Chapter 6.7

Support for democracy

In a fixed set of 39 countries, approval of a strong leader rose by 9.9 points and approval of army rule by 7.6 points between 1995 to 1998 and 2017 to 2023 while support for a democratic system changed by +1.2 points, an average of countries whose survey program stayed the same (−2.8 points) and countries whose program switched (+3.5 points).

Author: Vishal Singh
Affiliation: NYU Stern
Published: 3 October 2026

DraftFigures and numbers may change as the analysis is rebuilt.what is still being checked

Interview mode is still being checked against the WVS fieldwork records: the file has no mode variable, the American surveys changed mode between 1995 and 2017 (the 2011 mode is ambiguous in the documentation), some Wave 7 surveys outside the United States used web or self-completion, and survey program (WVS or EVS) is confounded with region in the Wave 3 to Wave 7 comparison.

In a fixed set of 39 countries, the share of adults who called a democratic political system a good way of governing their country was 88.5% in 1995 to 1998 and 89.7% in 2017 to 2023, a change of +1.2 (95% CI −1.0 to 3.4) points. The share who called a strong leader who does not bother with parliament and elections a good way of governing rose from 38.2% to 48.1% (+9.9 (95% CI 4.9 to 14.9) points), and the share who called army rule a good way rose from 13.0% to 20.7% (+7.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 11.5) points). The pooled change in support averages two groups of countries whose changes have opposite signs, −2.8 (95% CI −5.6 to 0.1) points where the survey program stayed the same and +3.5 (95% CI 0.7 to 6.2) where it switched.

The United States moved differently on support. The share of Americans who called a democratic system good fell from 90.6% in 1995 to 85.0% in 2017, a change of −5.6 (95% CI −8.1 to −3.1) points, against +1.4 (95% CI −0.8 to 3.6) in the other 38 countries of the set. Among Americans aged 18 to 34 the fall was −9.9 (95% CI −14.9 to −4.8) points, and the share of that age group who called army rule good rose from 7.1% to 29.9%. The American surveys changed mode over these years, from face-to-face interviews in 1995 to a web survey in 2006 and web and telephone interviews in 2017, and part of the change could come from the mode.

The data are the World Values Survey (WVS) and the European Values Study (EVS), pooled by the cleaned file into seven waves; the political-system questions were asked from Wave 3 on. Respondents rate four ways of governing their country as very good, fairly good, fairly bad or very bad: a democratic political system, a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections, army rule, and experts rather than government making decisions. "Good" here means fairly or very good, and the sample is respondents aged 18 or older. Countries are surveyed at different points inside a wave. In the fixed set, Wave 3 was fielded in 1995 to 1998, Wave 5 in 2004 to 2009 and Wave 7 in 2017 to 2023. A country is in the set when it has at least 100 effective respondents on every item in all three waves, so each wave compares the same countries, with one removed for the reason given below (Figure 9).Each country's share uses the WVS weight and carries an interval from the Kish effective sample size [1]. A figure for the fixed set gives every country equal weight, and its interval is clustered by country: it comes from how much the country values differ and treats the countries as a sample of countries like them. That interval is about 11.0 times as wide as one that counts only sampling error inside countries. The WVS file has no strata or sampling units, so no interval includes design effects.

Pooled support for a democratic system did not change, and the pool hides opposite movements

Figure 1 plots the fixed set. The share calling a democratic system good was 88.5% in Wave 3, 88.4% in Wave 5 and 89.7% in Wave 7. No difference between waves has an interval that excludes zero: the change is 0.0 (95% CI −2.3 to 2.2) points from Wave 3 to Wave 5, +1.3 (95% CI −0.6 to 3.2) from Wave 5 to Wave 7 and +1.2 (95% CI −1.0 to 3.4) over the whole period. The interval for the whole period rules out an average fall of more than 1.0 points. The share starts near the top of the scale, so it has less room to rise than to fall.

Figure 1

Stated support for a democratic system held at 89.7% in the fixed set of countries while approval of a strong leader rose to 48.1%

Share of adults calling each way of governing the country good (fairly or very good), equal-weight mean across the fixed set of countries, by wave, 1995 to 2023

Share calling it a good way of governing the country (percent)

Show data

Data for Stated support for a democratic system held at 89.7% in the fixed set of countries while approval of a strong leader rose to 48.1%
conf_high	conf_low	estimate	item	n	n_countries	scope	wave	x
16.42	9.66	13.04	Army rule	50,168	39	Fixed set	Wave 3	1996
18.85	11.46	15.16	Army rule	67,524	39	Fixed set	Wave 5	2007
25.50	15.81	20.66	Army rule	63,635	39	Fixed set	Wave 7	2018
90.84	86.13	88.49	Democratic system	49,767	39	Fixed set	Wave 3	1996
90.30	86.59	88.44	Democratic system	67,236	39	Fixed set	Wave 5	2007
91.74	87.70	89.72	Democratic system	64,440	39	Fixed set	Wave 7	2018
65.99	56.09	61.04	Experts decide	47,936	39	Fixed set	Wave 3	1996
66.08	56.64	61.36	Experts decide	64,933	39	Fixed set	Wave 5	2007
69.00	58.84	63.92	Experts decide	62,657	39	Fixed set	Wave 7	2018
43.39	32.94	38.16	Strong leader	49,235	39	Fixed set	Wave 3	1996
47.53	35.41	41.47	Strong leader	66,325	39	Fixed set	Wave 5	2007
55.03	41.08	48.05	Strong leader	63,671	39	Fixed set	Wave 7	2018
13.01	7.67	10.34	Army rule	29,377	25	Program switched	Wave 3	1996
16.96	8.88	12.92	Army rule	49,579	25	Program switched	Wave 5	2007
26.21	13.32	19.76	Army rule	44,952	25	Program switched	Wave 7	2018
91.76	84.74	88.25	Democratic system	28,820	25	Program switched	Wave 3	1996
90.57	85.35	87.96	Democratic system	49,112	25	Program switched	Wave 5	2007
93.49	89.92	91.70	Democratic system	45,558	25	Program switched	Wave 7	2018
70.46	57.48	63.97	Experts decide	27,649	25	Program switched	Wave 3	1996
70.75	58.35	64.55	Experts decide	47,282	25	Program switched	Wave 5	2007
72.09	57.48	64.79	Experts decide	44,232	25	Program switched	Wave 7	2018
45.56	31.29	38.43	Strong leader	28,854	25	Program switched	Wave 3	1996
49.90	32.88	41.39	Strong leader	48,577	25	Program switched	Wave 5	2007
54.47	35.36	44.91	Strong leader	45,071	25	Program switched	Wave 7	2018
26.06	9.66	17.86	Army rule	20,791	14	Same program	Wave 3	1996
26.81	11.49	19.15	Army rule	17,945	14	Same program	Wave 5	2007
30.41	14.10	22.25	Army rule	18,683	14	Same program	Wave 7	2018
91.52	86.32	88.92	Democratic system	20,947	14	Same program	Wave 3	1996
91.93	86.69	89.31	Democratic system	18,124	14	Same program	Wave 5	2007
90.56	81.78	86.17	Democratic system	18,882	14	Same program	Wave 7	2018
63.55	48.06	55.80	Experts decide	20,287	14	Same program	Wave 3	1996
62.71	48.61	55.66	Experts decide	17,651	14	Same program	Wave 5	2007
69.10	55.66	62.38	Experts decide	18,425	14	Same program	Wave 7	2018
46.01	29.37	37.69	Strong leader	20,381	14	Same program	Wave 3	1996
50.51	32.73	41.62	Strong leader	17,748	14	Same program	Wave 5	2007
63.84	43.47	53.65	Strong leader	18,600	14	Same program	Wave 7	2018
8.02	5.14	6.58	Army rule	1,476	1	United States	Wave 3	1995
10.41	7.12	8.77	Army rule	1,179	1	United States	Wave 4	1999
16.84	11.95	14.40	Army rule	1,203	1	United States	Wave 5	2006
19.35	15.57	17.46	Army rule	2,170	1	United States	Wave 6	2011
22.94	18.88	20.91	Army rule	2,528	1	United States	Wave 7	2017
92.32	88.87	90.60	Democratic system	1,433	1	United States	Wave 3	1995
90.95	87.28	89.12	Democratic system	1,153	1	United States	Wave 4	1999
88.07	83.19	85.63	Democratic system	1,200	1	United States	Wave 5	2006
84.22	80.42	82.32	Democratic system	2,164	1	United States	Wave 6	2011
86.77	83.18	84.98	Democratic system	2,509	1	United States	Wave 7	2017
39.38	33.69	36.53	Experts decide	1,427	1	United States	Wave 3	1995
46.88	41.07	43.97	Experts decide	1,167	1	United States	Wave 4	1999
48.96	42.01	45.49	Experts decide	1,202	1	United States	Wave 5	2006
53.66	48.70	51.18	Experts decide	2,177	1	United States	Wave 6	2011
55.05	50.06	52.55	Experts decide	2,535	1	United States	Wave 7	2017
27.45	22.36	24.90	Strong leader	1,441	1	United States	Wave 3	1995
32.22	26.91	29.56	Strong leader	1,179	1	United States	Wave 4	1999
36.13	29.61	32.87	Strong leader	1,208	1	United States	Wave 5	2006
37.42	32.68	35.05	Strong leader	2,178	1	United States	Wave 6	2011
40.49	35.64	38.06	Strong leader	2,541	1	United States	Wave 7	2017

The democratic-system line stays near the top of the chart while the strong-leader and army-rule lines rise between Wave 5 and Wave 7. Each line is the equal-weight mean across the countries of the weighted share calling that way of governing the country good, with a 95% interval. The program views split the countries by whether the survey program (WVS or EVS) changed between Wave 3 and Wave 7, and the United States view plots the five American survey years.Note: Fixed set: countries with an effective sample of at least the floor on every item in Waves 3, 5 and 7, less Albania, whose Wave 3 survey has an implausible response pattern (see the text and the country table at the end of the chapter). Intervals for the fixed set are clustered by country (t critical value on one fewer degree of freedom than the number of countries); intervals for one country use the Kish effective sample size. The WVS file has no strata or sampling units, so no interval includes design effects.Note: The position of a wave on the horizontal axis is the mean fieldwork year of the countries in it. In most countries the Wave 3 survey gives every respondent the same weight, so Wave 3 shares are in effect unweighted.Note: Program: the program (WVS or EVS) with more respondents in the country and wave. Every country whose program switched is in Europe and Central Asia, and none of the others is. The American surveys differed in mode: face to face in 1995, web in 2006 and web and telephone in 2017.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

Using each country's own interval, the share calling a democratic system good rose in 18 of the 39 countries, fell in 10 and changed by less than sampling error in 11 (Figure 2, democratic system view). South Korea, Colombia and India have the largest falls, followed by Montenegro and the United States.

Three features of the data bear on the pooled comparison. The first is the survey program. The Wave 3 survey is a WVS survey in every country of the set, and the Wave 7 survey is a WVS survey in 14 countries and an EVS survey in 25. Where the program stayed the same, support for a democratic system changed by −2.8 (95% CI −5.6 to 0.1) points and approval of a strong leader by +16.0 (95% CI 7.9 to 24.0). Where it switched, the changes are +3.5 (95% CI 0.7 to 6.2) and +6.5 (95% CI 0.2 to 12.8). The first group minus the second differs by −6.2 (95% CI −10.1 to −2.4) points on support. Every country that switched is in Europe and Central Asia and none of the others is, so program cannot be separated from region (program views of Figure 1).

The second is weighting. In 32 of the 39 countries the Wave 3 survey gives every respondent the same weight, against 6 in Wave 5 and 4 in Wave 7, so Wave 3 shares are in effect unweighted and later shares are weighted. Without weights the change is +1.6 (95% CI −0.6 to 3.7) points for a democratic system, +8.8 (95% CI 3.9 to 13.8) for a strong leader and +7.0 (95% CI 3.2 to 10.8) for army rule, with the same signs as the weighted changes.

The third is Albania, which meets the rule for the set and is left out. Its Wave 3 survey, from 1998, shows an implausible response pattern. In it 39.5% of respondents call all four ways of governing good, against a median of 2.9% in the other countries of the set, and no other country is above 24.7%. A further 42.5% rate both army rule and a democratic system very good, against 1.2% in Wave 5. It is the only country in which any of the four shares changes by more than 40 points between adjacent waves: army rule is 82.0% in 1998 and 11.6% in 2002. The file does not say whether the cause is fieldwork, coding or response style. With Albania in, the change in approval of army rule is +5.8 (95% CI 0.5 to 11.1) points, against +7.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 11.5) without it, and the democracy-only share changes by −8.9 (95% CI −15.0 to −2.7) points (−10.4 (95% CI −15.8 to −5.0) without). The signs do not change.

A second question, asked from Wave 5 on, rates how important it is to live in a democracy on a ten-point scale. In the 46 countries that have it in both Wave 5 and Wave 7, the share giving the top rating was 50.6% and then 53.2%, a change of +2.6 (95% CI −1.0 to 6.3) points. The 17 countries observed in every wave from Wave 3 to Wave 7 give changes of +1.1 (95% CI −3.1 to 5.3) points for a democratic system, +11.4 (95% CI 2.8 to 20.0) for a strong leader and +5.4 (95% CI 1.1 to 9.6) for army rule, with the same signs as the main set.

Approval of a strong leader and of army rule rose after Wave 5

The share calling a strong leader good was 38.2%, 41.5% and 48.1% in the three waves. The change from Wave 3 to Wave 5 is +3.3 (95% CI −0.6 to 7.2) points, an interval that includes zero, and from Wave 5 to Wave 7 it is +6.6 (95% CI 3.3 to 9.9) points. Army rule follows the same timing, at 13.0%, 15.2% and 20.7%, with changes of +2.1 (95% CI −0.2 to 4.4) and +5.5 (95% CI 3.0 to 8.0) points. Approval of experts making decisions moved less than approval of a strong leader, by 7.0 (95% CI 1.3 to 12.7) points, from 61.0% to 63.9%, a change of +2.9 (95% CI −1.3 to 7.0) points whose interval includes zero. Some Wave 7 surveys outside the United States used web or self-completion modes, so the rise from Wave 5 to Wave 7 carries a mode caveat too.

Inside countries the rise is common but not general. A strong leader gained approval in 25 countries, lost it in 8 and changed by less than sampling error in 6. Army rule gained in 22, lost in 3 and did not change by more than sampling error in 14. The largest gains in approval of a strong leader are in Montenegro, Argentina, South Korea, Peru and Romania, and the losses are in Estonia, Finland and Switzerland.

