% each) also agree that there should be more restrictions on immigration to their country.

Publics in Western nations for which trends are available are somewhat less likely than they were five years ago to agree that their country should impose tighter restrictions on immigration, as are publics in twelve other countries included in the 2002 poll. But concerns about levels of immigration have risen considerably in some parts of the world in the last five years. For example, in Jordan, where an influx of Iraqis since the start of the war led the government to tighten border regulations in 2006, the percent saying their country should restrict and control the entry of people more than it does now is up 22 points. In 2002 the Jordanian public was divided – 48% agreed that tighter restrictions were needed and 52% disagreed. Today seven-in-ten Jordanians want more border regulations and fewer than three-in-ten (29%) disagree. Support for increased border control is also up dramatically in Bangladesh (+25 points), Tanzania (+22 points), and Pakistan (+16 points).

Views on Immigration and Worries About Culture

As noted in Chapter 1, opinions about immigration are closely linked to perceptions about threats to a country’s culture. In 46 of 47 countries, those who favor stricter immigration controls are also more likely to believe their way of life needs to be protected against foreign influence.

In every region, this relationship is generally strong and consistent. In Western European nations, Canada, and the United States the pattern is especially clear – in each of these countries, the percentage of respondents who support protecting their way of life against foreign influence is at least 30 points higher among those who favor tighter immigration restrictions than among those who oppose such restrictions.

The relationship between views on immigration and cultural threats is also strong in Israel and Lebanon, although elsewhere in the Middle East it is somewhat muted. This is due to the fact that concerns about foreign influence are high among both those who want more restrictions on immigration and those who do not. This is especially true in Egypt – the only country in the survey where there is no link between opinions about immigration and attitudes toward influence from abroad.

Mixed Views about Key Immigrant Groups in Europe

Publics in Western Europe offer mixed opinions about immigration from the Middle East and North Africa and from East European countries. Of the six Western European publics polled, the Swedes are the most welcoming. More than six-in-ten in that country (63%) say immigration from Eastern Europe is a good thing and just slightly fewer (57%) express that opinion about immigration from the Middle East and North Africa.

By contrast, Italian and German respondents offer overwhelmingly negative views of immigrants. Two-thirds of Italians say it is a bad thing that people from the Middle East and North Africa and from Eastern Europe come to live and work in their country. Germans express similarly negative opinions. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say immigration from East European countries is a bad thing and an even larger share say the same about immigration from the Middle East and North Africa (64%).

In France and Britain, majorities offer positive opinions about key immigrant groups, but the percentage of respondents in those countries who say immigration from the Middle East and Africa and from Eastern Europe is a good thing has dropped since last year. Following a slight increase in the proportion of the French public expressing positive views about immigrants in 2006, the French are now as likely as they were in 2005 to say immigration from the Middle East and North Africa and from East European countries is a good thing. Just over half of the French express positive views about key immigrant groups (53%) today. In 2006, nearly six-in-ten (58%) said immigration from the Middle East and North Africa and from Eastern Europe was a good thing.

Positive opinions about immigration have been declining gradually among the British since 2005, and this is especially the case when it comes to views of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa. Two years ago, 61% of British respondents said it was a good thing that people from the Middle East and North Africa came to live and work in their country. In 2006, slightly fewer than six-in-ten (57%) shared that view. Today, a narrow majority (51%) in Britain says immigration from the Middle East and North Africa is a good thing.

Spanish respondents are the most divided when it comes to key immigrant groups. Virtually the same number says it is a good thing that people from the Middle East and North Africa (44%) and Eastern Europe (45%) come to live and work in their country as say it is a bad thing (45% say that about people from the Middle East and North Africa and 43% offer that opinion about people from East European countries). This is a sharp decline from just a year ago, when about six-in-ten in Spain viewed immigration from the Middle East and Africa (62%) and from Eastern Europe (60%) positively.

North Americans More Welcoming Than Europeans

Americans and Canadians continue to be generally more welcoming to newcomers than Europeans. As in 2005, solid majorities in both countries say it is a good thing that people from Asia and from Mexico and Latin America come to live and work in their countries. About six-in-ten Americans express positive views about Asian (61%) and Latin American (57%) immigrants. Canadians are even more welcoming – about seven-in-ten say immigration from Asia (71%) and from Latin America (72%) is a good thing.

In the United States, views about immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries are somewhat reflective of partisan differences. More than six-in-ten Democrats (61%) welcome immigrants from those countries, compared with a narrower majority of Republicans (53%). But when it comes to Asian immigrants, Democrats and Republicans offer nearly identical views. Fully 62% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans say it is a good thing that Asians come to live and work in the United States.

Negative Views about Immigration in Israel

Immigration has long been a topic of heated political debate in Israel. Most recently, a decision by the Israeli government to turn away refugees from Darfur entering the country illegally through the Egyptian border has drawn criticism from some in Israel who say their country has a duty to offer a safe haven to refugees because of its history. The poll finds that the Israeli public expresses overwhelmingly negative views about immigration from Africa. More than six-in-ten Israelis (63%) say it is a bad thing that people from African countries come to live and work in Israel and only about a quarter (26%) say immigration from Africa is a good thing.

But Africans are not the only immigrants Israelis express reservations about – a narrow majority of Israelis also see immigration from Eastern Europe as a bad thing. Opinion about immigrants from East European countries is more positive than opinions about African immigrants, but fewer than four-in-ten Israelis (37%) say it is good that people from Eastern Europe come to live and work in their country. Slightly more than half of Israelis (52%) say it is a bad thing.

Reasons for Emigrating

Majorities in 32 of the 36 countries where respondents were asked about the main reason people leave their country to live elsewhere, including overwhelming majorities in every Latin American, East European, and African country surveyed, say people emigrate in pursuit of job opportunities. But considerable minorities in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East also cite education and nearly three-in-ten (28%) in Lebanon say safety is the main reason people leave their country to live elsewhere.

In Kuwait, the only country where more people say something other than jobs is the main reason people leave their country, more than a quarter (27%) say people leave to get an education elsewhere. Education is also mentioned by a considerable minority in Jordan (33%), Malaysia (26%), Kenya (25%), Egypt (22%) and China (19%).

Lebanese respondents are the most likely to say safety is the main reason people leave their country. Nearly three-in-ten (28%) in Lebanon offer that opinion. Christians and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon are considerably more likely than Shia Muslims to say people leave mainly for safety reasons. Close to four-in-ten (37%) Lebanese Christians and three-in-ten Lebanese Sunnis say that is the case, compared with just 17% of Lebanese Shia.

Many Receive Money from Abroad

Each year, migrant workers send more than $230 billion to their families in their home countries, according to the World Bank. The Pew Global Attitudes survey finds that more than one-in-five respondents in 11 of the 36 developing countries polled, including nearly half in Lebanon (47%) and Bangladesh (45%), say they receive money from relatives living in another country. This is especially common in Africa, where sizable minorities in Mali (42%), Nigeria (38%), Senegal (37%), Ethiopia (35%), Ghana (33%) and Ivory Coast (27%) say they receive money from relatives living abroad at least occasionally.

Among Latin Americans, Mexicans are the most likely to say they receive money from relatives living abroad. About a quarter (23%) of Mexicans say that is that case. In the Middle East, more in Lebanon (47%) and Egypt (30%) than in any other country say they receive remittances from family members. And in Asia, Bangladesh (45%) and Pakistan (27%) are the only countries where sizable minorities receive money from relatives living in other countries.

However, in the relatively wealthy and secular nations of Western Europe, large majorities suggest that morality is possible without faith and believe homosexuality should be accepted. The belief that moral values do not require faith is also common in formerly communist Eastern Europe, but attitudes in the region toward homosexuality are more mixed.

In the Americas, including the United States, views on these issues are also mixed. And in many countries, there is a significant age gap, with younger people significantly more likely to reject the notion that morality requires a belief in God, and considerably more likely to be tolerant of homosexuality.

A global consensus does emerge, however, regarding the separation of religion and the state. In nearly every country surveyed, majorities agree that religion is a matter of personal faith that should be unconnected to government policies.

Finally, as the survey reveals, many in the Muslim world see a struggle taking place between fundamentalists and those who want to modernize their countries.

Is Faith Necessary for Morality?

Throughout most of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, there is widespread agreement that faith in God is a prerequisite for morality. For example, in all 10 African countries included in the study, at least seven-in-ten respondents agree with the statement “It is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.” In Egypt, no one in the sample of 1,000 people disagrees. Out of the 1,000 Jordanians interviewed, only one person suggests it is possible to not believe in God and still be a moral person.