Figure 2

The share calling a democratic system good rose in 18 countries, fell in 10 and held within sampling error in 11

Change from Wave 3 (1995 to 1998) to Wave 7 (2017 to 2023) in the share calling the way of governing good, percentage points, by country, with 95% intervals

Other countries
United States

Show data

Data for The share calling a democratic system good rose in 18 countries, fell in 10 and held within sampling error in 11
conf_high	conf_low	country	estimate	group	item	n	share_w3	share_w7
47.78	39.62	North Macedonia	43.70	Other countries	Army rule	1,814	10.45	54.15
42.86	36.06	Serbia	39.46	Other countries	Army rule	3,251	10.19	49.65
41.82	30.36	Montenegro	36.09	Other countries	Army rule	954	9.63	45.72
22.94	16.09	Mexico	19.51	Other countries	Army rule	2,954	26.07	45.58
21.50	15.99	Georgia	18.74	Other countries	Army rule	3,854	11.07	29.81
21.64	14.37	Peru	18.01	Other countries	Army rule	2,383	18.04	36.04
20.09	14.22	Armenia	17.16	Other countries	Army rule	4,186	17.36	34.52
16.83	11.84	United States	14.33	United States	Army rule	4,004	6.58	20.91
17.53	10.33	Bosnia Herzegovina	13.93	Other countries	Army rule	2,760	24.08	38.01
14.83	9.96	South Korea	12.40	Other countries	Army rule	2,477	5.03	17.43
14.14	8.46	Belarus	11.30	Other countries	Army rule	3,195	14.40	25.70
15.09	7.42	Uruguay	11.26	Other countries	Army rule	1,860	8.16	19.42
14.57	7.87	Romania	11.22	Other countries	Army rule	3,464	24.77	35.99
12.96	8.83	Slovakia	10.90	Other countries	Army rule	3,489	4.90	15.80
13.64	6.52	Ukraine	10.08	Other countries	Army rule	4,623	11.84	21.92
12.15	5.40	Croatia	8.78	Other countries	Army rule	2,564	14.27	23.05
10.00	6.23	Czechia	8.11	Other countries	Army rule	3,910	5.07	13.19
10.33	5.46	Lithuania	7.90	Other countries	Army rule	2,260	5.79	13.69
6.66	2.15	Australia	4.40	Other countries	Army rule	3,648	6.36	10.77
7.48	0.447	Argentina	3.96	Other countries	Army rule	1,940	12.89	16.85
4.91	0.808	Latvia	2.86	Other countries	Army rule	2,368	5.21	8.07
6.12	−1.39	India	2.37	Other countries	Army rule	2,707	36.62	38.99
4.26	−0.173	Hungary	2.04	Other countries	Army rule	2,051	4.93	6.98
3.83	0.021	Sweden	1.93	Other countries	Army rule	2,151	3.75	5.68
3.47	−1.50	Spain	0.981	Other countries	Army rule	2,227	9.14	10.12
1.48	−1.21	New Zealand	0.137	Other countries	Army rule	2,000	2.34	2.47
0.739	−0.600	Germany	0.070	Other countries	Army rule	5,585	1.46	1.52
0.982	−1.65	Japan	−0.335	Other countries	Army rule	2,096	2.53	2.19
1.13	−2.31	Norway	−0.589	Other countries	Army rule	2,220	4.59	4.00
1.03	−2.65	Estonia	−0.812	Other countries	Army rule	2,112	4.99	4.18
0.639	−2.52	Switzerland	−0.938	Other countries	Army rule	4,237	4.86	3.92
1.48	−3.71	Russia	−1.12	Other countries	Army rule	4,879	20.98	19.86
0.965	−3.27	Slovenia	−1.15	Other countries	Army rule	1,995	6.43	5.28
2.60	−5.28	Brazil	−1.34	Other countries	Army rule	2,504	45.46	44.12
1.70	−5.27	Bulgaria	−1.79	Other countries	Army rule	2,123	16.93	15.15
0.369	−6.58	Taiwan ROC	−3.11	Other countries	Army rule	1,926	15.58	12.48
−0.471	−5.92	Finland	−3.19	Other countries	Army rule	2,057	11.36	8.17
−5.91	−10.92	Colombia	−8.42	Other countries	Army rule	7,208	33.61	25.20
−6.60	−16.80	Chile	−11.70	Other countries	Army rule	1,767	30.81	19.11
25.07	19.08	Russia	22.07	Other countries	Democratic system	4,738	57.61	79.68
20.62	14.29	Finland	17.46	Other countries	Democratic system	2,036	76.57	94.03
15.84	11.24	Belarus	13.54	Other countries	Democratic system	3,161	79.78	93.32
13.49	7.58	North Macedonia	10.53	Other countries	Democratic system	1,886	83.69	94.22
10.81	5.12	Bulgaria	7.97	Other countries	Democratic system	2,211	85.58	93.55
8.35	1.63	Ukraine	4.99	Other countries	Democratic system	4,458	80.16	85.14
7.40	2.17	Latvia	4.79	Other countries	Democratic system	2,285	86.62	91.41
7.16	2.06	Estonia	4.61	Other countries	Democratic system	2,074	88.64	93.25
7.16	1.32	Slovenia	4.24	Other countries	Democratic system	1,960	86.19	90.43
6.07	1.36	Armenia	3.72	Other countries	Democratic system	4,196	84.36	88.07
4.76	1.15	Switzerland	2.96	Other countries	Democratic system	4,203	93.23	96.18
5.49	0.054	Brazil	2.77	Other countries	Democratic system	2,564	84.84	87.61
3.68	1.71	Germany	2.70	Other countries	Democratic system	5,547	95.74	98.44
5.05	0.317	New Zealand	2.68	Other countries	Democratic system	1,912	91.08	93.76
5.03	0.268	Japan	2.65	Other countries	Democratic system	2,090	90.52	93.17
5.23	−0.337	Lithuania	2.45	Other countries	Democratic system	2,162	87.60	90.05
3.97	0.895	Sweden	2.43	Other countries	Democratic system	2,148	95.71	98.14
4.71	−0.687	Hungary	2.01	Other countries	Democratic system	2,040	90.92	92.94
3.85	0.021	Georgia	1.94	Other countries	Democratic system	3,804	90.62	92.55
4.24	−0.645	Australia	1.80	Other countries	Democratic system	3,604	87.96	89.76
3.01	0.171	Norway	1.59	Other countries	Democratic system	2,217	96.30	97.89
2.10	−1.58	Spain	0.262	Other countries	Democratic system	2,316	94.64	94.90
2.20	−2.89	Taiwan ROC	−0.347	Other countries	Democratic system	1,943	93.14	92.79
1.59	−3.16	Peru	−0.786	Other countries	Democratic system	2,430	91.41	90.62
1.19	−2.99	Romania	−0.898	Other countries	Democratic system	3,672	91.38	90.48
0.565	−4.15	Uruguay	−1.79	Other countries	Democratic system	1,898	96.09	94.30
0.176	−3.93	Bosnia Herzegovina	−1.87	Other countries	Democratic system	2,839	93.38	91.50
0.631	−4.65	Argentina	−2.01	Other countries	Democratic system	2,015	92.94	90.93
−0.173	−4.48	Czechia	−2.33	Other countries	Democratic system	3,895	90.75	88.42
−0.456	−5.63	Serbia	−3.04	Other countries	Democratic system	3,271	90.44	87.40
−0.688	−6.74	Mexico	−3.72	Other countries	Democratic system	2,988	79.55	75.83
0.786	−8.35	Chile	−3.78	Other countries	Democratic system	1,845	84.89	81.11
−2.41	−5.67	Croatia	−4.04	Other countries	Democratic system	2,592	98.44	94.40
−3.22	−7.57	Slovakia	−5.39	Other countries	Democratic system	3,515	92.41	87.02
−3.13	−8.11	United States	−5.62	United States	Democratic system	3,942	90.60	84.98
−2.72	−9.89	Montenegro	−6.31	Other countries	Democratic system	1,152	95.45	89.15
−5.27	−10.22	India	−7.74	Other countries	Democratic system	2,843	91.94	84.20
−5.81	−10.41	Colombia	−8.11	Other countries	Democratic system	7,279	85.34	77.24
−11.28	−17.77	South Korea	−14.53	Other countries	Democratic system	2,476	84.57	70.04
38.30	31.36	Romania	34.83	Other countries	Experts decide	3,586	49.05	83.89
30.46	19.66	Uruguay	25.06	Other countries	Experts decide	1,804	39.90	64.96
28.97	20.28	Estonia	24.62	Other countries	Experts decide	1,972	45.25	69.87
20.39	12.66	Australia	16.53	Other countries	Experts decide	3,612	42.03	58.56
19.80	12.24	United States	16.02	United States	Experts decide	3,962	36.53	52.55
19.14	12.37	Belarus	15.75	Other countries	Experts decide	3,011	56.83	72.58
17.94	11.16	Mexico	14.55	Other countries	Experts decide	2,951	61.69	76.24
18.45	10.30	Latvia	14.37	Other countries	Experts decide	2,219	55.90	70.27
18.54	10.03	Bulgaria	14.28	Other countries	Experts decide	2,065	66.71	81.00
17.86	9.76	Peru	13.81	Other countries	Experts decide	2,328	56.24	70.05
15.68	8.30	North Macedonia	11.99	Other countries	Experts decide	1,847	75.55	87.54
13.20	6.30	Armenia	9.75	Other countries	Experts decide	3,998	53.66	63.41
11.12	4.32	Georgia	7.72	Other countries	Experts decide	3,671	58.41	66.13
11.83	2.21	Taiwan ROC	7.02	Other countries	Experts decide	1,924	59.86	66.88
12.16	−0.117	Chile	6.02	Other countries	Experts decide	1,764	44.32	50.35
9.60	2.23	India	5.91	Other countries	Experts decide	2,462	66.61	72.53
8.87	2.73	Croatia	5.80	Other countries	Experts decide	2,559	81.98	87.78
10.51	0.495	Argentina	5.50	Other countries	Experts decide	1,825	53.48	58.99
9.24	0.778	Spain	5.01	Other countries	Experts decide	2,090	58.75	63.75
6.49	1.54	Colombia	4.01	Other countries	Experts decide	7,246	70.92	74.93
7.07	−0.052	Slovenia	3.51	Other countries	Experts decide	1,936	79.59	83.10
5.89	−2.21	Norway	1.84	Other countries	Experts decide	2,208	33.82	35.65
4.78	−4.04	New Zealand	0.367	Other countries	Experts decide	1,960	43.71	44.08
2.75	−6.02	Sweden	−1.64	Other countries	Experts decide	2,128	39.05	37.42
1.10	−4.93	Brazil	−1.92	Other countries	Experts decide	2,524	83.09	81.17
0.953	−5.68	Bosnia Herzegovina	−2.36	Other countries	Experts decide	2,776	78.16	75.80
0.596	−5.39	Serbia	−2.40	Other countries	Experts decide	3,374	84.84	82.44
−0.375	−11.35	Montenegro	−5.86	Other countries	Experts decide	1,088	86.10	80.23
−3.71	−12.80	Japan	−8.25	Other countries	Experts decide	1,875	57.27	49.01
−5.70	−11.54	Slovakia	−8.62	Other countries	Experts decide	3,440	84.46	75.84
−4.32	−13.32	Finland	−8.82	Other countries	Experts decide	2,043	64.60	55.78
−5.41	−12.89	Hungary	−9.15	Other countries	Experts decide	2,007	84.73	75.58
−5.25	−14.19	Lithuania	−9.72	Other countries	Experts decide	2,038	49.88	40.16
−5.59	−15.11	Ukraine	−10.35	Other countries	Experts decide	4,052	61.24	50.89
−8.35	−16.00	Switzerland	−12.17	Other countries	Experts decide	4,093	46.57	34.40
−8.76	−16.44	South Korea	−12.60	Other countries	Experts decide	2,475	65.61	53.01
−13.19	−19.82	Russia	−16.51	Other countries	Experts decide	4,560	59.21	42.70
−16.47	−22.53	Czechia	−19.50	Other countries	Experts decide	3,777	82.26	62.76
−19.24	−24.74	Germany	−21.99	Other countries	Experts decide	5,343	62.67	40.68
56.07	42.43	Montenegro	49.25	Other countries	Strong leader	1,101	25.37	74.62
40.90	31.49	Argentina	36.19	Other countries	Strong leader	1,860	29.28	65.47
38.69	31.32	South Korea	35.00	Other countries	Strong leader	2,483	31.74	66.75
38.45	30.49	Peru	34.47	Other countries	Strong leader	2,331	34.76	69.23
36.06	29.10	Romania	32.58	Other countries	Strong leader	3,595	47.24	79.82
32.96	25.22	Serbia	29.09	Other countries	Strong leader	3,350	31.07	60.16
31.63	22.05	Taiwan ROC	26.84	Other countries	Strong leader	1,931	40.99	67.83
29.83	22.77	Mexico	26.30	Other countries	Strong leader	2,939	45.35	71.65
28.40	17.66	Uruguay	23.03	Other countries	Strong leader	1,770	27.24	50.27
22.91	14.31	North Macedonia	18.61	Other countries	Strong leader	1,805	62.38	80.99
17.57	11.01	Armenia	14.29	Other countries	Strong leader	4,199	54.21	68.50
18.32	9.80	Ukraine	14.06	Other countries	Strong leader	4,598	54.46	68.52
16.67	9.65	United States	13.16	United States	Strong leader	3,982	24.90	38.06
16.14	9.42	Belarus	12.78	Other countries	Strong leader	3,232	55.20	67.99
17.27	5.23	Chile	11.25	Other countries	Strong leader	1,776	35.21	46.46
14.26	8.12	Georgia	11.19	Other countries	Strong leader	3,850	65.90	77.09
13.30	7.03	Slovakia	10.17	Other countries	Strong leader	3,429	19.02	29.19
14.07	5.83	Croatia	9.95	Other countries	Strong leader	2,563	30.28	40.23
10.81	6.62	Germany	8.72	Other countries	Strong leader	5,407	13.75	22.46
11.42	5.79	Czechia	8.61	Other countries	Strong leader	3,800	15.89	24.50
11.44	4.35	Australia	7.89	Other countries	Strong leader	3,627	24.15	32.04
11.91	3.54	Latvia	7.72	Other countries	Strong leader	2,287	46.13	53.85
8.57	2.99	Colombia	5.78	Other countries	Strong leader	7,193	53.50	59.28
8.68	1.09	Brazil	4.89	Other countries	Strong leader	2,555	60.57	65.45
8.29	0.212	Slovenia	4.25	Other countries	Strong leader	1,970	25.13	29.38
7.41	−0.356	Hungary	3.53	Other countries	Strong leader	2,033	18.75	22.28
4.77	−2.53	India	1.12	Other countries	Strong leader	2,575	68.03	69.15
3.83	−2.13	Norway	0.851	Other countries	Strong leader	2,220	13.94	14.79
4.00	−4.29	Japan	−0.149	Other countries	Strong leader	1,999	32.40	32.25
4.38	−4.87	Bulgaria	−0.243	Other countries	Strong leader	2,083	62.33	62.09
1.14	−5.72	New Zealand	−2.29	Other countries	Strong leader	1,960	19.54	17.25
−0.651	−8.30	Spain	−4.48	Other countries	Strong leader	2,138	29.56	25.08
−2.49	−8.88	Russia	−5.68	Other countries	Strong leader	4,935	50.41	44.72
−2.13	−10.05	Bosnia Herzegovina	−6.09	Other countries	Strong leader	2,756	53.27	47.18
−3.27	−10.79	Sweden	−7.03	Other countries	Strong leader	2,143	26.45	19.42
−4.06	−12.45	Lithuania	−8.25	Other countries	Strong leader	2,222	63.75	55.50
−7.18	−14.20	Switzerland	−10.69	Other countries	Strong leader	4,082	31.19	20.50
−8.96	−16.36	Finland	−12.66	Other countries	Strong leader	2,069	27.52	14.86
−14.47	−22.36	Estonia	−18.41	Other countries	Strong leader	2,058	37.54	19.13

Countries are ordered by the size of the change, largest at the top, and the United States is marked. Each dot is the weighted share in Wave 7 minus the weighted share in Wave 3 for one country, with a 95% interval from the Kish effective sample size of the two waves. The other views give the three other ways of governing.Note: Intervals are for each country alone and treat its weighted sample as a simple random sample; they omit design effects. Albania is left out of the set (see the text).Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

Fewer respondents rule out both alternatives

Among respondents who answered the democratic-system, strong-leader and army items, Figure 3 sorts people into three groups: those who call a democratic system good and call neither a strong leader nor army rule good (democracy only), those who call a democratic system good and also call at least one of the two good (democracy and an alternative), and those who do not call a democratic system good.

Figure 3

The share calling a democratic system good and rejecting both alternatives fell from 55.3% to 44.9% in the fixed set

Share of adults by combination of answers on the democratic-system, strong-leader and army items, equal-weight mean across the fixed set of countries, by wave

Show data

Data for The share calling a democratic system good and rejecting both alternatives fell from 55.3% to 44.9% in the fixed set
conf_high	conf_low	estimate	group	n	n_countries	scope	x
37.95	28.44	33.19	Democracy and an alternative	45,779	39	Fixed set	1996
43.22	31.83	37.52	Democracy and an alternative	61,691	39	Fixed set	2007
51.01	37.95	44.48	Democracy and an alternative	59,782	39	Fixed set	2018
60.96	49.72	55.34	Democracy only	45,779	39	Fixed set	1996
57.00	44.42	50.71	Democracy only	61,691	39	Fixed set	2007
52.39	37.42	44.90	Democracy only	59,782	39	Fixed set	2018
13.81	9.12	11.47	Does not call a democratic system good	45,779	39	Fixed set	1996
13.68	9.86	11.77	Does not call a democratic system good	61,691	39	Fixed set	2007
12.71	8.53	10.62	Does not call a democratic system good	59,782	39	Fixed set	2018
24.87	19.83	22.35	Democracy and an alternative	1,370	1	United States	1995
29.30	24.06	26.68	Democracy and an alternative	1,138	1	United States	1999
31.29	25.01	28.15	Democracy and an alternative	1,193	1	United States	2006
31.60	27.04	29.32	Democracy and an alternative	2,145	1	United States	2011
35.82	31.05	33.43	Democracy and an alternative	2,479	1	United States	2017
71.00	65.37	68.18	Democracy only	1,370	1	United States	1995
65.16	59.41	62.29	Democracy only	1,138	1	United States	1999
60.92	54.01	57.46	Democracy only	1,193	1	United States	2006
55.39	50.40	52.90	Democracy only	2,145	1	United States	2011
54.06	48.99	51.52	Democracy only	2,479	1	United States	2017
11.24	7.70	9.47	Does not call a democratic system good	1,370	1	United States	1995
12.89	9.17	11.03	Does not call a democratic system good	1,138	1	United States	1999
16.84	11.94	14.39	Does not call a democratic system good	1,193	1	United States	2006
19.70	15.87	17.79	Does not call a democratic system good	2,145	1	United States	2011
16.85	13.23	15.04	Does not call a democratic system good	2,479	1	United States	2017

The democracy-only line falls and the democracy-and-an-alternative line rises by a similar amount, while the line for people who do not call a democratic system good stays level. The three shares add to the whole in each wave. Democracy only means a democratic system is good and neither a strong leader nor army rule is good.Note: Respondents who answered all three items. Intervals for the fixed set are clustered by country (t critical value on one fewer degree of freedom than the number of countries); intervals for one country use the Kish effective sample size. The WVS file has no strata or sampling units, so no interval includes design effects.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

In the fixed set the democracy-only share fell from 55.3% to 44.9%, a change of −10.4 (95% CI −15.8 to −5.0) points, and the democracy-and-an-alternative share rose from 33.2% to 44.5% (+11.3 (95% CI 6.7 to 15.8) points). The share that does not call a democratic system good was 11.5% and 10.6%, a change of −0.9 (95% CI −3.1 to 1.4) points with an interval that includes zero. The first two moved by similar amounts in opposite directions. The democracy-only share fell in 24 countries and rose in 7. In the United States it fell from 68.2% to 51.5% (−16.7 (95% CI −20.4 to −12.9) points), a larger fall than in all but 11 of the other countries.

The United States differs on support and on army rule

Americans in 1995 were less approving of both alternatives than the average country in the set, at 24.9% for a strong leader and 6.6% for army rule. By 2017 they matched the set on army rule, at 20.9% against 20.7%, and stayed below it on a strong leader, at 38.1% against 48.1%. The share calling a democratic system good was 90.6% in 1995, 82.3% in 2011 and 85.0% in 2017, below the set's 89.7% in the last year.

Set against the change in the other 38 countries, the United States differs on the democratic system, army rule and experts but not on a strong leader (Figure 1, United States view). Its change in the democratic-system share is −7.0 (95% CI −10.3 to −3.7) points relative to theirs, and only 4 countries in the set have a larger fall. For army rule the difference is +6.9 (95% CI 2.3 to 11.5) points, against +8.7 (95% CI 3.0 to 14.5) with Albania in, and for experts +13.5 (95% CI 7.9 to 19.0). For a strong leader it is +3.4 (95% CI −2.7 to 9.4) points, an interval that includes zero but also permits a difference as large as the army-rule one, so the data neither show nor rule out that Americans moved more than others on that item. Each interval combines the sampling error of the American change with the clustered error of the others' average.

In 2017 the United States is below the median country on support for a democratic system and on approval of a strong leader, and at the median on army rule and on the importance question (Figure 4). Across the 92 countries surveyed in Wave 7 (90 for army rule), the median share calling a democratic system good is 90.5%, against 85.0% in the United States. For a strong leader the median is 51.7%, which is 13.6 points above the 38.1% for Americans. For army rule it is 20.3%, and for the top rating on importance 50.2%, against 49.9%. On how democratically their country is governed, rated on a ten-point scale, Americans averaged 6.05 and the median country 6.08.

Figure 4

In Wave 7 the United States is below the median country on a democratic system and a strong leader and at the median on army rule

Weighted share of adults calling each way of governing good, or giving the top rating on importance, by country, Wave 7 (2017 to 2023)