In the four predominantly Muslim Asian countries – Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malaysia – huge majorities also believe morality requires faith in God. Elsewhere in Asia, however, opinions are a bit more mixed. Majorities in Japan and China, as well as substantial minorities of Indians and South Koreans, reject the notion that believing in God is required for morality.

In Arab countries there is a strong consensus that faith is necessary, although in Lebanon there are substantial differences among the country’s three major religious communities – Shia Muslims (81% agree), Christians (65%), and Sunni Muslims (54%). In neighboring Israel, a slim majority (55%) think faith in God is not necessary for moral values.
In Europe, the consensus view is just the opposite: throughout Western and Eastern Europe, majorities say faith in God is not a precondition for morality. This is true across Europe, regardless of whether a country’s primary religious tradition is Protestant, Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. And it is true regardless of which side of the Iron Curtain a country was on. Still, even within Europe there is some variability – Swedes, Czechs, and the French emerge as the most likely to reject the necessity of religion, while Ukrainians, Germans, and Slovaks are the least likely.

Meanwhile, in the Americas there are considerable differences among countries. While Brazilians, Venezuelans, Bolivians, and Peruvians tend to believe faith is a necessary foundation for moral values, Mexicans, Chileans, and Argentines are more divided on this issue. Only 30% of Canadians suggest morality is impossible without faith, compared to nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%).

Over the last five years, there has been no clear overall pattern of change on this question. The percentage of people who think believing in God is necessary has increased in nine countries, stayed about the same in ten, and declined in 13. While there may be no clear global trend, however, there have been important shifts in a few countries.

Venezuelans are significantly more likely now than in 2002 to say a person must be religious to be moral. Tanzanians, Ivoirians and Germans are also more likely to hold this view.

However, several countries show a steep decline in the number of people who feel morality requires a belief in a higher power. Decreases are particularly common in Eastern Europe – Ukrainians, Slovakians, Bulgarians and Poles have grown less inclined to tie religion and morality. Indians and Kenyans are also now less likely to say faith is necessary for a moral life.

Sharp Differences Over Homosexuality

Many of the patterns regarding views about religion and morality also characterize opinions about homosexuality. In Western Europe, clear majorities say homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society. Among Eastern Europeans, however, opinions are more diverse: Czechs and Slovaks strongly believe homosexuality should be accepted, while Poles and Bulgarians are closely divided on this issue, and Russians and Ukrainians tend to oppose acceptance.

Opinions are also divided in the Americas. Seven-in-ten Canadians believe society should accept homosexuality, compared to roughly half of Americans (49%). In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico tolerant attitudes toward homosexuality prevail, while in Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia views are more divided.

In Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attitudes toward homosexuals are overwhelmingly negative. In eight of 10 African publics, less than 5% feel society should accept homosexuality. Of the 24 nations from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East where this question was asked, Japan is the only country in which a plurality (49%) believe it should be accepted.

Since 2002, several Latin American countries – Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Peru – have developed more tolerant attitudes toward homosexuals. In Bolivia, however, the trend is in the opposite direction – in 2002, 55% said homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared to only 44% today.

Other publics have become less tolerant on this issue as well, especially South Africa, Turkey, South Korea and Italy. Overall, among the 32 countries where trends are available, 12 have become less tolerant, six more tolerant, and in 14 countries there has been no significant change.

An Age Gap on Religion, Homosexuality

Throughout North and South America and Europe, there is a consistent age gap on views about religion and homosexuality. In each country from these regions, people under age 40 are less likely than those age 40 and over to think a belief in God is necessary for morality, and more likely to believe that society should accept homosexuality.

In some cases, the gap between young and old is quite large. For example, nearly half (45%) of Germans age 40 or older think a person must believe in God to be moral, compared to only 23% of those under 40. And while 54% of younger Bulgarians think homosexuality should be accepted, only 31% of older Bulgarians agree.

In the United States, there is a slight age gap on the issue of homosexuality and a larger gap on the relationship between religion and morality. As with many social issues, there are also considerable differences along party lines – Republicans are more likely to say that a belief in God is required for good values (64%) and less likely to say homosexuality should be accepted (33%) than are Democrats (59% must believe in God to be moral, 56% society should accept homosexuality) or independents (48% must believe in God, 57% should accept homosexuality).

Most Want Religion and Government Separate

There is a consensus across regions that religion and governing do not mix. In 46 of 47 countries, majorities agree with the statement “Religion is a matter of personal faith and should be kept separate from government policy.”

However, while support for keeping religion and state policies separate generally remains high, the intensity of that support has declined. The percentage of people who completely agree with this principle has dropped in 17 of 33 nations where there are trends from 2002, while remaining basically stable in eight countries and increasing in another eight.

Support for keeping politics and religion separate tends to be somewhat lower in the Middle East. In Jordan, only 17% completely agree with this principle, and Jordan is the only country in the survey where a majority (53%) disagree. In neighboring Egypt, 49% disagree, and in the Palestinian territories, where the Islamist group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, 42% disagree.

The trend on this question is moving in different directions in two major Muslim countries that are key allies of the United States: Turkey and Pakistan. Support for separation has declined considerably in traditionally secular Turkey, which recently handed a moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish acronym AKP), its second straight national election victory. On the other hand, support for keeping mosque and state separate has increased in Pakistan, which has experienced considerable political tensions in recent months, including armed conflict between government forces and extremist groups.

Elsewhere in Asia, the percentage of people who completely agree that religion should be disconnected from policy is relatively small. Fewer than one-in-three Chinese, Indonesians, South Koreans and Malaysians completely agree with this perspective. Worries about mixing religion and public policy have declined steeply in India, where the Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP, was defeated in the 2004 national elections.

Several African publics have become less supportive of separation, especially Uganda, South Africa and Ghana. Elsewhere on the continent, however, support remains quite high. Indeed, the three countries on the survey with the largest percentages endorsing separation are Ethiopia (85%), Senegal (81%) and Ivory Coast (78%).

Throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States, majorities completely back the separation of religion and politics, although these majorities are notably slim in Italy (59%), Bulgaria (57%), Russia (55%), the U.S. (55%), and Spain (51%).

Modernizers and Fundamentalists in the Muslim World

In nations with large Muslim populations, a significant number of people feel a struggle is taking place between Islamic fundamentalists and groups that want to modernize their country. In 11 of the 16 nations where this question was asked, at least three-in-ten Muslims say there is a conflict between fundamentalists and modernizers. In 10 of 16 countries, those who believe there is a struggle tend to identify with the modernizers, while in six countries a plurality favor the fundamentalists.

The perception that a struggle is taking place is particularly common in Lebanon, a country rife with political and sectarian conflict. However, the country’s two main Muslim communities see this issue very differently. Lebanese Sunni strongly believe there is struggle and tend to side with modernizing groups, while most Shia do not believe there is a struggle.

Just over half (52%) of Turks see a conflict in their country, where there has been considerable tension in recent months between followers of the ruling AKP party and the country’s traditional secular elites over issues involving religion and politics, such as the wearing of veils by Muslim women.

African Muslims are somewhat less likely to perceive a struggle, especially in Senegal, Ethiopia and Mali. Perceptions of a struggle are somewhat more common in Nigeria and Tanzania, where roughly one-in-three Muslims say there is a conflict.

America More Religious Than Other Wealthy Nations

Throughout much of the world, there is a strong link between wealth and religiosity, with religion playing a much less central role in the lives of people in richer countries. In poor countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, religion remains extremely important in the lives of individuals, while in wealthy nations, secularism is more common. One very wealthy nation, however, does not fit the pattern: the United States. Americans are considerably more religious than their level of prosperity would predict.

To examine the relationship between wealth and religious belief, a three-item index was created, with “3” representing the most religious position. Respondents were given a “1” if they believe faith in God is necessary for morality; a “1” if they say religion is very important in their lives; and a “1” if they pray at least once a day.

Consistently, poor countries receive higher scores on the scale, with Senegal (mean of 2.81) and Indonesia (2.81) receiving the highest scores of all. On the other hand, wealthy countries tend to receive lower scores. The six relatively rich Western European countries, for instance, are among the most secular included in the survey, and with a mean score of .24, Sweden is the most secular. Other wealthy nations, such as Canada, Japan and Israel, also have low levels of religiosity.

However, the wealthiest nation of all, the United States, is in the middle of the pack on the religiosity index. The level of religiosity in the U.S. is similar to less economically developed countries, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Lebanon.

Oil-rich and predominantly Muslim Kuwait is another country with a much higher level of religiosity than its economic situation would predict. This also is true of Malaysia and South Africa. Meanwhile, the formerly communist nations of Eastern Europe are somewhat less religious than might be expected based on their per capita GDPs.

Americans More Individualistic

Individualism has long been considered a core American value, and as this survey highlights, a widespread belief in individual responsibility sets Americans apart from much of the world. Along with their Canadian neighbors, Americans are more likely than other publics included in the survey to disagree (64%) with the notion that success in life is determined by forces outside of our control.

American views vary somewhat, however, according to partisanship and income. Just over four-in-ten Democrats (42%) agree with the idea that success is determined by outside forces, compared with 29% of independents and 22% of Republicans. People with household incomes below $30,000 (44%) are more likely than those earning $30,000-74,999 (31%) or those with incomes of $75,000 or more (21%) to say that success is often beyond control of the individual.

Outside of North America, there are large variations within regions. In Western Europe, 71% of Italians say success depends on forces outside of a person’s control, but only 33% of Swedes agree. In Asia, eight-in-ten Bangladeshis and Indians agree with this perspective, while the Japanese, Malaysians, and Indonesians are roughly split on this question. And in the Middle East, while 69% of Lebanese feel success in life is often beyond a person’s control, but this view is shared by only 37% of Egyptians.

Since 2002, the percentage of people who agree with the notion that success is beyond an individual’s control has increased in 13 countries, remained basically the same in 15, and declined in seven. Declines in agreement have been particularly steep in Lebanon (-12 percentage points) and Ivory Coast (-10), two countries that have experienced considerable turmoil and violence in recent years.

U.S. More Likely To See Force as Necessary

Americans are among the most likely to believe military force is sometimes required in world affairs. More than three-in-four Americans (77%) agree with the statement, “It is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world,” and 35% completely agree with this perspective. And despite sharp divisions along party lines over the current conflict in Iraq, partisan differences on this question are relatively muted. Republicans (90%) are more likely to believe military force is sometimes justified, but even among Democrats (73%) and independents (77%), large majorities agree with this position.

Especially when compared to publics of NATO allies, Americans are more likely to think military force is sometimes needed. Turkey is the only other NATO country in the survey where a similar share of the public completely agrees with this principle.

In Germany, where an aversion to military force has been widespread since the end of World War II, nearly six-in-ten (58%) reject the notion that war is necessary to keep order, setting Germans apart from their fellow Western Europeans. Similar attitudes are found in other nations as well, including Egypt (59%), Jordan (58%) and South Korea (53%).

Overall, however, there is a consensus among most of the publics surveyed that military force is sometimes justified. In 39 of 47 countries, a majority agree that order must occasionally be maintained through military force. The countries most likely to agree with this principle include several that have been deeply involved in military conflicts in recent years, such as Kuwait, the United States, and Israel, as well as several that have not, including Brazil and Sweden. Publics in longtime rivals India (90%) and Pakistan (72%) are also among the most likely to agree that military force is sometimes necessary.

Cultural Superiority

Americans are also more likely than most Western Europeans to think their culture is better than others. Over half of Americans (55%) agree with the statement, “Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others,” a larger percentage than in Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Britain and Sweden. But Italians are even more confident than Americans in their cultural pre-eminence; 68% of Italians believe their culture is superior.

In the context of all 47 nations, however, Italians are in the middle of the pack. The belief in a country’s cultural superiority is common across all regions. Germany, France, Britain and Sweden are the only countries where more than half disagree with this notion, and in 20 countries more than seven-in-ten agree their culture is best.

When it comes to marriage, opinion is largely in favor of women choosing their own husbands. Majorities in 28 of the 36 countries where people were asked if a woman should choose whom she marries or if it is better for her family to choose for her say women should choose. But majorities in Egypt (53%) and Bangladesh (52%) and considerable minorities in several other countries say both a woman and her family should have a say, and a majority of Pakistanis (55%) say a woman’s family should choose her husband.

The survey also finds that Muslims in the Middle East, Asia and Africa generally support a woman’s right to decide whether or not to wear a veil, but a majority of Ethiopians (59%) and nearly half of Nigerians (48%) disagree that women should have that right. At the same time, large proportions of Muslims in most countries with sizable Muslim populations included in the poll believe there should be restrictions on men and women being employed in the same workplace.

Widespread Support for Educating Boys and Girls

The view that it is equally important for boys and girls to be educated receives nearly unanimous support around the world, even in regions where girls have traditionally not had the same access to education as boys. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than nine-in-ten in Ivory Coast (95%), Kenya (94%), Uganda (94%), South Africa (93%) and Tanzania (91%) say it is just as important for girls to get an education as it is for boys. That opinion is also widespread in South Asia and the Middle East. In Morocco, for example, where men are more than one and a half times more likely than women to be literate, 89% say it is equally important for boys and girls to receive an education.

Egyptians, Jordanians, Pakistanis, Palestinians and Malians are the least likely to say that education is equally important for boys and girls. Still, nearly three-quarters in those countries share that view. About one-in-five in Pakistan (17%), Jordan (19%) and Egypt (22%) think it is more important for boys to be educated. In no country do more people say it is more important to educate girls than say it is more important for boys to receive an education.

In Egypt, the opinion that it is more important for boys to be educated is considerably more popular among men. Nearly three-in-ten Egyptian men (27%) share that view, compared with 18% of women. Gender differences on the issue of educating boys and girls are less pronounced but also significant in the Palestinian territories, where 17% of men and 10% of women say it is more important for boys to be educated. In the other countries surveyed, gender is generally not an important factor in people’s views about educating children.

Women and Political Leadership

Publics in most countries surveyed say that women and men make equally good political leaders, but majorities in six countries and significant minorities in about half of the countries surveyed say men are better political leaders. Opinions about political leadership are often split along gender lines, with men more likely than women to say men make better political leaders and women more likely than men to say women make better leaders or that both are equally good.

Western European and North and Latin American publics top the list of those who see men and women as equally good political leaders. Eight-in-ten in Canada and even a greater proportion in France (81%), Venezuela (82%), Spain (83%), Britain (83%), Peru (83%), Bolivia (85%) and Sweden (90%) express that view. Three-quarters of Americans say men and women make equally good political leaders, while 16% say men are better leaders and only 6% say women are better than men.

By contrast, majorities in Mali (65%), the Palestinian territories (64%), Kuwait (62%), Pakistan (54%), Bangladesh (52%) and Ethiopia (51%) say men make better political leaders than women, as do nearly half of Jordanians (49%) and Nigerians (48%). Russians are also divided – 44% say men and women make equally good leaders while 40% say men are better. Only in Brazil do more people say women make better political leaders than say men do – 15% of Brazilians say women make better political leaders and 10% say men are better leaders.

Throughout Africa, as well as in several Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European countries, views about political leadership vary by gender. In Senegal, for example, a majority of men (51%) say men make better political leaders than women, but fewer than a quarter (23%) of Senegalese women share that view. Women in that country are much more likely to say both men and women are equally good (59% of women express that opinion vs. 37% of men).

In the United States, where Hillary Clinton currently leads the Democratic primary field, opinions about gender and political leadership reflect partisan rather than gender differences. Nearly three-in-ten (29%) Republicans say men make better leaders, compared with one-in-ten Democrats. A similar proportion of Democrats also say women would make better leaders (9%), and nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say both men and women are equally good. By contrast, only 2% of Republicans say women make better political leaders and about two-thirds (65%) say both are equally good.

Should Women Choose Their Own Husbands?

Majorities in every Latin American, Eastern European and African country surveyed as well as in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Morocco say women should choose their own husbands. That view is less popular in South Asia and in most Arab countries, but only in Pakistan does a majority say a woman’s family should choose whom she marries.

The view that women should choose their husbands is nearly unanimous in the Czech Republic (98%), Slovakia (98%), Brazil (97%), Bulgaria (93%), Poland (92%) and Chile (92%). Large majorities in most other countries where the question was asked also share that view, but considerable minorities in most of those countries also say that both a woman and her family should have a say about whom she marries. For example, while 57% in Malaysia, 58% in Turkey, and 65% in Venezuela believe that a woman should choose her own husband, more than three-in-ten in those countries say both a woman and her family should have a say.

Publics in South Asia and in Arab countries, with the exception of Morocco, are considerably more likely to say a woman’s family should choose her husband or that both should have a say. The Lebanese are the most divided – 47% say a woman should choose and the same number say her family should also have a say. Only 6% in Lebanon believe a woman’s family alone should choose whom she marries. Lebanese Christians are somewhat more likely than Muslims in that country to say a woman’s family should choose – 12% of Christians hold that view, compared with only 3% of Muslims.