Other countries
United States

Show data

Data for In Wave 7 the United States is below the median country on a democratic system and a strong leader and at the median on army rule
country	group	measure	n	panel_view	value
Albania	Other countries	Democratic system	1,413	Shares	98.01
Andorra	Other countries	Democratic system	998	Shares	96.59
Argentina	Other countries	Democratic system	973	Shares	90.93
Armenia	Other countries	Democratic system	2,566	Shares	88.07
Australia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,732	Shares	89.76
Austria	Other countries	Democratic system	1,622	Shares	95.95
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,690	Shares	96.47
Bangladesh	Other countries	Democratic system	1,100	Shares	89.73
Belarus	Other countries	Democratic system	1,435	Shares	93.32
Bolivia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,963	Shares	88.39
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Democratic system	1,676	Shares	91.50
Brazil	Other countries	Democratic system	1,469	Shares	87.61
Bulgaria	Other countries	Democratic system	1,372	Shares	93.55
Canada	Other countries	Democratic system	4,018	Shares	89.16
Chile	Other countries	Democratic system	910	Shares	81.11
China	Other countries	Democratic system	2,980	Shares	91.87
Colombia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,520	Shares	77.24
Croatia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,437	Shares	94.40
Cyprus	Other countries	Democratic system	950	Shares	93.39
Czechia	Other countries	Democratic system	2,803	Shares	88.42
Denmark	Other countries	Democratic system	3,320	Shares	96.92
Ecuador	Other countries	Democratic system	1,164	Shares	83.76
Egypt	Other countries	Democratic system	1,013	Shares	97.53
Estonia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,141	Shares	93.25
Ethiopia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,188	Shares	93.35
Finland	Other countries	Democratic system	1,131	Shares	94.03
France	Other countries	Democratic system	1,799	Shares	92.99
Georgia	Other countries	Democratic system	2,003	Shares	92.55
Germany	Other countries	Democratic system	3,573	Shares	98.44
Greece	Other countries	Democratic system	1,193	Shares	97.98
Guatemala	Other countries	Democratic system	1,229	Shares	84.62
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Democratic system	2,022	Shares	81.56
Hungary	Other countries	Democratic system	1,445	Shares	92.94
Iceland	Other countries	Democratic system	1,594	Shares	98.94
India	Other countries	Democratic system	1,267	Shares	84.20
Indonesia	Other countries	Democratic system	3,123	Shares	90.83
Iran	Other countries	Democratic system	1,476	Shares	96.95
Iraq	Other countries	Democratic system	1,167	Shares	59.30
Italy	Other countries	Democratic system	2,203	Shares	96.65
Japan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,172	Shares	93.17
Jordan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,016	Shares	75.20
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,107	Shares	82.20
Kenya	Other countries	Democratic system	1,222	Shares	77.99
Kyrgyzstan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,023	Shares	76.90
Latvia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,186	Shares	91.41
Lebanon	Other countries	Democratic system	1,183	Shares	76.75
Libya	Other countries	Democratic system	1,139	Shares	91.22
Lithuania	Other countries	Democratic system	1,315	Shares	90.05
Macau SAR	Other countries	Democratic system	806	Shares	80.15
Malaysia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,312	Shares	88.34
Maldives	Other countries	Democratic system	1,016	Shares	69.29
Mexico	Other countries	Democratic system	1,702	Shares	75.83
Mongolia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,638	Shares	73.67
Montenegro	Other countries	Democratic system	932	Shares	89.15
Morocco	Other countries	Democratic system	1,200	Shares	87.75
Myanmar	Other countries	Democratic system	1,200	Shares	95.33
Netherlands	Other countries	Democratic system	3,977	Shares	95.58
New Zealand	Other countries	Democratic system	914	Shares	93.76
Nicaragua	Other countries	Democratic system	1,137	Shares	84.61
Nigeria	Other countries	Democratic system	1,233	Shares	88.19
North Macedonia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,034	Shares	94.22
Northern Ireland	Other countries	Democratic system	400	Shares	93.29
Norway	Other countries	Democratic system	1,109	Shares	97.89
Pakistan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,873	Shares	75.97
Peru	Other countries	Democratic system	1,336	Shares	90.62
Philippines	Other countries	Democratic system	1,196	Shares	73.92
Poland	Other countries	Democratic system	1,244	Shares	89.94
Portugal	Other countries	Democratic system	1,071	Shares	96.11
Puerto Rico	Other countries	Democratic system	1,099	Shares	86.81
Romania	Other countries	Democratic system	2,582	Shares	90.48
Russia	Other countries	Democratic system	3,148	Shares	79.68
Serbia	Other countries	Democratic system	2,183	Shares	87.40
Singapore	Other countries	Democratic system	1,885	Shares	91.37
Slovakia	Other countries	Democratic system	2,474	Shares	87.02
Slovenia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,033	Shares	90.43
South Korea	Other countries	Democratic system	1,245	Shares	70.04
Spain	Other countries	Democratic system	1,176	Shares	94.90
Sweden	Other countries	Democratic system	1,170	Shares	98.14
Switzerland	Other countries	Democratic system	3,111	Shares	96.18
Taiwan ROC	Other countries	Democratic system	1,200	Shares	92.79
Tajikistan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,200	Shares	94.50
Thailand	Other countries	Democratic system	1,467	Shares	87.68
Tunisia	Other countries	Democratic system	1,175	Shares	73.28
Turkey	Other countries	Democratic system	2,244	Shares	82.62
Ukraine	Other countries	Democratic system	2,523	Shares	85.14
United Kingdom	Other countries	Democratic system	4,102	Shares	92.60
United States	United States	Democratic system	2,509	Shares	84.98
Uruguay	Other countries	Democratic system	933	Shares	94.30
Uzbekistan	Other countries	Democratic system	1,071	Shares	77.03
Venezuela	Other countries	Democratic system	1,190	Shares	88.49
Vietnam	Other countries	Democratic system	1,130	Shares	91.59
Zimbabwe	Other countries	Democratic system	1,192	Shares	91.78
Albania	Other countries	Strong leader	1,398	Shares	23.35
Andorra	Other countries	Strong leader	997	Shares	22.67
Argentina	Other countries	Strong leader	881	Shares	65.47
Armenia	Other countries	Strong leader	2,535	Shares	68.50
Australia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,732	Shares	32.04
Austria	Other countries	Strong leader	1,572	Shares	14.87
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,619	Shares	74.72
Bangladesh	Other countries	Strong leader	1,059	Shares	22.76
Belarus	Other countries	Strong leader	1,397	Shares	67.99
Bolivia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,895	Shares	65.75
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Strong leader	1,641	Shares	47.18
Brazil	Other countries	Strong leader	1,462	Shares	65.45
Bulgaria	Other countries	Strong leader	1,284	Shares	62.09
Canada	Other countries	Strong leader	4,018	Shares	24.17
Chile	Other countries	Strong leader	849	Shares	46.46
China	Other countries	Strong leader	2,975	Shares	41.63
Colombia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,520	Shares	59.28
Croatia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,427	Shares	40.23
Cyprus	Other countries	Strong leader	860	Shares	51.22
Czechia	Other countries	Strong leader	2,730	Shares	24.50
Denmark	Other countries	Strong leader	3,298	Shares	21.04
Ecuador	Other countries	Strong leader	1,167	Shares	76.35
Egypt	Other countries	Strong leader	935	Shares	35.08
Estonia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,131	Shares	19.13
Ethiopia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,156	Shares	42.91
Finland	Other countries	Strong leader	1,146	Shares	14.86
France	Other countries	Strong leader	1,769	Shares	24.40
Georgia	Other countries	Strong leader	2,076	Shares	77.09
Germany	Other countries	Strong leader	3,443	Shares	22.46
Greece	Other countries	Strong leader	1,174	Shares	9.21
Guatemala	Other countries	Strong leader	1,229	Shares	72.50
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Strong leader	2,023	Shares	33.70
Hungary	Other countries	Strong leader	1,441	Shares	22.28
Iceland	Other countries	Strong leader	1,584	Shares	11.66
India	Other countries	Strong leader	1,252	Shares	69.15
Indonesia	Other countries	Strong leader	3,129	Shares	60.49
Iran	Other countries	Strong leader	1,461	Shares	53.39
Iraq	Other countries	Strong leader	1,174	Shares	67.89
Italy	Other countries	Strong leader	2,156	Shares	33.16
Japan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,141	Shares	32.25
Jordan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,058	Shares	52.17
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,110	Shares	77.93
Kenya	Other countries	Strong leader	1,227	Shares	55.75
Kyrgyzstan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,042	Shares	72.21
Latvia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,190	Shares	53.85
Lebanon	Other countries	Strong leader	1,178	Shares	37.69
Libya	Other countries	Strong leader	1,135	Shares	53.74
Lithuania	Other countries	Strong leader	1,320	Shares	55.50
Macau SAR	Other countries	Strong leader	809	Shares	40.05
Malaysia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,312	Shares	69.89
Maldives	Other countries	Strong leader	1,015	Shares	34.48
Mexico	Other countries	Strong leader	1,691	Shares	71.65
Mongolia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,638	Shares	75.03
Montenegro	Other countries	Strong leader	896	Shares	74.62
Morocco	Other countries	Strong leader	1,200	Shares	57.67
Myanmar	Other countries	Strong leader	1,200	Shares	73.17
Netherlands	Other countries	Strong leader	3,880	Shares	35.56
New Zealand	Other countries	Strong leader	916	Shares	17.25
Nicaragua	Other countries	Strong leader	1,137	Shares	61.92
Nigeria	Other countries	Strong leader	1,222	Shares	60.17
North Macedonia	Other countries	Strong leader	973	Shares	80.99
Northern Ireland	Other countries	Strong leader	397	Shares	29.35
Norway	Other countries	Strong leader	1,108	Shares	14.79
Pakistan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,843	Shares	49.48
Peru	Other countries	Strong leader	1,304	Shares	69.23
Philippines	Other countries	Strong leader	1,199	Shares	75.20
Poland	Other countries	Strong leader	1,265	Shares	17.30
Portugal	Other countries	Strong leader	951	Shares	54.17
Puerto Rico	Other countries	Strong leader	1,107	Shares	55.10
Romania	Other countries	Strong leader	2,545	Shares	79.82
Russia	Other countries	Strong leader	3,211	Shares	44.72
Serbia	Other countries	Strong leader	2,214	Shares	60.16
Singapore	Other countries	Strong leader	1,801	Shares	31.47
Slovakia	Other countries	Strong leader	2,409	Shares	29.19
Slovenia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,027	Shares	29.38
South Korea	Other countries	Strong leader	1,245	Shares	66.75
Spain	Other countries	Strong leader	1,101	Shares	25.08
Sweden	Other countries	Strong leader	1,160	Shares	19.42
Switzerland	Other countries	Strong leader	3,062	Shares	20.50
Taiwan ROC	Other countries	Strong leader	1,187	Shares	67.83
Tajikistan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,200	Shares	73.33
Thailand	Other countries	Strong leader	1,460	Shares	91.18
Tunisia	Other countries	Strong leader	1,164	Shares	21.65
Turkey	Other countries	Strong leader	2,138	Shares	55.85
Ukraine	Other countries	Strong leader	2,604	Shares	68.52
United Kingdom	Other countries	Strong leader	4,088	Shares	25.92
United States	United States	Strong leader	2,541	Shares	38.06
Uruguay	Other countries	Strong leader	879	Shares	50.27
Uzbekistan	Other countries	Strong leader	1,081	Shares	77.15
Venezuela	Other countries	Strong leader	1,190	Shares	55.63
Vietnam	Other countries	Strong leader	1,094	Shares	92.87
Zimbabwe	Other countries	Strong leader	1,187	Shares	39.26
Albania	Other countries	Army rule	1,377	Shares	17.04
Andorra	Other countries	Army rule	982	Shares	5.80
Argentina	Other countries	Army rule	941	Shares	16.85
Armenia	Other countries	Army rule	2,498	Shares	34.52
Australia	Other countries	Army rule	1,735	Shares	10.77
Austria	Other countries	Army rule	1,595	Shares	5.35
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Army rule	1,566	Shares	10.85
Bangladesh	Other countries	Army rule	1,079	Shares	38.92
Belarus	Other countries	Army rule	1,376	Shares	25.70
Bolivia	Other countries	Army rule	1,949	Shares	17.65
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Army rule	1,622	Shares	38.01
Brazil	Other countries	Army rule	1,413	Shares	44.12
Bulgaria	Other countries	Army rule	1,314	Shares	15.15
Canada	Other countries	Army rule	4,018	Shares	13.48
Chile	Other countries	Army rule	870	Shares	19.11
China	Other countries	Army rule	2,956	Shares	41.18
Colombia	Other countries	Army rule	1,520	Shares	25.20
Croatia	Other countries	Army rule	1,408	Shares	23.05
Cyprus	Other countries	Army rule	461	Shares	8.24
Czechia	Other countries	Army rule	2,806	Shares	13.19
Denmark	Other countries	Army rule	3,320	Shares	5.15
Ecuador	Other countries	Army rule	1,166	Shares	23.93
Estonia	Other countries	Army rule	1,151	Shares	4.18
Ethiopia	Other countries	Army rule	1,170	Shares	33.33
Finland	Other countries	Army rule	1,133	Shares	8.17
France	Other countries	Army rule	1,800	Shares	13.06
Georgia	Other countries	Army rule	2,038	Shares	29.81
Germany	Other countries	Army rule	3,592	Shares	1.52
Greece	Other countries	Army rule	1,181	Shares	5.90
Guatemala	Other countries	Army rule	1,229	Shares	35.56
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Army rule	2,028	Shares	12.66
Hungary	Other countries	Army rule	1,443	Shares	6.98
Iceland	Other countries	Army rule	1,590	Shares	1.06
India	Other countries	Army rule	1,186	Shares	38.99
Indonesia	Other countries	Army rule	3,134	Shares	65.14
Iran	Other countries	Army rule	1,473	Shares	43.04
Iraq	Other countries	Army rule	1,160	Shares	48.28
Italy	Other countries	Army rule	2,160	Shares	10.43
Japan	Other countries	Army rule	1,186	Shares	2.19
Jordan	Other countries	Army rule	1,053	Shares	38.94
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Army rule	1,031	Shares	39.38
Kenya	Other countries	Army rule	1,209	Shares	39.29
Kyrgyzstan	Other countries	Army rule	1,026	Shares	47.16
Latvia	Other countries	Army rule	1,236	Shares	8.07
Lebanon	Other countries	Army rule	1,176	Shares	65.39
Libya	Other countries	Army rule	1,131	Shares	57.56
Lithuania	Other countries	Army rule	1,345	Shares	13.69
Macau SAR	Other countries	Army rule	808	Shares	19.80
Malaysia	Other countries	Army rule	1,312	Shares	45.88
Maldives	Other countries	Army rule	1,015	Shares	16.55
Mexico	Other countries	Army rule	1,692	Shares	45.58
Mongolia	Other countries	Army rule	1,638	Shares	39.11
Montenegro	Other countries	Army rule	736	Shares	45.72
Morocco	Other countries	Army rule	1,200	Shares	25.50
Myanmar	Other countries	Army rule	1,200	Shares	71.58
Netherlands	Other countries	Army rule	4,060	Shares	3.72
New Zealand	Other countries	Army rule	930	Shares	2.47
Nicaragua	Other countries	Army rule	1,137	Shares	17.85
Nigeria	Other countries	Army rule	1,223	Shares	40.38
North Macedonia	Other countries	Army rule	972	Shares	54.15
Northern Ireland	Other countries	Army rule	397	Shares	11.21
Norway	Other countries	Army rule	1,108	Shares	4.00
Pakistan	Other countries	Army rule	1,895	Shares	60.53
Peru	Other countries	Army rule	1,324	Shares	36.04
Philippines	Other countries	Army rule	1,200	Shares	63.44
Poland	Other countries	Army rule	1,223	Shares	21.41
Portugal	Other countries	Army rule	940	Shares	16.27
Puerto Rico	Other countries	Army rule	1,105	Shares	15.38
Romania	Other countries	Army rule	2,386	Shares	35.99
Russia	Other countries	Army rule	3,177	Shares	19.86
Serbia	Other countries	Army rule	2,152	Shares	49.65
Singapore	Other countries	Army rule	1,873	Shares	9.51
Slovakia	Other countries	Army rule	2,448	Shares	15.80
Slovenia	Other countries	Army rule	1,046	Shares	5.28
South Korea	Other countries	Army rule	1,245	Shares	17.43
Spain	Other countries	Army rule	1,134	Shares	10.12
Sweden	Other countries	Army rule	1,165	Shares	5.68
Switzerland	Other countries	Army rule	3,121	Shares	3.92
Taiwan ROC	Other countries	Army rule	1,188	Shares	12.48
Tajikistan	Other countries	Army rule	1,200	Shares	65.25
Thailand	Other countries	Army rule	1,462	Shares	61.58
Tunisia	Other countries	Army rule	1,156	Shares	29.76
Ukraine	Other countries	Army rule	2,545	Shares	21.92
United Kingdom	Other countries	Army rule	4,127	Shares	13.70
United States	United States	Army rule	2,528	Shares	20.91
Uruguay	Other countries	Army rule	925	Shares	19.42
Uzbekistan	Other countries	Army rule	1,000	Shares	50.50
Venezuela	Other countries	Army rule	1,190	Shares	20.76
Vietnam	Other countries	Army rule	1,105	Shares	83.89
Zimbabwe	Other countries	Army rule	1,176	Shares	26.19
Albania	Other countries	Experts decide	1,396	Shares	89.74
Andorra	Other countries	Experts decide	991	Shares	60.85
Argentina	Other countries	Experts decide	875	Shares	58.99
Armenia	Other countries	Experts decide	2,496	Shares	63.41
Australia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,728	Shares	58.56
Austria	Other countries	Experts decide	1,504	Shares	56.85
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,545	Shares	47.09
Bangladesh	Other countries	Experts decide	1,026	Shares	55.56
Belarus	Other countries	Experts decide	1,371	Shares	72.58
Bolivia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,922	Shares	74.51
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Experts decide	1,645	Shares	75.80
Brazil	Other countries	Experts decide	1,436	Shares	81.17
Bulgaria	Other countries	Experts decide	1,344	Shares	81.00
Canada	Other countries	Experts decide	4,018	Shares	55.21
Chile	Other countries	Experts decide	842	Shares	50.35
China	Other countries	Experts decide	2,961	Shares	37.40
Colombia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,520	Shares	74.93
Croatia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,438	Shares	87.78
Cyprus	Other countries	Experts decide	827	Shares	55.49
Czechia	Other countries	Experts decide	2,695	Shares	62.76
Denmark	Other countries	Experts decide	3,272	Shares	39.93
Ecuador	Other countries	Experts decide	1,174	Shares	74.62
Egypt	Other countries	Experts decide	908	Shares	72.36
Estonia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,046	Shares	69.87
Ethiopia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,160	Shares	60.69
Finland	Other countries	Experts decide	1,125	Shares	55.78
France	Other countries	Experts decide	1,724	Shares	51.97
Georgia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,988	Shares	66.13
Germany	Other countries	Experts decide	3,414	Shares	40.68
Greece	Other countries	Experts decide	1,094	Shares	22.18
Guatemala	Other countries	Experts decide	1,229	Shares	80.07
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Experts decide	2,017	Shares	46.23
Hungary	Other countries	Experts decide	1,411	Shares	75.58
Iceland	Other countries	Experts decide	1,555	Shares	55.86
India	Other countries	Experts decide	1,201	Shares	72.53
Indonesia	Other countries	Experts decide	3,119	Shares	69.91
Iran	Other countries	Experts decide	1,474	Shares	73.34
Iraq	Other countries	Experts decide	1,160	Shares	60.43
Italy	Other countries	Experts decide	2,093	Shares	41.77
Japan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,063	Shares	49.01
Jordan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,049	Shares	50.52
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,011	Shares	66.17
Kenya	Other countries	Experts decide	1,225	Shares	65.22
Kyrgyzstan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,006	Shares	62.97
Latvia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,185	Shares	70.27
Lebanon	Other countries	Experts decide	1,180	Shares	65
Libya	Other countries	Experts decide	1,144	Shares	58.30
Lithuania	Other countries	Experts decide	1,230	Shares	40.16
Macau SAR	Other countries	Experts decide	808	Shares	54.08
Malaysia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,312	Shares	77.21
Maldives	Other countries	Experts decide	1,019	Shares	62.12
Mexico	Other countries	Experts decide	1,693	Shares	76.24
Mongolia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,638	Shares	67.93
Montenegro	Other countries	Experts decide	865	Shares	80.23
Morocco	Other countries	Experts decide	1,200	Shares	61.92
Myanmar	Other countries	Experts decide	1,200	Shares	68.83
Netherlands	Other countries	Experts decide	3,821	Shares	53.96
New Zealand	Other countries	Experts decide	903	Shares	44.08
Nicaragua	Other countries	Experts decide	1,137	Shares	70.01
Nigeria	Other countries	Experts decide	1,217	Shares	66.52
North Macedonia	Other countries	Experts decide	988	Shares	87.54
Northern Ireland	Other countries	Experts decide	391	Shares	64.63
Norway	Other countries	Experts decide	1,102	Shares	35.65
Pakistan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,867	Shares	58.44
Peru	Other countries	Experts decide	1,286	Shares	70.05
Philippines	Other countries	Experts decide	1,200	Shares	65.78
Poland	Other countries	Experts decide	1,182	Shares	67.58
Portugal	Other countries	Experts decide	867	Shares	61.77
Puerto Rico	Other countries	Experts decide	1,109	Shares	64.92
Romania	Other countries	Experts decide	2,581	Shares	83.89
Russia	Other countries	Experts decide	3,045	Shares	42.70
Serbia	Other countries	Experts decide	2,213	Shares	82.44
Singapore	Other countries	Experts decide	1,789	Shares	46.69
Slovakia	Other countries	Experts decide	2,423	Shares	75.84
Slovenia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,015	Shares	83.10
South Korea	Other countries	Experts decide	1,245	Shares	53.01
Spain	Other countries	Experts decide	1,066	Shares	63.75
Sweden	Other countries	Experts decide	1,155	Shares	37.42
Switzerland	Other countries	Experts decide	3,060	Shares	34.40
Taiwan ROC	Other countries	Experts decide	1,184	Shares	66.88
Tajikistan	Other countries	Experts decide	1,200	Shares	60.42
Thailand	Other countries	Experts decide	1,455	Shares	69.70
Tunisia	Other countries	Experts decide	1,162	Shares	42.77
Turkey	Other countries	Experts decide	2,144	Shares	53.87
Ukraine	Other countries	Experts decide	2,331	Shares	50.89
United Kingdom	Other countries	Experts decide	4,086	Shares	59.15
United States	United States	Experts decide	2,535	Shares	52.55
Uruguay	Other countries	Experts decide	914	Shares	64.96
Uzbekistan	Other countries	Experts decide	995	Shares	55.38
Venezuela	Other countries	Experts decide	1,190	Shares	75.38
Vietnam	Other countries	Experts decide	1,094	Shares	87.39
Zimbabwe	Other countries	Experts decide	1,182	Shares	64.30
Albania	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,424	Shares	89.33
Andorra	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,003	Shares	59.92
Argentina	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	989	Shares	54.08
Armenia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,677	Shares	50.35
Australia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,771	Shares	56.45
Austria	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,630	Shares	64.10
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,753	Shares	44.31
Bangladesh	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	34.33
Belarus	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,486	Shares	33.81
Bolivia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,037	Shares	48.90
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,688	Shares	44.06
Brazil	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,545	Shares	57.88
Bulgaria	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,456	Shares	41.38
Canada	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	4,018	Shares	50.03
Chile	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	961	Shares	30.27
China	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,013	Shares	47.29
Colombia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,520	Shares	56.12
Croatia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,462	Shares	51.46
Cyprus	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	988	Shares	64.85
Czechia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,908	Shares	34.78
Denmark	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,347	Shares	78.03
Ecuador	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,189	Shares	49.87
Egypt	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,149	Shares	63.10
Estonia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,245	Shares	51.87
Ethiopia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,220	Shares	85.57
Finland	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,153	Shares	60.44
France	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,844	Shares	50.55
Georgia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,142	Shares	68.30
Germany	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,651	Shares	75.31
Greece	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,195	Shares	62.82
Guatemala	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	38.50
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,047	Shares	27.26
Hungary	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,498	Shares	63.14
Iceland	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,601	Shares	75.30
India	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,309	Shares	50.67
Indonesia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,164	Shares	44.03
Iran	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,482	Shares	64.17
Iraq	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	26.17
Italy	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,267	Shares	63.93
Japan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,220	Shares	47.70
Jordan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,172	Shares	48.81
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,267	Shares	37.17
Kenya	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,246	Shares	45.18
Kyrgyzstan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,178	Shares	68.72
Latvia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,297	Shares	35.95
Lebanon	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,189	Shares	23.97
Libya	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,185	Shares	61.27
Lithuania	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,374	Shares	42.13
Macau SAR	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	807	Shares	25.40
Malaysia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,313	Shares	34.73
Maldives	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,031	Shares	30.84
Mexico	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,729	Shares	48.02
Mongolia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,638	Shares	20.40
Montenegro	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	977	Shares	45.47
Morocco	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	60.25
Myanmar	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	61.58
Netherlands	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	4,202	Shares	46.53
New Zealand	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	986	Shares	64.10
Nicaragua	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,137	Shares	60.60
Nigeria	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,231	Shares	44.24
North Macedonia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,064	Shares	62.90
Northern Ireland	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	410	Shares	58.76
Norway	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,117	Shares	78.24
Pakistan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,958	Shares	52.04
Peru	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,382	Shares	47.86
Philippines	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	32.46
Poland	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,323	Shares	64.44
Portugal	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,150	Shares	41.28
Puerto Rico	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,107	Shares	68.74
Romania	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,674	Shares	51.44
Russia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,415	Shares	24.90
Serbia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,428	Shares	27.63
Singapore	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,975	Shares	28.70
Slovakia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,586	Shares	31.50
Slovenia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,055	Shares	38.72
South Korea	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,245	Shares	15.18
Spain	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,195	Shares	54.53
Sweden	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,178	Shares	74.18
Switzerland	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	3,145	Shares	67.37
Taiwan ROC	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,222	Shares	54.17
Tajikistan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	40.17
Thailand	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,481	Shares	33.97
Tunisia	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,184	Shares	43.24
Turkey	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,363	Shares	35.84
Ukraine	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,777	Shares	47.23
United Kingdom	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	4,151	Shares	60.08
United States	United States	Top rating on importance of democracy	2,552	Shares	49.87
Uruguay	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	972	Shares	75.97
Uzbekistan	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,228	Shares	57.74
Venezuela	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,190	Shares	44.29
Vietnam	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,200	Shares	53.17
Zimbabwe	Other countries	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,204	Shares	75.17
Albania	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,424	Means	9.64
Andorra	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,003	Means	9.11
Argentina	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	989	Means	8.82
Armenia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,677	Means	8.27
Australia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,771	Means	8.71
Austria	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,630	Means	9.09
Azerbaijan	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,753	Means	8.69
Bangladesh	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,200	Means	8.11
Belarus	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,486	Means	8.01
Bolivia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,037	Means	8.51
Bosnia Herzegovina	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,688	Means	8.35
Brazil	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,545	Means	8.20
Bulgaria	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,456	Means	7.99
Canada	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	4,018	Means	8.65
Chile	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	961	Means	7.60
China	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	3,013	Means	8.71
Colombia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,520	Means	8.31
Croatia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,462	Means	8.34
Cyprus	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	988	Means	8.96
Czechia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,908	Means	8.01
Denmark	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	3,347	Means	9.47
Ecuador	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,189	Means	8.21
Egypt	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,149	Means	9.13
Estonia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,245	Means	8.65
Ethiopia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,220	Means	9.49
Finland	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,153	Means	9.09
France	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,844	Means	8.61
Georgia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,142	Means	8.91
Germany	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	3,651	Means	9.41
Greece	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,195	Means	9.32
Guatemala	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,200	Means	7.51
Hong Kong SAR	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,047	Means	7.82
Hungary	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,498	Means	8.86
Iceland	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,601	Means	9.48
India	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,309	Means	8.42
Indonesia	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	3,164	Means	8.23
Iran	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,482	Means	8.81
Iraq	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,200	Means	7.34
Italy	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	2,267	Means	9.14
Japan	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,220	Means	8.70
Jordan	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,172	Means	8.18
Kazakhstan	Other countries	Importance of living in a democracy (mean)	1,267	Means	7.92