Only in Pakistan does a majority (55%) say that it is better for a woman’s family to choose her husband. Women in that country are slightly more likely than men to express that opinion – 57% of women and 53% of men say a woman’s family should choose whom she marries. This view is especially prevalent among married women. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) married Pakistani women say it is better for a woman’s family to choose, while about a third (32%) say both a woman and her family should have a say. Women who have never been married are more divided; 42% say a woman’s family should choose her husband and 42% say both should have a say. Pakistani women who have never been married are nearly twice as likely as married women in that country to say a woman should choose her own husband (13% of unmarried vs. 7% of married women).

Morocco is the only Arab country included in the survey where a majority (63%) says it is better for a woman to choose her husband and the only country where there is a double-digit gender gap on the subject. Nearly three-quarters of Moroccan women (73%) say women should choose whom they marry; just over half of men in that country (53%) agree. Moroccan men are about two and a half times more likely than women to say it is better for a woman’s family to choose (27% of men say that is the case vs. 11% of women) and virtually the same proportion of Moroccan men and women say both should have a say (17% of men and 16% of women). The gender gap is considerably less pronounced in other countries.

Differences of opinion in Morocco also reflect a generational divide. Seven-in-ten 18-29 year-olds in that country say that women should choose their own husbands, while six-in-ten (62%) 30-49 year-olds and just over half (53%) of those fifty or older share that view. The generational gap is even wider in Kenya, where fully 85% of 18-20 year-olds think women should choose whom they marry, compared with seven-in-ten 30-49 year-olds and 59% of those fifty or older. Young people in Bolivia, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Lebanon, Indonesia, Ghana and Senegal are also considerably more likely than older generations to say that women should choose their own husbands.

Wearing the Veil: Who Should Decide?

With the exception of Ethiopia, majorities of Muslims in countries with sizable Muslim populations included in the survey agree with the statement “Women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil.” Turkish and Indonesian Muslims are the most likely to hold that view. In Turkey, where women are banned from wearing a head scarf in public buildings, 93% say women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil. In Indonesia, where wearing a head scarf is mandatory in the Aceh province and encouraged in several others, a similar proportion agrees that women should have the right to decide (91%).

Nigerian Muslims are the most divided on whether women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil. Just over half (51%) say women should have that right and 48% disagree. Only in Ethiopia does a majority of Muslims disagree that women should have the right to decide whether or not to cover their heads. Nearly six-in-ten in that country (59%) disagree and only 39% agree that women should have that right.

Muslim women are generally more likely than Muslim men to say that women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil. Gender differences are especially notable in Morocco, where women express that opinion nearly unanimously (96%), while 71% of men agree. In Ethiopia, where Muslim men are solidly opposed to women having the right to decide – 71% disagree that women should have that right and 28% agree – women are divided. Half of Muslim women in that country disagree and 49% agree that women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil.

The opinion that women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil is more popular than it was five years ago in most countries where trends are available. The change is especially dramatic in Bangladesh, where Islamic fundamentalists have threatened to attack women with sulfuric acid for not covering their faces. In 2002, about six-in-ten Bangladeshi Muslims (59%) said women should have the right to decide if they wear a veil. Today, that number is up to 89%. In Pakistan, where a government official and women’s rights activist was shot dead earlier this year for refusing to cover her head, seven-in-ten Muslims say women should have the right to decide, up from just over half (52%) five years ago.

Divided Views on Women and Men Working Together

When it comes to men and women working together, Muslim publics offer mixed opinions. Solid majorities of Muslims in Indonesia (77%), Tanzania (75%), Turkey (73%), Senegal (69%), and Lebanon (60%) disagree with the statement “There should be restrictions on men and women being employed in the same workplace.” In contrast, clear majorities in Malaysia (80%), the Palestinian territories (77%), Ethiopia (70%), Pakistan (61%), Jordan (60%) and Kuwait (57%) say such restrictions should be in place. In Mali, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt, Muslims are more divided over whether or not there should be restrictions on men and women working together.

Morocco is the only country included in the survey where neither position is endorsed by a majority, but the balance of opinion in that country is in favor of restrictions on men and women being employed in the same workplace. Close to half of Moroccan Muslims (47%) agree that restrictions should be in place, while 37% do not.

While there is no clear consensus among Moroccan Muslims on the question of men and women working in the same workplace, Muslim women in that country are clearly in favor of workplace restrictions. Fully 57% of Muslim women in Morocco express that view, compared with 38% of Muslim men. Women in Lebanon, Tanzania and Nigeria are also considerably more likely than men in those countries to say there should be restriction on men and women being employed in the same workplace.

On the other hand, Muslim women in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mali are significantly more likely than Muslim men to disagree with such restrictions. For example, in Kuwait, Muslim women are divided, with 48% saying there should be restrictions and 47% saying there should not. Among Muslim men in that country, however, 64% agree that there should be restrictions and 35% disagree.

In five of the eight countries for which trends are available, Muslims today are less likely to agree that there should be restrictions on men and women being employed in the same workplace than they were five years ago. The sharpest drop has been in Tanzania, where about a third of Muslims (34%) agreed with workplace restrictions in 2002 and fewer than one-in-five (19%) express that view today. But in Bangladesh, Jordan and Pakistan more say they agree that there should be restrictions on men and women working together.

An impartial judiciary and religious freedom are generally more highly valued than are free elections, free speech and a free press, but majorities in most developing countries surveyed say it is very important for them to live in a country where these principles apply. At the same time, majorities in just six countries believe it is very important that the military be under the control of civilian leaders. Civilian control of the military is the only democratic value, of six mentioned, that is not strongly endorsed by publics in a majority of the countries surveyed.

While most people throughout the developing world say it is very important to live in a country that nurtures and protects basic democratic values, relatively few say they live in a country where the judicial system is fair, elections are honest, free speech is protected, and the media is free from government censorship.

Impartial Judiciary Highly Valued

Across all regions, the surveyed publics place great value on a fair judicial system. Strong support for an impartial judiciary is nearly unanimous in Ethiopia (91% very important), and at least eight-in-ten in 10 other countries, including Egypt (88%), Tanzania (87%) and Lebanon (86%), share this view. Only in Bolivia do fewer than half (48%) say it is very important to live in a country where the judicial system treats everyone the same.

Freedom of religion also is highly valued in most countries where the question was asked. This freedom is seen as particularly important in Africa and throughout the Muslim world, while publics in Eastern Europe are significantly less likely to say it is very important for them to live in a country where they can practice their religion freely. For example, nine-in-ten or more in Senegal (95%), Ethiopia (92%), Tanzania (92%), Egypt (90%) and Kuwait (90%) say freedom of religion is very important, but fewer than half in Bulgaria (49%), the Czech Republic (48%) and Russia (45%) share this opinion.
In general, the publics of the 35 developing countries surveyed place less importance on other democratic rights, though majorities in every country rate each of these freedoms – with the notable exception of civilian control of the military – as at least somewhat important.

Honest elections featuring at least two parties are valued particularly highly in Lebanon, where 81% rate this as very important. In addition, majorities in every African country surveyed say it is very important to live in a country where honest competitive elections are held regularly. By contrast, only about four-in-ten people in Indonesia (39%), Russia (41%) and Bolivia (41%) view honest elections as very important.

There are also substantial differences in attitudes about the importance of freedom of speech. Again, overwhelming majorities in Lebanon (86%) and Egypt (80%) say it is very important to live in a country where people can openly say what they think and are free to criticize the government. On the other hand, only about a third in Malaysia (33%) and Russia (34%) say this is very important. Notably, fewer than half in each of the six Eastern European countries surveyed – including Russia – regard the freedom to criticize the government as very important.

Majorities in most of the developing countries surveyed say it is very important for them to live in a country where the media is free to report the news without government censorship. A free press is viewed particularly important in Latin America, where majorities in six of the seven countries surveyed endorse this core value. In contrast, freedom of the press is a lower priority in Asia: only about half say this is very important in India (51%) and Pakistan (50%), and the importance of a free press is even lower in Indonesia (33%) and Malaysia (32%).

Civilian control of the military is generally viewed as less important than other democratic principles. Fewer than half in 28 of the 35 developing countries say civilian control is very important. Opinions on this issue vary widely – the share of the public saying this is very important ranges from just 3% in Jordan to 65% in Senegal.

Regional Differences in Democracy Views

Views about the importance of democratic values vary considerably among different regions of the world. In general, the emerging democracies of Africa and the Middle East offer the strongest support for the six principles tested while Eastern Europeans and Asians express the least. In Russia, for example, when the median across all six values is taken, fewer than half (41%) say these democratic principles are very important to them.

There also are substantial differences in these opinions within regions. In Latin America, Chileans generally view all six democratic rights as very important; the median rating is 71%. By contrast, the median number in Bolivia viewing these rights as very important is just 44%.

Median support for democratic principles surpasses 60% in eight of 10 African countries surveyed. In South Africa, however, the median number rating democratic principles as very important is just 50%. Moreover, just 22% of South Africans view civilian control of the military as very important, by far the lowest percentage among African countries surveyed.

There also are sharp differences in opinions about the importance of democratic rights among publics in the Middle East. In Lebanon, a country rocked by political instability since the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the median number rating democratic principles as very important is 83%. That is the highest median among 35 countries surveyed, and fully 32 percentage points higher than the median number viewing democratic values as very important in Kuwait (51%).

The Democracy Gap

While publics throughout the developing world view most democratic rights as very important, they generally believe their countries are not doing very well in providing these basic rights. The only area where people highly rate the efforts of their countries is in ensuring freedom of religion. Majorities in 26 of the 35 developing countries surveyed say the phrase “you can practice your religion freely” describes their country very well.

By contrast, majorities in only three publics say their countries have done very well in holding honest multiparty elections. Rather, the prevailing view among most surveyed publics is that their countries have done at least somewhat well in this regard. And in several countries, including Nigeria and Uganda, majorities say their countries have done not too well or not at all well.

Palestinians are the only public surveyed in which a majority (64%) says the phrase “there is a judicial system that treats everyone in the same way” describes their government very well. Most publics express negative views of their countries efforts to establish an impartial judiciary. Majorities in five of six Eastern European nations say their countries have done not too well or not at all well in ensuring equal justice for all.

The Pew survey finds that the “democracy gap” – the difference between what people find very important and how well it describes conditions in their country – is greatest on the issue of whether a country’s judicial system treats everyone the same. This gap is especially notable in Eastern Europe. In the Czech Republic, for example, 84% say is it very important to live in a country with a fair judicial system, but just 8% say that such a system describes their country very well, a 76-point difference.

Publics across the developing world also are considerably more likely to say that honest multiparty elections are very important to them than to say this tenet of democracy describes their country very well. In Lebanon, for example, where 81% strongly endorse the principle of free elections, fewer than one-in-five (17%) say that right is fully afforded to them. This gap is also wide in Latin America, where it ranges from 25 points in Bolivia to 53 points in Argentina. Only in the Palestinian territories and in Kuwait is there no gap between the percent who say honest multiparty elections are very important and the percent who say the phrase “honest elections are held regularly with a choice of at least two political parties” describes their country very well.

There also are substantial differences between the broadly shared support for freedom of speech and views of how well countries are doing in providing this right. In the Middle East, 80% of Egyptians strongly value free speech, but just 14% describe their country as one that fully affords this right. Similarly, the rights gap on free speech stands at 50 percentage points in Lebanon (86% strongly want the right, 36% say it describes their country very well) and at 45 points in Morocco (63% vs. 18%).

People also are more likely to rate a free media as very important than to say that this feature of democracy describes their country very well. This is especially the case in Latin America, where the democracy gap on this issue is 40 points or more in Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Peru.

The democracy gap is smallest as it relates to the right to practice one’s religion freely.
The difference in the percent who say this core democratic value is very important to them and those who say this principle is firmly in place in their country is most apparent in Turkey (39 points), Egypt (35 points) and Ethiopia (34 points). In the Czech Republic, however, more say the phrase “You can practice your religion freely” describes their country very well (64%) than say it is very important for them to live in a country where this is the case (48%).

Basic Needs vs. Basic Rights

Respondents in all 47 nations surveyed, developing and developed countries alike, were asked to identify which of four alternatives is personally most important to them: being free to say what they want in public; being free to practice their religion; being free from hunger and poverty; or being free from crime and violence. The findings suggest that both in the developed and developing world, basic human needs – the desire to be free from hunger, poverty, crime and violence – tend to be as important as political rights and freedoms, and often are more important.

In the United States, 28% say freedom from crime and violence is most important to them, the same proportion that places the highest value on religious freedom. Another 22% say being free from hunger is most important, while 18% name free speech. Taken together, slightly more Americans would appear to choose basic needs (50%) over basic rights (46%), a pattern repeated in many countries around the world. Overall, majorities in 29 of the 47 countries choose either freedom from hunger and poverty, or freedom from crime, as most important, while in 15 countries majorities name free speech or freedom of religion. In the remaining three countries opinion is divided. (Freedom of religion was not offered as a response category in China.)

Other patterns emerge from these data. Basic human needs trump democratic principles in Africa, where hunger and crime remain chronic problems. In seven of the 10 African countries surveyed, majorities or pluralities choose freedom from hunger as most important, including 55% in Kenya, 54% in Ghana, and 53% in Ethiopia. In South Africa, where violent crime remains a serious problem, freedom from crime and violence narrowly tops freedom from hunger and poverty (32% vs. 29%) as most important.

Among Eastern Europeans, freedom from hunger leads the list in five of six countries; in the Czech Republic, comparable numbers rate freedom from hunger and freedom from crime as most important (38%, 40%, respectively). But elsewhere no clear regional patterns emerge, with many countries roughly dividing between those who place the greater value on personal security and those who value free speech or religious freedom. In Western Europe, freedom from hunger is the top priority in four of the six countries surveyed, including France where 56% name it as most important. But in Germany and Italy, pluralities prioritize free speech.

Good Democracy or Strong Economy? Opinion is Divided

The advantages of a good democracy and the benefits that flow from a good economy pull the publics in the developing world in very different directions. Majorities in fewer than half the developing countries surveyed (15 of 35) say a good democracy is more important to them than a strong economy, including more than eight-in-ten in Bangladesh (82%) and Venezuela (81%).

But majorities in 14 countries put greater value on a strong economy, a view that is especially common in Eastern Europe, where majorities in four of six countries prefer a strong economy. Among the 47 publics surveyed, Indonesians are the most likely to choose prosperity – 77% prefer a strong economy, while only 21% say a good democracy.

Five years ago, the developing world also was divided on this question: majorities in 11 countries of the 26 countries where the question was asked preferred a good democracy while 10 favored a strong economy.

As with the overall results, trends in preferences since 2002 are mixed but modestly favorable to democracy. In 13 of the 26 countries where data is available, the proportion saying that a good democracy is more important than a strong economy has increased in the past five years, including double-digit gains in Venezuela (+13), Uganda (+11), Slovakia (+10) and Bolivia (+10). But in eight others, the proportion that prefers a good democracy has declined, including Indonesia (-9), Turkey (-8) and Jordan (-7).

There is no clear correlation between prioritizing “being free from hunger and poverty” and prioritizing a strong economy over a good democracy. Freedom from hunger is most valued in 19 of the developing countries where the two questions were asked. Of these, majorities or pluralities in nine countries prefer a strong economy over a good democracy. But in seven other countries, most favor a good democracy. When the analysis is expanded to include countries where freedom from hunger is not the most-valued principle, a general pattern emerges: as concern over hunger and poverty increases, the preference for a strong economy rises modestly and the proportion preferring a good democracy declines.

The Prosperity Gap

In nearly every developing country surveyed, there is a “prosperity gap” – the difference, often substantial, in the proportion of people who say it is very important to live in a country with a prosperous economy and the proportion describing their country’s economy as very prosperous. The gap exists in virtually every country surveyed, but is particularly striking in Egypt, Bulgaria and Lebanon. More than nine-in-ten Egyptians (92%) rate economic prosperity as very important, but just 7% say the phrase “there is economic prosperity” describes their country very well. The prosperity gap is nearly as large in Bulgaria (84 points) and Lebanon (80 points).

Publics in eight of the 10 countries with the largest prosperity gaps name freedom from hunger and poverty as more important to them than religious freedom, free speech or freedom from crime and violence. In Bulgaria, where there is a huge prosperity gap, 59% most value freedom from poverty and hunger, the largest proportion in any country in the survey to say this is more important than freedom of religion, free speech, or freedom from crime and violence. A plurality of Egyptians also chooses freedom from hunger over other freedoms.

Democracy vs. Strong Leader

Most of the publics in developing countries believe that a democratic form of government, rather than a “leader with a strong hand,” is the best approach for solving their countries’ problems. But there are a number of notable exceptions, including Russia, where public preference for a strong leader is most extensive among the 35 countries where the question was asked. More than twice as many Russians believe that a strong leader, rather than democracy, can solve the nation’s problems (63% vs. 27%).

The belief that democracy is better for solving national problems is most prevalent in Slovakia (88%), the Czech Republic (85%), Ivory Coast (85%) and Venezuela (84%). Venezuelans prefer democracy over a strong leader by greater than five-to-one, by far the largest margin of Latin American countries surveyed.