Showing the first 500 of 642 rows.

Each dot is one country and the United States is marked. The United States sits left of the typical country in the democratic-system, strong-leader and experts rows and level with it in the army-rule and importance rows. The second view plots two mean ratings on the ten-point scales.Note: Countries with an effective sample at or above the floor in Wave 7; the set differs from the fixed set. Each country's estimate omits design effects.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Wave 7 (2017 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country)

Young adults closed the gap with older adults on a strong leader

Whether younger cohorts are less supportive of democracy is debated. Foa and Mounk read a lower share of top importance ratings among people born since 1980 as a cohort effect [2] [3]. Voeten found flat trends for groups of established democracies and, for the most part, an age difference among young adults, with the United States an exception that rested on one survey [4]. Norris noted that pooling waves cannot separate generational, life-cycle and period effects [5], and Alexander and Welzel argued that Foa and Mounk overstate the age differences [6]. Wuttke, Gavras and Schoen separated age, cohort and period in European countries from 1981 to 2018 and found continued endorsement of self-governance, with more "democrats in name only" among the young in some countries [7].

Age, period and cohort cannot all be separated, because birth year equals survey year minus age. A cross-section such as Wave 7 mixes age with birth cohort. Comparing the same age group across waves mixes cohort with period, and following one cohort across waves mixes age with period. A comparison speaks to cohorts only if a period change is the same at every age and the way support varies with age has not itself changed, and neither can be tested here. The age and cohort figures use 30 of the 39 countries, those with at least 100 respondents and effective respondents in every age-group and cohort cell they use, marked in Figure 9. Young adults are those aged 18 to 34 and older adults those aged 55 or more.

Figure 5

Young adults went from less approving of a strong leader than older adults to level with them between Wave 3 and Wave 7

Share among adults aged 18 to 34 minus share among adults aged 55 or older, percentage points, equal-weight mean across countries, by wave

Young minus older adults (percentage points)

Show data

Data for Young adults went from less approving of a strong leader than older adults to level with them between Wave 3 and Wave 7
conf_high	conf_low	estimate	item	n	n_countries	scope	x
−1.67	−4.78	−3.22	Army rule	40,439	30	Fixed set	1996
0.790	−2.42	−0.813	Army rule	56,429	30	Fixed set	2007
4.92	−0.484	2.22	Army rule	51,485	30	Fixed set	2018
1.67	−1.49	0.089	Democratic system	40,085	30	Fixed set	1996
0.804	−2.56	−0.876	Democratic system	56,147	30	Fixed set	2007
0.039	−2.59	−1.27	Democratic system	51,979	30	Fixed set	2018
3.70	−1.39	1.15	Experts decide	38,991	30	Fixed set	1996
4.48	0.025	2.25	Experts decide	54,321	30	Fixed set	2007
8.98	1.75	5.37	Experts decide	50,829	30	Fixed set	2018
−3.56	−9.68	−6.62	Strong leader	39,946	30	Fixed set	1996
−0.153	−4.65	−2.40	Strong leader	55,473	30	Fixed set	2007
2.60	−1.88	0.364	Strong leader	51,421	30	Fixed set	2018
−3.47	−10.39	−6.93	Top rating on importance of democracy	51,271	37	Fixed set	2007
−4.92	−14.04	−9.48	Top rating on importance of democracy	72,171	37	Fixed set	2018
4.66	−2.52	1.07	Army rule	938	1	United States	1995
8.31	−0.580	3.86	Army rule	678	1	United States	1999
13.51	0.517	7.01	Army rule	724	1	United States	2006
15.98	6.11	11.05	Army rule	1,413	1	United States	2011
21.90	12.25	17.08	Army rule	1,658	1	United States	2017
−0.872	−9.77	−5.32	Democratic system	906	1	United States	1995
−4.45	−13.71	−9.08	Democratic system	664	1	United States	1999
−3.87	−16.40	−10.13	Democratic system	722	1	United States	2006
−4.43	−14.51	−9.47	Democratic system	1,408	1	United States	2011
−7.21	−16.05	−11.63	Democratic system	1,642	1	United States	2017
16.03	2.10	9.06	Experts decide	912	1	United States	1995
23.29	8.12	15.71	Experts decide	676	1	United States	1999
16.18	−1.84	7.17	Experts decide	724	1	United States	2006
21.43	8.98	15.21	Experts decide	1,414	1	United States	2011
28.52	16.54	22.53	Experts decide	1,665	1	United States	2017
16.87	4.13	10.50	Strong leader	920	1	United States	1995
16.99	2.67	9.83	Strong leader	679	1	United States	1999
12.29	−4.74	3.77	Strong leader	728	1	United States	2006
26.03	13.91	19.97	Strong leader	1,417	1	United States	2011
20.13	8.44	14.29	Strong leader	1,671	1	United States	2017
−21.30	−38.58	−29.94	Top rating on importance of democracy	727	1	United States	2006
−24.09	−35.90	−30.00	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,423	1	United States	2011
−29.79	−41.26	−35.52	Top rating on importance of democracy	1,677	1	United States	2017

The strong-leader and army-rule lines start below zero and end at or above it, so the age gap closed or reversed, while the democratic-system line stays close to zero. The importance line is the gap in the share giving the top rating and it lies well below zero, with older adults giving the top rating more often. A negative value means young adults are less likely to give the answer.Note: Fixed set: the countries of the fixed set with every age-group and cohort cell above the floor (n at least 100 and an effective sample of at least 100); the importance line uses its own set of countries observed in Waves 5 and 7. Age groups are 18 to 34 and 55 or older; the 35 to 54 group is not plotted. Intervals for the fixed set are clustered by country (t critical value on one fewer degree of freedom than the number of countries); intervals for one country use the Kish effective sample size. The WVS file has no strata or sampling units, so no interval includes design effects.Note: A cross-section confounds age with cohort, and a change in the gap between waves identifies a cohort difference only if period changes are the same at every age.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

In Wave 7 the three age groups give nearly the same share calling a democratic system good: the difference between young and older adults is −1.3 (95% CI −2.6 to 0.0) points. For a strong leader it is +0.4 (95% CI −1.9 to 2.6) points, for army rule +2.2 (95% CI −0.5 to 4.9) and for expert decisions +5.4 (95% CI 1.8 to 9.0). Wave 3 looked different. Young adults then approved of a strong leader 6.6 (95% CI 3.6 to 9.7) points less than older adults did, and of army rule 3.2 (95% CI 1.7 to 4.8) points less. Between Wave 3 and Wave 7 approval of a strong leader rose by +11.1 (95% CI 5.8 to 16.3) points among young adults and +4.1 (95% CI −1.0 to 9.1) among older adults, and approval of army rule by +10.0 (95% CI 5.4 to 14.6) and +4.5 (95% CI −0.4 to 9.4). The age gap therefore changed by +7.0 (95% CI 3.8 to 10.2) points for a strong leader and +5.4 (95% CI 2.1 to 8.8) for army rule, against −1.4 (95% CI −3.1 to 0.4) for a democratic system.