Majorities in nine of 10 African countries say they prefer a democratic form of government over a strong leader. But South Africans are evenly divided, with roughly half saying the country should rely on democracy to solve problems and about the same number saying strong leader (49% vs. 48%).

Among predominantly Muslim publics of the Middle East, democracy also is generally favored. However, the Palestinians favor a strong leader to solve problems, rather than democracy (by 52% to 36%).

In some countries, there have been striking changes in opinions on this measure since 2002. Five years ago, Poles were divided over whether democracy (41%) or a strong leader (44%) was the better approach to the nation’s problems. In the current survey, however, a solid majority in Poland (57%) prefers democracy. Support for democracy over a strong leader also has increased in Nigeria (by 13 percentage points) and Uganda (13 points). In Kenya, by contrast, significantly fewer people favor democracy to solve the nation’s problems than did so in 2002 (77% then, 59% today).

Democracy in the Muslim World

People in predominantly Muslim countries in Asia and the Middle East continue to express strong belief that democracy is not just a Western way of doing things and that it can work in their countries. Solid majorities in Kuwait (81%), Lebanon (79%), Jordan (70%), Malaysia (69%), Bangladesh (67%), the Palestinian territories (60%), Egypt (59%), Indonesia (58%), and Morocco (57%), and nearly half (48%) in Pakistan, say democracy is not just for the West.

Still, considerable minorities in several countries, and fully half in Turkey, express skepticism that democracy can take root in their countries. More than one-in-five in Indonesia (24%), the Palestinian territories (25%), Jordan (27%), Egypt (35%), and Turkey (50%) say democracy is a Western way of doing things.

Views about democracy have changed dramatically in Turkey since the question was last asked one year ago. In 2006, Turks were nearly divided – 38% said democracy was just for the West and 44% said it could work in their country. Today, however, just 31% of Turks believe democracy can work in Turkey, while half say it is a Western way of doing things. Publics in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Indonesia are also significantly less likely to say that democracy can take root in their country than in recent Pew Global Attitudes surveys. In contrast, higher proportions of Palestinians and Bangladeshis say that democracy can work in their countries than in previous surveys.

TV News Audience Remains Stable

Overall, fully two-thirds or more of the publics in 44 of the 47 countries surveyed say television is their first or second choice for national and foreign news. In the remaining three countries, radio dominates TV by at least a two-to-one margin (92% vs. 44% in Tanzania, 90% vs. 43% in Kenya, 91% vs. 12% in Uganda).

No clear trends emerge in the use of television news in the 35 countries where trends are available. In the past five years, the size of the audience for television news increased in 11 countries, declined in 10 and remains unchanged in 14 others. Overall, the largest increases in television news usage occurred in African countries with comparatively small viewing audiences five years ago, reflecting the effects of rapid modernization throughout the continent. In Ghana, 73% now turn to television as one of their primary sources of news, up from 57% in 2002, while in Tanzania the TV news audience increased by 15 points to 44% in the past five years.

Newspaper Audiences Decline Globally

Newspapers remain a secondary source of information in every country of the world. Only in Malaysia does the proportion of citizens who rate newspapers as their first or second choice for news come even remotely close to challenging the dominance of television (83% of Malaysians turn to newspapers while 97% prefer television). In addition to Malaysia, the countries that most rely on newspapers are India, where 75% say newspapers are one of their two primary news sources, Japan (75%) and Venezuela (73%). In contrast, fewer than one-in-five rely on newspapers as a source of information in Mali (15%), Ghana (16%) or Senegal (17%); in fact, newspapers rank third behind television and radio as a news source throughout Africa.

The broad trend away from newspapers apparent in the United States is echoed in countries throughout the world. Newspaper audience declined significantly since 2002 in 20 countries, compared to just four countries where readership grew considerably. In the United States the proportion of the public that turns to newspapers for news fell from 61% in 2002 to 47% today. The drop in the U.S. is matched by a 14-point drop in neighboring Canada and in South Korea, and is exceeded by larger declines in Turkey (-20 points), Indonesia (-18), Tanzania (-18), Bolivia (-17) and the Czech Republic (-15).

Radio Also Declines as a News Source

Outside sub-Saharan Africa, radio remains a popular but not dominant source of news in most of the world. In only two countries – Morocco (54%) and Egypt (57%) – do more than half say radio is one of their top two sources for information, considerably more than name newspapers. Similarly, radio is preferred over newspapers in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Indonesia. But again, television is easily the most popular news medium in each of these countries.

The survey also suggests that radio currently faces a particularly difficult time in every region of the world. In the past five years, the radio has become significantly less popular as a source of news in 21 of the 35 nations where trends are available, while it has gained popularity in only four countries. In 10 countries, the size of the audience was essentially unchanged. The declines were particularly dramatic in Eastern Europe, where the proportion who turned to radio as a primary source of news has dropped by 15 percentage points in Slovakia, 14 points in Russia, 12 points in Bulgaria and 11 points in Poland since 2002.

Spread of Internet as a News Source Spotty Outside Developed World

The computer and internet revolutions are slowly changing the way the world gets its news. South Koreans are the most likely to go online for their news: fully 42% say the internet is their first or second most frequently used source for information about what is happening in their country and the world. However, in only two other countries do a third or more of the population turn to the web as frequently: the United States (35%) and the Czech Republic (34%).

Using the internet as a source for news is generally most widespread in the West and in the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. But even here the pattern is somewhat mixed. For example, while more than one-in-five in the United States (35%), Canada (25%), and Great Britain (21%) look for news online, only 12% in Spain and 10% in Italy do so. Similarly, in Eastern Europe, about a third of Czechs (34%) but only 6% of Ukrainians and Russians say the internet is one of their top two choices for news.

Understandably, the web remains vastly untapped as a source of news in developing countries where comparatively few people use the internet. In Africa, the proportion of adults who often go online for news ranges from less than 1% in Tanzania to 13% in the Ivory Coast. The picture is mixed in the Middle East, where the internet news audience varies from 4% in Morocco to 19% in the Palestinian territories. Patterns also vary in Latin America, ranging from 4% in Mexico to 16% in Brazil.

In Asia, the contrast is even more extreme: only 1% of all Bangladeshis and 2% of Indians turn to the internet for news, compared with 20% of Japanese and 42% of South Koreans. In China, where internet usage is closely monitored by the government, about one-in-ten adults (9%) say the internet is a primary source of information, virtually unchanged from five years ago.

While still lagging far behind traditional media as a news source, the internet is steadily gaining ground, particularly in the West and the more developed countries of Asia and Eastern Europe. The proportion of Americans who get their news online has increased by double-digit margins (+18), and the same is true in the Czech Republic (+22), France (+17), Slovakia (+17), Great Britain (+13), Poland (+13), South Korea (+12), Japan (+12), Bulgaria (+11), Germany (+11) and Brazil (+11).

Majorities Regularly Follow International News

A majority of the publics in 31 of the 47 countries surveyed say they closely follow news about what is happening in the world. The most avid consumers of international news are in Western Europe, Africa and Canada: Nearly eight-in-ten Germans (79%) and nearly as many residents of Mali (75%), France (71%), Canada (70%) and Senegal (71%) pay close attention to what goes on in other countries. Interest in foreign news is significantly lower in the United States: 57% of Americans say they keep up on news from abroad, the lowest of any of its Western European allies but ahead of 27 other countries, including Russia (46%), China (51%) and Japan (52%).

Bangladeshis, Indonesians and South Koreans pay the least attention to international news. Fewer than four-in-ten in each of those countries say they follow international news most of the time. Fully six-in-ten Bangladeshis only pay attention when something important is happening, as do 58% of Indonesians, 57% of South Koreans and 46% of Pakistanis.

However, while computer usage has increased significantly in a many countries, particularly in Europe, it is growing relatively slowly, if at all, in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. And many less-developed nations continue to lag behind the West and the developed countries of Asia in terms of computer ownership, internet access and email usage.

However, publics in both the developed and developing world are acquiring cell phones at a staggering rate; majorities of residents in 37 of the 47 countries surveyed now own a cell phone, including 98% of Czechs and Kuwaitis, and 97% of South Koreans, as well as two-thirds of Nigerians (67%) and residents of Ivory Coast (66%). While large differences persist in the overall rate of cell phone ownership in the rich and poor nations, this gap appears to be narrowing rapidly.

The Global Digital Divide

Although the use of computers has increased in many poor and middle income countries over the last five years, a global digital divide remains, with computer usage more common in wealthier countries. Overall, majorities in 16 of 47 countries say they use a computer at least occasionally at work, school, at home, or somewhere else.