Figure 6

Every birth cohort followed across waves became more approving of a strong leader, and the cohorts ended close together

Share of adults calling a strong leader a good way of governing the country, by birth cohort and wave, equal-weight mean across countries

Show data

Data for Every birth cohort followed across waves became more approving of a strong leader, and the cohorts ended close together
cohort	conf_high	conf_low	estimate	item	n	n_countries	x
Born 1960 to 1977	15.30	8.38	11.84	Army rule	16,646	30	1996
Born 1960 to 1977	18.03	9.80	13.92	Army rule	19,092	30	2007
Born 1960 to 1977	24.26	13.19	18.73	Army rule	16,021	30	2018
Born 1978 to 1986	18.80	10.35	14.58	Army rule	9,338	30	2007
Born 1978 to 1986	25.66	14.54	20.10	Army rule	7,820	30	2018
Born 1987 or later	28.13	16.71	22.42	Army rule	11,374	30	2018
Born before 1960	17.29	9.34	13.32	Army rule	22,560	30	1996
Born before 1960	19.45	10.76	15.10	Army rule	24,919	30	2007
Born before 1960	26.46	13.96	20.21	Army rule	16,270	30	2018
Born 1960 to 1977	90.60	85.27	87.93	Democratic system	16,536	30	1996
Born 1960 to 1977	90.98	86.18	88.58	Democratic system	19,041	30	2007
Born 1960 to 1977	92.79	87.52	90.16	Democratic system	16,175	30	2018
Born 1978 to 1986	90.17	84.85	87.51	Democratic system	9,321	30	2007
Born 1978 to 1986	92.83	88.20	90.52	Democratic system	7,929	30	2018
Born 1987 or later	91.58	86.07	88.83	Democratic system	11,509	30	2018
Born before 1960	91.14	85.00	88.07	Democratic system	22,309	30	1996
Born before 1960	90.78	86.31	88.55	Democratic system	24,714	30	2007
Born before 1960	93.14	87.95	90.54	Democratic system	16,366	30	2018
Born 1960 to 1977	67.43	56.98	62.20	Experts decide	16,226	30	1996
Born 1960 to 1977	67.21	56.31	61.76	Experts decide	18,455	30	2007
Born 1960 to 1977	71.09	57.84	64.47	Experts decide	15,883	30	2018
Born 1978 to 1986	68.80	58.59	63.70	Experts decide	9,025	30	2007
Born 1978 to 1986	71.73	60.97	66.35	Experts decide	7,770	30	2018
Born 1987 or later	72.36	62.24	67.30	Experts decide	11,296	30	2018
Born before 1960	66.86	54.82	60.84	Experts decide	21,556	30	1996
Born before 1960	66.94	55.22	61.08	Experts decide	23,865	30	2007
Born before 1960	68.51	54.08	61.30	Experts decide	15,880	30	2018
Born 1960 to 1977	43.02	30.95	36.98	Strong leader	16,481	30	1996
Born 1960 to 1977	47.45	33.21	40.33	Strong leader	18,834	30	2007
Born 1960 to 1977	54.57	37.20	45.89	Strong leader	15,998	30	2018
Born 1978 to 1986	48.72	34.75	41.74	Strong leader	9,147	30	2007
Born 1978 to 1986	55.95	39.60	47.77	Strong leader	7,853	30	2018
Born 1987 or later	55.54	40.43	47.98	Strong leader	11,332	30	2018
Born before 1960	46.70	34.25	40.48	Strong leader	22,234	30	1996
Born before 1960	50.66	36.16	43.41	Strong leader	24,471	30	2007
Born before 1960	56.50	39.41	47.95	Strong leader	16,238	30	2018
Born 1960 to 1977	53.84	45.16	49.50	Top rating on importance of democracy	18,739	37	2007
Born 1960 to 1977	59.69	50.10	54.90	Top rating on importance of democracy	22,845	37	2018
Born 1978 to 1986	48.79	39.58	44.18	Top rating on importance of democracy	9,803	37	2007
Born 1978 to 1986	56.29	46.82	51.55	Top rating on importance of democracy	11,913	37	2018
Born 1987 or later	50.84	41.92	46.38	Top rating on importance of democracy	16,196	37	2018
Born before 1960	57.38	47.29	52.34	Top rating on importance of democracy	20,364	37	2007
Born before 1960	62.35	51.02	56.69	Top rating on importance of democracy	21,217	37	2018

All cohort lines rise, and in Wave 7 the four cohorts stand within a few points of each other. A cohort appears only in waves in which it can be observed as adults (see the notes). Each point is an equal-weight mean across countries with a 95% interval clustered by country. The other views give the army-rule, democratic-system and importance items.Note: Countries: the countries of the fixed set with every age-group and cohort cell above the floor (n at least 100 and an effective sample of at least 100). Intervals for the fixed set are clustered by country (t critical value on one fewer degree of freedom than the number of countries); intervals for one country use the Kish effective sample size. The WVS file has no strata or sampling units, so no interval includes design effects.Note: The first three cohorts are shown in a wave only if all their members were 18 or older at the earliest fieldwork year of the wave; the cohort born 1987 or later is open-ended and holds respondents born from 1987 who were 18 or older at interview in Wave 7. Ages at interview: cohort born 1978 to 1986 in Wave 5, 18 to 31; cohort born 1987 or later in Wave 7, 18 to 36. Birth year is the survey year minus age, so it can be off by one.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

Read as a difference between cohorts, those results need the two assumptions above. Figure 6 follows birth cohorts across waves and every cohort rises. The newest cohort, born 1987 or later, stands at 48.0% in Wave 7, within a point of the oldest cohort. A rise that reaches every cohort resembles a period change, and a gap between age groups that closes resembles a difference between cohorts. The data do not decide between the two, and both can hold.

The importance question gives a different picture. Young adults are less likely than older adults to give the top rating, by 6.9 (95% CI 3.5 to 10.4) points in Wave 5 and 9.5 (95% CI 4.9 to 14.0) in Wave 7 across 37 countries, and the gap changed by −2.5 (95% CI −5.7 to 0.6) points, an interval that includes zero. Young adults gave the top rating at 45.1% in Wave 5 and 47.0% in Wave 7, a change of +1.8 (95% CI −2.2 to 5.8) points, so they were not measurably less likely to give it in 2017 to 2023 than in 2004 to 2009. The cohort born 1978 to 1986 went from 44.2% to 51.6%, a change of +7.4 (95% CI 2.8 to 12.0) points that combines ageing with any period change, and the cohort born 1987 or later was at 46.4% in Wave 7, a difference of +2.2 (95% CI −2.1 to 6.5) points from the earlier cohort at a similar age. If no period change moved the waves, the gradient looks like a difference between ages.

The United States is where the age results and the trend point the same way, with the mode caveat above. Among young Americans the share calling a democratic system good fell from 87.6% in 1995 to 77.7% in 2017, a change of −9.9 (95% CI −14.9 to −4.8) points. The share of young Americans calling army rule good rose in each of the five surveys, from 7.1% in 1995 to 11.1%, 18.1%, 23.5% and 29.9% in 1999, 2006, 2011 and 2017, a change of +22.8 (95% CI 18.1 to 27.5) points. That series runs through the changes of mode, so it shows a steady rise across modes and cannot show that mode played no part. The gap between young and older Americans in approval of army rule went from +1.1 (95% CI −2.5 to 4.7) points in 1995 to +17.1 (95% CI 12.3 to 21.9) in 2017. On the importance question, young Americans give the top rating 35.5 (95% CI 29.8 to 41.3) points less often than older Americans in 2017, against 9.5 in the set.

Right and left differ on the alternatives

The left-right question asks respondents to place themselves on a ten-point scale from left to right. In Wave 7, in the 73 countries where both groups meet the floors (71 for army rule), adults at the right end of the scale (placements 7 and up) were more likely than adults at the left end (placements up to 4) to call a strong leader good, by +7.1 (95% CI 4.9 to 9.3) points on average with equal weight per country. For army rule the difference is +4.5 (95% CI 2.7 to 6.4) points. For a democratic system it is −0.6 (95% CI −1.6 to 0.4) points, an interval that includes zero. The strong-leader difference is above zero in 38 countries and below zero in 3, and in 32 its interval includes zero (Figure 7).

Figure 7

In 38 of 73 countries the interval for the right-minus-left difference in approval of a strong leader lies above zero

Share calling a strong leader a good way of governing among adults placing themselves at the right end of the left-right scale minus the share at the left end, percentage points, by country, Wave 7 (2017 to 2023)

Other countries
United States

Show data

Data for In 38 of 73 countries the interval for the right-minus-left difference in approval of a strong leader lies above zero
conf_high	conf_low	country	estimate	group	item	n
35.99	17.48	Malaysia	26.73	Other countries	Army rule	530
33.49	16.98	Uruguay	25.23	Other countries	Army rule	601
32.31	15.66	Brazil	23.99	Other countries	Army rule	523
25.66	10.79	Bosnia Herzegovina	18.23	Other countries	Army rule	762
23.87	11.71	Spain	17.79	Other countries	Army rule	611
27.25	6.85	Tajikistan	17.05	Other countries	Army rule	909
25.21	8.11	Serbia	16.66	Other countries	Army rule	971
19.02	12.20	Canada	15.61	Other countries	Army rule	2,234
22.40	7.80	Croatia	15.10	Other countries	Army rule	662
21.02	9.17	Colombia	15.10	Other countries	Army rule	878
21.15	5.92	Argentina	13.54	Other countries	Army rule	446
17.77	8.63	United States	13.20	United States	Army rule	1,644
18.27	7.40	South Korea	12.83	Other countries	Army rule	749
13.82	6.10	Italy	9.96	Other countries	Army rule	1,052
13.65	5.99	Finland	9.82	Other countries	Army rule	734
16.57	1.48	Ecuador	9.03	Other countries	Army rule	546
16.74	−0.111	Belarus	8.32	Other countries	Army rule	334
12.68	3.84	Slovakia	8.26	Other countries	Army rule	1,216
15.55	0.770	Poland	8.16	Other countries	Army rule	555
11.94	2.58	Greece	7.26	Other countries	Army rule	571
11.93	1.62	Slovenia	6.78	Other countries	Army rule	405
13.18	0.187	Zimbabwe	6.69	Other countries	Army rule	747
13.14	−0.168	Armenia	6.49	Other countries	Army rule	1,261
11.02	0.622	France	5.82	Other countries	Army rule	847
12.93	−1.61	Mongolia	5.66	Other countries	Army rule	1,010
11.61	−1.49	Mexico	5.06	Other countries	Army rule	943
9.13	−0.390	Andorra	4.37	Other countries	Army rule	486
7.25	1.32	Norway	4.29	Other countries	Army rule	724
9.58	−1.35	Maldives	4.12	Other countries	Army rule	691
13.54	−5.42	Ethiopia	4.06	Other countries	Army rule	447
7.95	−0.009	Austria	3.97	Other countries	Army rule	753
8.19	−0.261	Singapore	3.97	Other countries	Army rule	889
12.21	−4.40	Georgia	3.90	Other countries	Army rule	882
7.21	0.575	United Kingdom	3.89	Other countries	Army rule	2,076
7.96	−0.449	Australia	3.75	Other countries	Army rule	896
9.80	−3.13	Russia	3.34	Other countries	Army rule	1,053
4.57	1.92	Netherlands	3.24	Other countries	Army rule	2,598
8.44	−2.82	Latvia	2.81	Other countries	Army rule	492
11.63	−6.15	Philippines	2.74	Other countries	Army rule	784
9.56	−4.97	Nicaragua	2.30	Other countries	Army rule	527
12.26	−7.95	North Macedonia	2.15	Other countries	Army rule	462
11.32	−7.26	India	2.03	Other countries	Army rule	604
7.35	−3.49	Bolivia	1.93	Other countries	Army rule	897
3.62	0.220	Switzerland	1.92	Other countries	Army rule	1,816
7.24	−3.50	Puerto Rico	1.87	Other countries	Army rule	725
10.58	−6.99	Portugal	1.80	Other countries	Army rule	401
2.88	−0.216	Germany	1.33	Other countries	Army rule	1,744
3.60	−1.27	Denmark	1.16	Other countries	Army rule	2,219
4.28	−2.15	Sweden	1.06	Other countries	Army rule	776
6.47	−4.47	Albania	1.00	Other countries	Army rule	816
2.07	−0.945	Iceland	0.561	Other countries	Army rule	994
7.05	−6.89	Lithuania	0.079	Other countries	Army rule	493
6.24	−6.64	Indonesia	−0.199	Other countries	Army rule	1,730
6.89	−7.50	Kenya	−0.306	Other countries	Army rule	728
1.57	−2.33	New Zealand	−0.383	Other countries	Army rule	529
7.38	−8.25	Guatemala	−0.435	Other countries	Army rule	625
1.95	−3.67	Japan	−0.860	Other countries	Army rule	536
5.22	−7.46	Hong Kong SAR	−1.12	Other countries	Army rule	666
8.98	−11.73	Thailand	−1.37	Other countries	Army rule	459
2.76	−6.44	Hungary	−1.84	Other countries	Army rule	679
4.38	−9.50	Romania	−2.56	Other countries	Army rule	976
1.44	−7.46	Estonia	−3.01	Other countries	Army rule	417
4.47	−10.87	Tunisia	−3.20	Other countries	Army rule	609
3.24	−10.04	Venezuela	−3.40	Other countries	Army rule	757
0.475	−7.65	Czechia	−3.59	Other countries	Army rule	1,471
3.57	−13.04	Libya	−4.74	Other countries	Army rule	545
0.034	−11.06	Azerbaijan	−5.51	Other countries	Army rule	770
0.289	−12.92	Morocco	−6.31	Other countries	Army rule	695
−1.29	−14.72	Bulgaria	−8.00	Other countries	Army rule	669
−3.59	−22.87	Peru	−13.23	Other countries	Army rule	567
−6.37	−20.10	Nigeria	−13.23	Other countries	Army rule	853
16.77	2.39	Hong Kong SAR	9.58	Other countries	Democratic system	663
18.09	0.867	Philippines	9.48	Other countries	Democratic system	782
12.30	2.77	Indonesia	7.54	Other countries	Democratic system	1,721
11.27	2.96	Turkey	7.11	Other countries	Democratic system	1,417
12.60	0.573	Colombia	6.58	Other countries	Democratic system	878
11.94	−0.628	Latvia	5.65	Other countries	Democratic system	486
11.78	−0.590	Tajikistan	5.59	Other countries	Democratic system	909
10.72	0.321	Morocco	5.52	Other countries	Democratic system	695
11.43	−3.01	India	4.21	Other countries	Democratic system	630
8.73	−0.963	Ethiopia	3.88	Other countries	Democratic system	451
7.83	−0.871	Croatia	3.48	Other countries	Democratic system	670
10.56	−3.63	Russia	3.46	Other countries	Democratic system	1,049
8.37	−1.47	Bulgaria	3.45	Other countries	Democratic system	693
8.23	−1.72	Libya	3.25	Other countries	Democratic system	548
6.84	−0.627	Hungary	3.11	Other countries	Democratic system	684
4.76	0.583	United Kingdom	2.67	Other countries	Democratic system	2,085
8.28	−3.27	Poland	2.51	Other countries	Democratic system	566
6.07	−1.73	Romania	2.17	Other countries	Democratic system	1,035
8.58	−4.41	South Korea	2.08	Other countries	Democratic system	749
6.85	−3.22	Bosnia Herzegovina	1.81	Other countries	Democratic system	774
6.08	−2.89	Portugal	1.60	Other countries	Democratic system	434
6.48	−3.56	Georgia	1.46	Other countries	Democratic system	855
6.27	−3.67	Estonia	1.30	Other countries	Democratic system	421
6.87	−4.41	Guatemala	1.23	Other countries	Democratic system	625
2.27	−0.608	Iceland	0.833	Other countries	Democratic system	998
4.26	−2.61	Czechia	0.823	Other countries	Democratic system	1,475
2.42	−1.27	Denmark	0.578	Other countries	Democratic system	2,222
2.25	−1.33	Sweden	0.459	Other countries	Democratic system	777
3.27	−2.64	Austria	0.314	Other countries	Democratic system	769
2.30	−1.88	Albania	0.212	Other countries	Democratic system	832
1.92	−1.94	Norway	−0.008	Other countries	Democratic system	726
2.64	−3.40	Azerbaijan	−0.379	Other countries	Democratic system	816
3.45	−4.54	Zimbabwe	−0.543	Other countries	Democratic system	757
3.67	−4.94	Australia	−0.637	Other countries	Democratic system	904
3.80	−5.13	North Macedonia	−0.660	Other countries	Democratic system	474
3.58	−5.16	Nigeria	−0.788	Other countries	Democratic system	857
2.48	−4.22	Japan	−0.871	Other countries	Democratic system	537
4.28	−6.15	Cyprus	−0.937	Other countries	Democratic system	440
0.779	−2.68	Switzerland	−0.952	Other countries	Democratic system	1,814
4.48	−6.86	Serbia	−1.19	Other countries	Democratic system	988
0.119	−2.51	Germany	−1.20	Other countries	Democratic system	1,733
5.15	−7.97	Ecuador	−1.41	Other countries	Democratic system	550
0.686	−4.22	Italy	−1.77	Other countries	Democratic system	1,069
2.50	−6.68	Uruguay	−2.09	Other countries	Democratic system	608
4.43	−8.62	Argentina	−2.10	Other countries	Democratic system	461
2.46	−7.13	Venezuela	−2.33	Other countries	Democratic system	757
3.03	−8.26	Peru	−2.62	Other countries	Democratic system	569
0.267	−5.53	Greece	−2.63	Other countries	Democratic system	576
1.00	−6.28	Andorra	−2.64	Other countries	Democratic system	487
−1.38	−4.25	Netherlands	−2.81	Other countries	Democratic system	2,579
2.71	−8.84	Brazil	−3.06	Other countries	Democratic system	535
1.21	−7.34	Belarus	−3.07	Other countries	Democratic system	347
2.23	−8.49	Lithuania	−3.13	Other countries	Democratic system	482
0.885	−7.21	New Zealand	−3.16	Other countries	Democratic system	533
2.67	−9.11	Malaysia	−3.22	Other countries	Democratic system	530
1.07	−7.62	Bolivia	−3.27	Other countries	Democratic system	905
0.537	−7.26	France	−3.36	Other countries	Democratic system	848
−0.081	−7.01	Singapore	−3.55	Other countries	Democratic system	889
−0.539	−7.03	Finland	−3.78	Other countries	Democratic system	731
3.46	−11.41	Tunisia	−3.98	Other countries	Democratic system	611
1.50	−10.64	Kenya	−4.57	Other countries	Democratic system	740
1.84	−12.19	Maldives	−5.18	Other countries	Democratic system	696
−0.660	−9.81	Armenia	−5.23	Other countries	Democratic system	1,290
2.04	−13.59	Thailand	−5.78	Other countries	Democratic system	459
−0.413	−11.65	Mexico	−6.03	Other countries	Democratic system	946
−2.26	−9.85	Slovakia	−6.06	Other countries	Democratic system	1,230
0.094	−12.25	Nicaragua	−6.08	Other countries	Democratic system	527
−0.273	−12.93	Mongolia	−6.60	Other countries	Democratic system	1,010
−2.26	−11.15	Spain	−6.71	Other countries	Democratic system	634
−3.24	−11.06	United States	−7.15	United States	Democratic system	1,633
−2.98	−12.90	Puerto Rico	−7.94	Other countries	Democratic system	717
−5.32	−10.75	Canada	−8.04	Other countries	Democratic system	2,234
−1.44	−15.30	Slovenia	−8.37	Other countries	Democratic system	400
32.42	21.42	Turkey	26.92	Other countries	Strong leader	1,346
37.03	16.76	Uruguay	26.89	Other countries	Strong leader	580
33.25	17.79	Spain	25.52	Other countries	Strong leader	604
26.64	15.28	Italy	20.96	Other countries	Strong leader	1,054
26.74	14.74	Poland	20.74	Other countries	Strong leader	566
29.91	11.21	Malaysia	20.56	Other countries	Strong leader	530
24.16	15.85	Canada	20.01	Other countries	Strong leader	2,234
22.27	14.77	Netherlands	18.52	Other countries	Strong leader	2,517
25.32	9.54	Andorra	17.43	Other countries	Strong leader	489
24.34	10.09	Maldives	17.21	Other countries	Strong leader	692
24.89	9.51	Bosnia Herzegovina	17.20	Other countries	Strong leader	767
25.90	7.90	Croatia	16.90	Other countries	Strong leader	665
22.04	10.41	United States	16.23	United States	Strong leader	1,649
26.87	4.94	Argentina	15.91	Other countries	Strong leader	426
23.22	6.71	Serbia	14.97	Other countries	Strong leader	988
20.74	8.27	Austria	14.51	Other countries	Strong leader	749
25.36	3.59	Cyprus	14.48	Other countries	Strong leader	412
21.12	7.70	Hungary	14.41	Other countries	Strong leader	681
20.94	7.24	Colombia	14.09	Other countries	Strong leader	878
20.79	7.27	France	14.03	Other countries	Strong leader	841
23.88	4.14	Slovenia	14.01	Other countries	Strong leader	401
23.07	3.93	Ethiopia	13.50	Other countries	Strong leader	449
20.68	6.29	Puerto Rico	13.48	Other countries	Strong leader	723
18.32	7.46	Finland	12.89	Other countries	Strong leader	740
20.76	4.91	Australia	12.83	Other countries	Strong leader	894
17.03	7.66	Germany	12.34	Other countries	Strong leader	1,697
16.52	7.35	United Kingdom	11.94	Other countries	Strong leader	2,064
15.73	4.61	Slovakia	10.17	Other countries	Strong leader	1,209
17.79	2.35	Venezuela	10.07	Other countries	Strong leader	757
16.90	3.17	Mongolia	10.03	Other countries	Strong leader	1,010
17.23	1.62	Azerbaijan	9.43	Other countries	Strong leader	796
16.88	1.25	North Macedonia	9.06	Other countries	Strong leader	459
13.54	4.21	Denmark	8.88	Other countries	Strong leader	2,214
14.96	1.50	Indonesia	8.23	Other countries	Strong leader	1,724
14.61	0.263	Kenya	7.44	Other countries	Strong leader	740
10.76	3.46	Switzerland	7.11	Other countries	Strong leader	1,799
14.86	−1.03	Japan	6.91	Other countries	Strong leader	524
12.54	0.992	New Zealand	6.76	Other countries	Strong leader	518
11.81	1.15	Norway	6.48	Other countries	Strong leader	725
14.71	−2.47	India	6.12	Other countries	Strong leader	622
12.60	−1.15	Nigeria	5.72	Other countries	Strong leader	852
11.39	−1.49	Singapore	4.95	Other countries	Strong leader	884
13.02	−3.18	Nicaragua	4.92	Other countries	Strong leader	527
12.73	−3.66	Brazil	4.54	Other countries	Strong leader	540
15.92	−7.54	Portugal	4.19	Other countries	Strong leader	413
9.49	−1.97	Sweden	3.76	Other countries	Strong leader	772
12.76	−5.88	Peru	3.44	Other countries	Strong leader	558
7.61	−1.24	Iceland	3.19	Other countries	Strong leader	992
10.39	−5.90	Philippines	2.24	Other countries	Strong leader	784
7.03	−2.62	Greece	2.20	Other countries	Strong leader	570
8.86	−6.13	Georgia	1.37	Other countries	Strong leader	890
9.95	−9.11	Tajikistan	0.423	Other countries	Strong leader	909
6.33	−6.03	Bolivia	0.151	Other countries	Strong leader	879
5.97	−6.29	Thailand	−0.162	Other countries	Strong leader	459
8.14	−8.61	Libya	−0.232	Other countries	Strong leader	549
7.55	−8.69	Russia	−0.572	Other countries	Strong leader	1,073
6.03	−8.45	Guatemala	−1.21	Other countries	Strong leader	625
5.67	−8.38	Ecuador	−1.35	Other countries	Strong leader	551
5.12	−8.37	Armenia	−1.63	Other countries	Strong leader	1,251
4.23	−8.08	Albania	−1.93	Other countries	Strong leader	826
4.68	−9.42	Zimbabwe	−2.37	Other countries	Strong leader	751
4.10	−9.45	South Korea	−2.67	Other countries	Strong leader	749
6.88	−13.55	Latvia	−3.34	Other countries	Strong leader	483
5.20	−11.93	Hong Kong SAR	−3.36	Other countries	Strong leader	667
1.66	−9.48	Romania	−3.91	Other countries	Strong leader	1,016
1.90	−10.00	Mexico	−4.05	Other countries	Strong leader	942
6.58	−14.82	Belarus	−4.12	Other countries	Strong leader	337
2.20	−12.34	Tunisia	−5.07	Other countries	Strong leader	610
3.79	−16.18	Lithuania	−6.19	Other countries	Strong leader	488
0.458	−14.24	Morocco	−6.89	Other countries	Strong leader	695
−4.26	−14.37	Czechia	−9.32	Other countries	Strong leader	1,446
−3.48	−20.15	Estonia	−11.81	Other countries	Strong leader	420
−8.77	−26.75	Bulgaria	−17.76	Other countries	Strong leader	656

Most dots lie to the right of zero, and the United States is among the countries with the largest gaps. Each dot is one country's difference with a 95% interval, ordered from largest to smallest. The other views give army rule and a democratic system. The left-right label does not mean the same thing in every country.Note: Left is placements 1 to 4 and right is placements 7 to 10 on the ten-point scale; the centre is left out. A country needs at least 100 respondents and 100 effective respondents in each group. Intervals are for each country alone and omit design effects.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Wave 7 (2017 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country)

The label does not mean the same thing everywhere, so gaps are not the same quantity across countries; Chapter 7.4, Left and right across countries shows which attitudes it tracks in each. In the median country 13.5% of respondents do not place themselves, against 2.3% in the United States, and they are outside these comparisons.

In the United States the right-left difference in approval of a strong leader is +16.2 (95% CI 10.4 to 22.0) points, larger than in all but 12 of the other countries. For army rule it is +13.2 (95% CI 8.6 to 17.8) points, and for a democratic system −7.1 (95% CI −11.1 to −3.2) points, so the right is less likely than the left to call a democratic system good. In 1995 the three differences were +0.6 (95% CI −6.7 to 7.9), −0.7 (95% CI −4.7 to 3.3) and −0.9 (95% CI −6.0 to 4.1) points, and each interval includes zero. Self-placement describes a group of respondents and not a party, and the file does not date the change or tie it to an election. Chapter 1.1, Party and ideology covers how left-right placement and party identification line up in the United States.

Among European countries that kept face-to-face interviews, media freedom ratings fell

The European Social Survey (ESS) asks how far features of democracy apply in the respondent's own country, on an eleven-point scale, in Round 6 (2012 to 2013) and Round 10 (2020 to 2022). It does not ask about a strong leader or army rule. In Round 10, 9 ESS countries switched from face-to-face interviews to self-completion by web and paper because of the pandemic, and the ESS advises caution about comparisons over time in those countries. Of the 24 countries with every item in both rounds, 6 switched. In the 18 that kept face-to-face interviews, the mean rating of whether the media are free to criticize the government fell from 7.21 to 6.83, a change of −0.38 (95% CI −0.72 to −0.04) points, and it fell in 10 of them by each country's own interval. Satisfaction with how democracy works rose by +0.39 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.67) points. The ratings of free and fair elections (+0.13 (95% CI −0.15 to 0.41)), minority rights (+0.14 (95% CI −0.11 to 0.39)) and citizens' final say (−0.08 (95% CI −0.37 to 0.21)) have intervals that include zero.

Figure 8

Where interviews stayed face to face, European ratings of whether the media are free to criticize the government fell by 0.38 points between Round 6 and Round 10

Change in the mean rating of how far each feature of democracy applies in the country, and in satisfaction with democracy, ESS Round 6 (2012 to 2013) to Round 10 (2020 to 2022), points on the eleven-point scale, by country, countries that kept face-to-face interviews

−3.00.03.0

Heat map with one row for each of the countries that kept face-to-face interviews in Round 10 and one column for each of five measures, colored by the change in the country's mean rating from Round 6 to Round 10. In the media-freedom column most cells are falls, with the largest in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary, and in the satisfaction column most cells are rises. The all-countries view adds six countries that switched to self-completion, and the largest falls in the media-freedom column are then in Cyprus and Poland, both of which switched. The third view shows the switchers alone.
Country	Media free to criticize the government	Elections free and fair	Minority rights protected	Citizens have the final say	Satisfaction with democracy
Bulgaria	−2.1, interval −2.3 to −1.9, n = 4,778	−0.3, interval −0.5 to −0.1, n = 4,733	−0.4, interval −0.6 to −0.2, n = 4,779	−1.1, interval −1.3 to −0.8, n = 4,733	0.2, interval 0.0 to 0.3, n = 4,822
Slovakia	−1.3, interval −1.6 to −1.1, n = 3,173	−0.1, interval −0.3 to 0.1, n = 3,182	−0.4, interval −0.6 to −0.2, n = 3,136	−0.4, interval −0.6 to −0.1, n = 3,147	−0.6, interval −0.9 to −0.4, n = 3,210
Hungary	−1.1, interval −1.3 to −0.9, n = 3,673	−0.7, interval −0.9 to −0.5, n = 3,578	−0.4, interval −0.6 to −0.2, n = 3,700	0.0, interval −0.2 to 0.2, n = 3,666	0.5, interval 0.3 to 0.7, n = 3,696
Slovenia	−0.9, interval −1.2 to −0.7, n = 2,426	0.3, interval 0.1 to 0.5, n = 2,400	−0.6, interval −0.8 to −0.4, n = 2,318	−0.6, interval −0.9 to −0.4, n = 2,383	0.7, interval 0.5 to 0.9, n = 2,427
Ireland	−0.8, interval −1.0 to −0.6, n = 4,284	−0.3, interval −0.4 to −0.1, n = 4,239	−0.2, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 4,177	−0.5, interval −0.7 to −0.3, n = 4,227	0.8, interval 0.6 to 1.0, n = 4,223
Italy	−0.6, interval −0.9 to −0.4, n = 3,472	−0.1, interval −0.4 to 0.1, n = 3,463	0.4, interval 0.2 to 0.6, n = 3,477	0.3, interval 0.1 to 0.5, n = 3,450	1.1, interval 0.9 to 1.3, n = 3,525
France	−0.6, interval −0.8 to −0.5, n = 3,880	−0.2, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 3,827	−0.2, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 3,807	−0.7, interval −0.8 to −0.5, n = 3,814	0.1, interval −0.1 to 0.3, n = 3,870
United Kingdom	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 3,309	0.0, interval −0.2 to 0.2, n = 3,331	−0.3, interval −0.5 to −0.1, n = 3,206	0.4, interval 0.2 to 0.7, n = 3,212	−0.4, interval −0.6 to −0.2, n = 3,249
Belgium	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 3,161	−0.3, interval −0.5 to −0.1, n = 3,170	0.1, interval −0.1 to 0.3, n = 3,158	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 3,125	−0.3, interval −0.5 to −0.2, n = 3,181
Switzerland	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 2,872	0.1, interval 0.0 to 0.3, n = 2,852	0.0, interval −0.1 to 0.2, n = 2,843	−0.1, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 2,851	0.3, interval 0.2 to 0.4, n = 2,954
Netherlands	−0.1, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 3,275	−0.2, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 3,275	−0.1, interval −0.2 to 0.0, n = 3,235	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.1, n = 3,204	−0.2, interval −0.3 to 0.0, n = 3,254
Norway	−0.1, interval −0.2 to 0.1, n = 3,003	0.2, interval 0.0 to 0.3, n = 2,996	0.3, interval 0.1 to 0.4, n = 2,967	0.0, interval −0.2 to 0.3, n = 2,960	0.4, interval 0.2 to 0.5, n = 3,016
Czechia	0.0, interval −0.2 to 0.2, n = 4,313	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 4,303	0.8, interval 0.7 to 1.0, n = 4,216	0.8, interval 0.6 to 1.1, n = 4,148	0.7, interval 0.5 to 0.8, n = 4,367
Estonia	0.1, interval 0.0 to 0.3, n = 3,825	0.8, interval 0.6 to 1.0, n = 3,794	0.7, interval 0.5 to 0.8, n = 3,695	0.0, interval −0.2 to 0.2, n = 3,729	0.7, interval 0.6 to 0.9, n = 3,772
Iceland	0.2, interval −0.1 to 0.4, n = 1,609	0.3, interval 0.1 to 0.5, n = 1,615	0.4, interval 0.2 to 0.6, n = 1,597	−0.9, interval −1.2 to −0.6, n = 1,575	0.9, interval 0.7 to 1.1, n = 1,605
Finland	0.3, interval 0.2 to 0.4, n = 3,706	0.2, interval 0.1 to 0.3, n = 3,742	0.3, interval 0.2 to 0.5, n = 3,682	−0.2, interval −0.4 to 0.0, n = 3,672	0.5, interval 0.3 to 0.6, n = 3,706
Lithuania	0.4, interval 0.2 to 0.6, n = 3,619	1.6, interval 1.4 to 1.9, n = 3,580	0.8, interval 0.6 to 1.0, n = 3,443	0.9, interval 0.7 to 1.1, n = 3,518	0.1, interval −0.1 to 0.3, n = 3,559
Portugal	0.6, interval 0.4 to 0.7, n = 3,793	1.1, interval 0.9 to 1.3, n = 3,780	1.3, interval 1.1 to 1.4, n = 3,754	0.8, interval 0.6 to 1.0, n = 3,650	1.6, interval 1.5 to 1.8, n = 3,813