Computer usage is particularly widespread in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. For example, roughly eight-in-ten Swedes (82%) and Americans (80%) use computers. And even though computers were relatively prevalent in the these countries five years ago, usage rates have nonetheless increased significantly in Great Britain (+ 17 percentage points), Germany (+13 points) and France (+13). However, computer use is not so widespread in all Western countries; just 55% in Spain and 41% in Italy say they use computers at least occasionally.

Computer usage has grown substantially since 2002 in Eastern Europe, particularly among Slovaks (+21) and Bulgarians (+19). Still, there are large differences among countries in the region. Computer use is widespread in Czech Republic and Slovakia (73% each), but relatively limited in Ukraine (24%) and Russia (36%).

Similarly, access to computers in the Middle East varies widely. While most Kuwaitis (76%), Israelis (65%), Lebanese (61%) and Palestinians (56%) use computers, fewer than one-in-three do so in Turkey (29%), Egypt (28%) or Morocco (23%).

But the biggest differences among countries exist in Asia. While computer usage is high in South Korea (81%) and Japan (66%), it is quite low in Indonesia (11%) and Pakistan (9%). And at 5%, Bangladesh ranks last among the 47 countries included in the survey.

Venezuela is the only Latin American nation where a majority (53%) reports using a computer on at least an occasional basis, but usage has increased significantly over the last five years in Bolivia (+15) and Peru (+13). And with a 22-point increase since 2002, Brazil has enjoyed the largest increase of any country included on the survey.

No African nation has a majority of regular computer users, and the number of users is particularly low in Kenya (12%), Uganda (11%) and Tanzania (6%). However, considerably more Nigerians are using a computer today than five years ago (37% today, 23% in 2002).

Computer Ownership Growing but Many Countries Lag Behind

Majorities in 16 out of the 47 countries surveyed in 2007 say they own computers, and in some countries it is now difficult to find someone who doesn’t own one: 93% of South Koreans, 84% of Kuwaitis and 81% of Swedes say they have a computer. Computer ownership is relatively common in the developed countries of the West and Asia, less widespread in the Middle East, and comparatively rare throughout much of Latin America and Africa.

Striking contrasts in computer ownership exist within most regions of the world. For example, Asia is home to the country with the highest ownership rate – South Korea (93%) – and the country tied for the lowest – Bangladesh (2%). In Latin America, 43% of Venezuelans own computers, compared with 17% in Peru. More than two-thirds of Slovaks (68%) own a computer, more than twice the proportion as in nearby Russia (30%). In the Middle East, large majorities in Kuwait (84%), Israel (77%), Lebanon (55%) and the Palestinian territories (58%) own computers, compared with just 11% of Moroccans and 18% of Egyptians. In Africa, where computers are particularly rare, ownership rates range from 2% in Uganda and Tanzania to 27% in South Africa.

Overall, computer ownership has risen in 32 of the 34 countries where 2002 data is available. The increase has been particularly striking in countries of the former Eastern bloc, where progress on many fronts was stifled under communist rule. Computer ownership in Slovakia is up 28 percentage points in the past five years, the largest increase of any country surveyed. The proportion of computer owners in Russia has more than quadrupled from 7% to 30% since 2002, while in Bulgaria it has more than tripled, to 29%.

While computer ownership in Eastern Europe and in many other countries has increased significantly, the gap between technological “haves” and “have-nots” generally is growing in the countries where trend data is available. Countries where rates of computer ownership were the lowest in 2002 remain at the bottom of the list today. For example, there has been no growth in the proportion of adults who own computers in Bangladesh, as well as in Tanzania and Ivory Coast. Elsewhere in Africa, the proportion of computer owners has increased by only one percentage point in Uganda (from 1% to 2%) and by two points in Kenya (1% to 3%).

In contrast, computer ownership is increasingly common in the West, even in countries where most adults owned a computer five years ago. Growth has been particularly strong in France (+21 percentage points) and Great Britain (+18 points). In both countries, nearly three-quarters of all adults now own computers (73% in each), about equal to the ownership rate in the United States, where 76% of all adults own a computer, up six points in the past five years.

Many More Use Computers Than Own Them

In many developing countries, people are much more likely to use computers than to own them. For instance, in Ivory Coast and Mali only 6% say they own a computer, but in both countries about four-in-ten say they use a computer at least occasionally at work, school, at home, or somewhere else (41% and 38%, respectively). The same pattern holds true for much of Africa: in Senegal (27% use/5% own), Nigeria (37% use/16% own), Ethiopia (27% use/7% own), Ghana (20% use/6% own), there are substantial differences between the percentage of the population saying they own a computer, and the proportion using one.

But this gap is present in other regions as well. Peruvians are more than twice as likely to use a computer (39%) than to own one (17%). And while most Czechs own a computer (63%), they are even more likely to report using one (73%).

You Have Mail…In the West and Other Developed Countries

Usage of the internet and email predictably mirrors computer usage. Internet and email use are generally greatest in countries where significant proportions of the population use computers. For example, Sweden, South Korea, and the United States are the top three countries for both computer and internet usage. About eight-in-ten South Koreans (80%), Swedes (79%) and Americans (78%) go online at least occasionally. In contrast, internet users are rare in Bangladesh (2%), Tanzania (5%), Pakistan (6%), Indonesia (7%) and Uganda (9%), countries that rank at or near the bottom in terms of computer usage.

Sweden leads the world in use of email, with 74% of Swedes saying they send and receive messages online, narrowly ahead of the U.S. (72%), Canada (72%) and Great Britain (68%). Notably absent from the top of the list of most frequent emailers is South Korea, the country that leads the world in computer ownership and internet usage, and ranks second for computer usage. While South Koreans may love to go online, disproportionately fewer (57%) report they use email at least occasionally – fully 36 percentage points below the proportion in South Korea who own computers, 24 points less than the percentage who use computers, and 23 points less than the share that go online – easily the biggest disparity between ownership rates, internet usage and email rates of any country in the study. In contrast, 80% of Americans use computers, and 72% say they at least occasionally send or receive email, while in Japan, 66% use computers and 64% use email. Not unexpectedly, email usage tends to be low in the African countries where few own computers or go online: Tanzania (4%), Uganda (8%) and Kenya (11%).

The World is Calling…On a Cell Phone

The proportion of adults who own a cell phone has surged in the past five years. Since 2002, the median increase in cell phone ownership is 24 percentage points – nearly five points a year. Overall, cell phone ownership increased in every country except Italy, where it remained unchanged at 79%.

As with computer ownership, the increase in cell phone owners is particularly striking in the formerly communist countries of Eastern Europe. In Russia, about two-thirds (65%) own a cell phone today, compared with only 8% five years ago, an increase of 57 percentage points and the largest gain of any country in the study. Ownership levels also soared in the Ukraine (+47 points), Bulgaria (+38 points), Slovakia (+35 points) and Poland (+33 points). Overall, five of the biggest increases in cell phone ownership occurred in Eastern Europe, with Nigeria (+56 points), India (+48), Argentina (+35), Tanzania (+32%), Bolivia (+32) and Ivory Coast (+32) also recording large gains.

Unlike computers, the recent growth in cell phone ownership is widely distributed across the developed and developing worlds. In fact, some of the less affluent countries have recorded some of the largest gains, a trend likely fueled at least in part by the unreliable landline telephone service available in many developing countries. In Ivory Coast, for example, cell phone ownership rose 32 percentage points to 66%, while in Nigeria, the gain was even larger: 56 points, to 67%. These gains in the poorest countries have helped shrink the “cell phone gap” between the developed and the developing world.

Still, a significant ownership gap remains between the have and have-not countries of the world. The countries with the lowest rates of cell phone ownership included some of the poorest nations in the world – Indonesia, where barely one-quarter (27%) own a cell phone, as well as in Uganda (29%), Ghana (34%) Pakistan (34%) and Kenya (33%) – while the leaders generally are countries with mature or fast-growing economies in Europe and Asia, including the Czech Republic (98%), South Korea (97%), Slovakia (94%) and Japan (86%).

The publics of the world broadly embrace key tenets of economic globalization but fear the disruptions and downsides of participating in the global economy. In rich countries as well as poor ones, most people endorse free trade, multinational corporations and free markets. However, the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey of more than 45,000 people finds they are concerned about inequality, threats to their culture, threats to the environment and threats posed by immigration. Together, these results reveal an evolving world view on globalization that is nuanced, ambivalent, and sometimes inherently contradictory.

There are signs that enthusiasm for economic globalization is waning in the West — Americans and Western Europeans are less supportive of international trade and multinational companies than they were five years ago. In contrast, there is near universal approval of global trade among the publics of rising Asian economic powers China and India.

The survey also finds that globalization is only one of several wide-ranging social and economic forces that are rapidly reshaping the world. Strong majorities in developing countries endorse core democratic values, but people are less likely to say their countries are ensuring free speech, delivering honest elections or providing fair trials to all. Conflicting views on the relationship between religion and morality sharply divide the world. But on gender issues, the survey finds that a global consensus has emerged on the importance of education for both girls and boys, while most people outside the Muslim world also say that women and men make equally good political leaders.

Costs and Benefits of Globalization

Overwhelmingly, the surveyed publics see the benefits of increasing global commerce and free market economies. In all 47 nations included in the survey, large majorities believe that international trade is benefiting their countries. For the most part, the multinational corporations that dominate global commerce receive favorable ratings. Nonetheless, since 2002 enthusiasm for trade has declined significantly in the United States, Italy, France and Britain, and views of multinationals are less positive in Western countries where economic growth has been relatively modest in recent years.

In most countries, majorities believe that people are better off under capitalism, even if it means that some may be rich and others poor. Support for free markets has increased notably over the past five years in Latin American and Eastern European nations, where increased satisfaction with income and perceptions of personal progress are linked to higher per capita incomes.

But there are widely shared concerns about the free flow of people, ideas and resources that globalization entails. In nearly every country surveyed, people worry about losing their traditional culture and national identities, and they feel their way of life needs protection against foreign influences. Importantly, the poll finds widespread concerns about immigration. Moreover, there is a strong link between immigration fears and concerns about threats to a country’s culture and traditions. Those who worry the most about immigration also tend to see the greatest need for protecting traditional ways of life against foreign influences.

Immigration Fears

In both affluent countries in the West and in the developing world, people are concerned about immigration. Large majorities in nearly every country surveyed express the view that there should be greater restriction of immigration and tighter control of their country’s borders.

Although Western publics remain concerned about immigration, they generally are less likely to back tighter controls today than they were five years ago, despite heated controversies over this issue in both Europe and the United States over the last few years. In Italy, however, support for greater restrictions has increased — 87% now support more controls on immigration, up seven points from 2002.

Concerns about immigration have increased in other countries as well, perhaps most notably in Jordan, where an influx of Iraqi refugees has raised the salience of this issue — 70% of Jordanians back tighter immigration controls, up from 48% five years ago.

Religion and Social Issues

Global publics are sharply divided over the relationship between religion and morality. In much of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, there is a strong consensus that belief in God is necessary for morality and good values. Throughout much of Europe, however, majorities think morality is achievable without faith. Meanwhile, opinions are more mixed in the Americas, including in the United States, where 57% say that one must believe in God to have good values and be moral, while 41% disagree.

The survey finds a strong relationship between a country’s religiosity and its economic status. In poorer nations, religion remains central to the lives of individuals, while secular perspectives are more common in richer nations.¹ This relationship generally is consistent across regions and countries, although there are some exceptions, including most notably the United States, which is a much more religious country than its level of prosperity would indicate. Other nations deviate from the pattern as well, including the oil-rich, predominantly Muslim — and very religious — kingdom of Kuwait.

The survey also measured global opinion about contemporary social issues, finding a mix of traditional and progressive views. Throughout Western Europe and much of the Americas, there is widespread tolerance towards homosexuality. However, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Israel stand apart from other wealthy nations on this issue; in each of these countries, fewer than half of those surveyed say homosexuality should be accepted by society. Meanwhile, in most of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, there is less tolerance toward homosexuality.

Regarding gender issues, there is a broad consensus that both boys and girls should receive an education. In all 47 countries surveyed, at least seven-in-ten respondents believe that education is equally important for boys and girls. Most publics also believe that men and women are equally qualified for political leadership, although there is less agreement on this issue. Notably, in several predominantly Muslim publics — including Mali, the Palestinian territories, Kuwait, Pakistan and Bangladesh — majorities say that men make better political leaders. The survey also asked about another often contentious gender issue: Muslim women wearing the veil. In 15 of 16 Muslim publics surveyed, majorities say women should have the right to decide whether they wear a veil. Women generally are more likely than men to express this opinion.

Views of Democracy

Most key democratic principles are broadly supported throughout the developing world. Large majorities in most of the 35 developing countries surveyed strongly value religious freedom and an impartial judicial system. Somewhat smaller majorities endorse honest multiparty elections, free speech and a media free from government censorship. But majorities in only six nations rate civilian control of the military as very important, the least valued of the six core democratic principles tested.

While basic democratic freedoms are prized throughout the developing world, experiencing such liberties is another matter. This “democracy gap” is generally widest in the Middle East. In Lebanon, for example, more than eight-in-ten people view free speech, honest multiparty elections and a fair judicial system as “very important.” But the number of Lebanese who believe these characteristics describe their country “very well” is much lower — only 36% for free speech, 23% for a fair judicial system, and 17% for multiparty elections.

As in past surveys, majorities in predominantly Muslim nations continue to believe Western-style democracy can work in their countries. But in the current poll, Turks are more skeptical of this than they have been over the past five years. This may reflect anti-Western sentiment more than a diminished appetite for democracy, which Turks broadly embrace. In contrast, however, the weakest endorsement of democracy comes not from the Muslim world, but from Russia, where by a greater than two-to-one margin people say a strong leader, rather than democracy, can best solve the country’s problems.

Other questions suggest that the struggle to meet basic human needs can supersede support for democracy. For example, most publics in both the developed and developing world say being free from hunger and poverty is more important to them than either free speech or religious freedom. The conflict between basic rights and basic needs is particularly apparent in the developing world, home to many of the newest and most fragile democracies. When asked to choose between a strong economy and a good democracy, majorities in 14 of 36 developing countries choose prosperity, while majorities in 15 select a good democracy.

Other findings from this wide-ranging survey include:

Attitudes toward government

• Concerns about excessive government control have increased in much of Western and Eastern Europe, with particularly large increases in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Overall, worries about government intrusion into daily life are higher in Western Europe than in the former Eastern bloc.
• Majorities in every country surveyed say that the government should take care of the very poor who cannot take care of themselves. Support for a social safety net is widespread across all regions, although slightly weaker in Japan, Jordan and Egypt.
• Few publics favor economic growth at the expense of the environment. In 46 of 47 countries surveyed, majorities say the environment should be given priority, even if this means lower growth and fewer jobs.

American exceptionalism

• Americans tend to be more religious than the publics of other affluent nations. Americans also are more likely to say that individuals are in control of their lives, another indication of what some scholars describe as “American exceptionalism” in terms of core attitudes and beliefs.
• Americans are somewhat more likely than the publics of most NATO allies to support the use of force in the international arena. Overwhelmingly, Americans think military force is sometimes necessary in world affairs, while among European publics there is greater division on this issue. Egyptians, Jordanians and Germans are most likely to reject the view that military force is sometimes necessary.
• More than half of Americans say their culture is superior to others, a larger proportion than in most other Western publics. But in Italy, nearly seven-in-ten say their way of life is better.

Muslims and their beliefs

• In most Muslim countries, at least one-in-three Muslims — including more than half in Lebanon and Turkey — sees a struggle between Islamic fundamentalists and those who want to modernize their countries.
• While most publics agree that religion and politics do not mix, opinions are moving in opposite directions in two key Muslim allies of the United States. Support for strict separation between religion and government is growing in Pakistan, while in Turkey support for such separation has declined significantly in the past five years.
• Large majorities in every Latin American, Eastern European and African country surveyed say that women should be able to choose their own husbands. But sizable minorities in several predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia — and a majority in Pakistan — say that a woman’s family should choose her husband.

Immigration

• North Americans generally are more welcoming to immigrants than are Western Europeans. Among Western European publics, Swedes are the most likely to say immigration from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as from Eastern Europe, is a good thing for their country, while Italians and Germans express the most negative views.
• Sizable minorities in 11 of the 36 developing countries surveyed say they regularly receive money from relatives living in another country. In Lebanon and Bangladesh, nearly half of respondents say they receive help from family members living abroad.

Media and technology

• People around the world continue to turn to television for news about international and national issues. The only exceptions are several African nations where radio is still the primary source of information. Newspapers continue to lose readers and trail far behind television as a news source.
• Online news sources are steadily gaining in popularity in the West and parts of Asia but draw only a tiny audience in Africa or Latin America.
• Computer ownership has steadily risen in the past five years, particularly in Eastern Europe. At the same time, the gap in technology use between the world’s advanced countries and less developed nations has increased significantly.
• Cell phone ownership is increasing at a dramatic pace in both the developed and developing worlds. Since 2002, cell phone ownership has grown by 20 percentage points or more in 24 of the 35 countries where trend data is available.