Show data

Data for Where interviews stayed face to face, European ratings of whether the media are free to criticize the government fell by 0.38 points between Round 6 and Round 10
change	conf_high	conf_low	country	item	mode	n
−0.269	−0.082	−0.456	Belgium	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,170
−0.340	−0.134	−0.546	Bulgaria	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	4,733
0.135	0.270	0.001	Switzerland	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	2,852
−1.69	−1.39	−1.99	Cyprus	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	1,918
−0.178	0.006	−0.362	Czechia	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	4,303
−0.573	−0.474	−0.673	Germany	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	11,321
0.810	0.993	0.627	Estonia	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,794
0.530	0.708	0.352	Spain	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	4,063
0.201	0.289	0.114	Finland	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,742
−0.188	−0.030	−0.346	France	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,827
−0.025	0.157	−0.207	United Kingdom	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,331
−0.682	−0.482	−0.882	Hungary	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,578
−0.272	−0.096	−0.449	Ireland	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	4,239
−1.08	−0.840	−1.33	Israel	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	3,596
0.333	0.548	0.117	Iceland	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	1,615
−0.135	0.090	−0.360	Italy	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,463
1.63	1.86	1.40	Lithuania	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,580
−0.154	−0.009	−0.299	Netherlands	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,275
0.176	0.314	0.039	Norway	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	2,996
−1.77	−1.58	−1.96	Poland	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	3,828
1.09	1.26	0.923	Portugal	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,780
−0.427	−0.309	−0.546	Sweden	Elections free and fair	Self-completion in Round 10	4,073
0.283	0.503	0.064	Slovenia	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	2,400
−0.097	0.146	−0.340	Slovakia	Elections free and fair	Face to face in Round 10	3,182
−0.216	−0.046	−0.387	Belgium	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,161
−2.07	−1.86	−2.28	Bulgaria	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	4,778
−0.198	−0.044	−0.352	Switzerland	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	2,872
−2.77	−2.44	−3.11	Cyprus	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	1,927
0.008	0.179	−0.163	Czechia	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	4,313
−0.633	−0.534	−0.732	Germany	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	11,331
0.131	0.297	−0.035	Estonia	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,825
−0.567	−0.381	−0.753	Spain	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	4,060
0.316	0.433	0.200	Finland	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,706
−0.626	−0.451	−0.802	France	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,880
−0.232	−0.027	−0.438	United Kingdom	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,309
−1.13	−0.929	−1.34	Hungary	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,673
−0.786	−0.609	−0.964	Ireland	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	4,284
−1.19	−0.940	−1.45	Israel	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	3,574
0.150	0.371	−0.071	Iceland	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	1,609
−0.648	−0.414	−0.881	Italy	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,472
0.405	0.617	0.192	Lithuania	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,619
−0.121	0.022	−0.263	Netherlands	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,275
−0.064	0.104	−0.233	Norway	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,003
−2.36	−2.17	−2.54	Poland	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	3,860
0.572	0.742	0.403	Portugal	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,793
−0.747	−0.609	−0.885	Sweden	Media free to criticize the government	Self-completion in Round 10	4,080
−0.948	−0.732	−1.16	Slovenia	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	2,426
−1.34	−1.09	−1.58	Slovakia	Media free to criticize the government	Face to face in Round 10	3,173
0.099	0.256	−0.057	Belgium	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,158
−0.401	−0.183	−0.620	Bulgaria	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	4,779
0.043	0.183	−0.098	Switzerland	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	2,843
−2.16	−1.83	−2.48	Cyprus	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	1,915
0.841	1.01	0.668	Czechia	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	4,216
−0.320	−0.219	−0.422	Germany	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	11,140
0.657	0.826	0.489	Estonia	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,695
0.907	1.08	0.732	Spain	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	3,990
0.338	0.455	0.221	Finland	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,682
−0.163	−0.010	−0.315	France	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,807
−0.258	−0.052	−0.463	United Kingdom	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,206
−0.403	−0.222	−0.584	Hungary	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,700
−0.176	−0.003	−0.350	Ireland	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	4,177
−0.749	−0.479	−1.02	Israel	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	3,517
0.399	0.627	0.171	Iceland	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	1,597
0.359	0.567	0.150	Italy	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,477
0.763	0.959	0.566	Lithuania	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,443
−0.097	0.041	−0.234	Netherlands	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,235
0.273	0.444	0.102	Norway	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	2,967
−1.15	−0.971	−1.32	Poland	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	3,627
1.26	1.44	1.07	Portugal	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,754
−0.689	−0.545	−0.833	Sweden	Minority rights protected	Self-completion in Round 10	3,997
−0.613	−0.412	−0.814	Slovenia	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	2,318
−0.387	−0.158	−0.615	Slovakia	Minority rights protected	Face to face in Round 10	3,136
−0.183	0.044	−0.409	Belgium	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,125
−1.05	−0.848	−1.26	Bulgaria	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	4,733
−0.111	0.036	−0.258	Switzerland	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	2,851
−1.33	−0.963	−1.69	Cyprus	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	1,899
0.848	1.06	0.635	Czechia	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	4,148
0.381	0.532	0.230	Germany	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	11,106
0.035	0.231	−0.160	Estonia	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,729
0.234	0.448	0.020	Spain	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	3,964
−0.195	−0.014	−0.377	Finland	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,672
−0.654	−0.461	−0.847	France	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,814
0.426	0.676	0.176	United Kingdom	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,212
−0.027	0.174	−0.227	Hungary	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,666
−0.487	−0.293	−0.681	Ireland	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	4,227
−0.008	0.274	−0.291	Israel	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	3,518
−0.931	−0.628	−1.23	Iceland	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	1,575
0.303	0.533	0.072	Italy	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,450
0.922	1.14	0.702	Lithuania	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,518
−0.156	0.061	−0.374	Netherlands	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,204
0.037	0.272	−0.199	Norway	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	2,960
−1.16	−0.958	−1.36	Poland	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	3,783
0.801	1.01	0.597	Portugal	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,650
−1.24	−1.05	−1.43	Sweden	Citizens have the final say	Self-completion in Round 10	4,015
−0.649	−0.425	−0.874	Slovenia	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	2,383
−0.361	−0.093	−0.629	Slovakia	Citizens have the final say	Face to face in Round 10	3,147
−0.338	−0.176	−0.499	Belgium	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,181
0.175	0.341	0.008	Bulgaria	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	4,822
0.273	0.394	0.153	Switzerland	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	2,954
−0.740	−0.430	−1.05	Cyprus	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	1,957
0.682	0.850	0.514	Czechia	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	4,367
−0.338	−0.230	−0.446	Germany	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	11,487
0.746	0.898	0.595	Estonia	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,772
0.684	0.853	0.515	Spain	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	4,089
0.464	0.584	0.345	Finland	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,706
0.117	0.286	−0.053	France	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,870
−0.364	−0.162	−0.567	United Kingdom	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,249
0.503	0.686	0.321	Hungary	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,696
0.791	0.970	0.612	Ireland	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	4,223
−1.64	−1.38	−1.89	Israel	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	3,716
0.875	1.09	0.658	Iceland	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	1,605
1.08	1.27	0.892	Italy	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,525
0.133	0.327	−0.062	Lithuania	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,559
−0.166	−0.026	−0.306	Netherlands	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,254
0.378	0.548	0.209	Norway	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,016
−1.24	−1.07	−1.41	Poland	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	3,827
1.64	1.81	1.47	Portugal	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,813
−0.831	−0.686	−0.977	Sweden	Satisfaction with democracy	Self-completion in Round 10	4,082
0.699	0.892	0.505	Slovenia	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	2,427
−0.642	−0.419	−0.864	Slovakia	Satisfaction with democracy	Face to face in Round 10	3,210

The media-freedom column has the most falls among the countries that kept face-to-face interviews. Each cell is the Round 10 mean minus the Round 6 mean for one country, and the key gives the direction. The all-countries view adds the countries that switched to self-completion in Round 10, where the average fall across all countries is 0.63 points, and the self-completion view shows the switchers alone.Note: Round 10 fieldwork ran from 2020 to 2022. Countries that switched to self-completion in Round 10: Cyprus, Germany, Israel, Poland, Spain and Sweden. The ESS advises caution about comparisons over time in those countries.Note: Intervals are for each country alone and omit design effects. A country needs an effective sample of at least 100 in each round on every item.Source: European Social Survey, Round 6 (2012 to 2013) and Round 10 (2020 to 2022); weighted (weight, design and population weights within country; equal weight per country across countries)

Across all 24 countries the media-freedom rating fell by 0.63 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.99) points. In the 6 countries that switched mode the change is −1.38 (95% CI −2.38 to −0.38) points, and satisfaction with democracy changed by −0.68 (95% CI −1.53 to 0.16) points. The two largest falls in the media-freedom rating, in Cyprus and Poland, are both countries that switched. The fall appears in both groups and is larger among the switchers, and the two intervals overlap, so mode and country differences cannot be separated here.

Countries and fieldwork years

Figure 9 lists the fixed set with the survey program, fieldwork years and respondents of each country in each wave. The set is not a sample of the world: it has post-communist countries of Europe and Central Asia, Latin American countries, Western and Northern European countries, the United States and a few countries in Asia and Oceania, and none in Africa or the Middle East. Albania is out for the reason above. Turkey is out because its Wave 7 survey has no army-rule item, and China, Poland and the United Kingdom are out because they were not surveyed in Wave 3.

Figure 9

The fixed set has 39 countries, and 30 of them meet the floors for the age and cohort comparisons

Fieldwork years, survey program and respondents answering the democratic-system question, by country and wave, for the countries observed in Waves 3, 5 and 7

Country	Wave 3 survey	Wave 3 respondents	Wave 5 survey	Wave 5 respondents	Wave 7 survey	Wave 7 respondents	Program, Wave 3 to Wave 7	In the age and cohort figures
Argentina	1995, WVS*	1,042	2006, WVS*	917	2017, WVS*	973	Same program	Yes
Armenia	1997, WVS*	1,630	2008, EVS*	1,361	2018 to 2021, EVS*	2,566	Program switched	Yes
Australia	1995, WVS*	1,872	2005, WVS*	1,376	2018, WVS*	1,732	Same program	Yes
Belarus	1996, WVS*	1,726	2008, EVS*	1,236	2018, EVS*	1,435	Program switched	Yes
Bosnia Herzegovina	1998, WVS*	1,163	2008, EVS*	1,399	2019, EVS*	1,676	Program switched	Yes
Brazil	1997, WVS*	1,095	2006, WVS*	1,443	2018, WVS*	1,469	Same program	Yes
Bulgaria	1997, WVS*	839	2006 to 2008, EVS*	2,048	2017, EVS*	1,372	Program switched	Yes
Chile	1996, WVS*	935	2006, WVS*	915	2018, WVS*	910	Same program	No
Colombia	1997 to 1998, WVS*	5,759	2005, WVS*	2,826	2018, WVS*	1,520	Same program	Yes
Croatia	1996, WVS*	1,155	2008, EVS*	1,368	2017, EVS*	1,437	Program switched	Yes
Czechia	1998, WVS*	1,092	2008, EVS*	1,592	2017 to 2022, EVS*	2,803	Program switched	Yes
Estonia	1996, WVS*	933	2008, EVS*	1,342	2018, EVS*	1,141	Program switched	Yes
Finland	1996, WVS*	905	2005 to 2009, EVS*	1,998	2017, EVS*	1,131	Program switched	Yes
Georgia	1996, WVS*	1,801	2008 to 2009, WVS*	2,680	2018, EVS*	2,003	Program switched	Yes
Germany	1997, WVS*	1,974	2006 to 2008, WVS*	3,874	2017 to 2018, EVS*	3,573	Program switched	Yes
Hungary	1998, WVS*	595	2008 to 2009, EVS*	2,392	2018, EVS*	1,445	Program switched	Yes
India	1995, WVS*	1,576	2006, WVS*	1,527	2023, WVS*	1,267	Same program	No
Japan	1995, WVS*	918	2005, WVS*	964	2019, WVS*	1,172	Same program	No
Latvia	1996, WVS*	1,099	2008, EVS*	1,320	2021, EVS*	1,186	Program switched	Yes
Lithuania	1997, WVS*	847	2008, EVS*	1,164	2018, EVS*	1,315	Program switched	Yes
Mexico	1996, WVS*	1,286	2005, WVS*	1,456	2018, WVS*	1,702	Same program	Yes
Montenegro	1996, WVS*	220	2008, EVS*	1,315	2019, EVS*	932	Program switched	No
New Zealand	1998, WVS*	998	2004, WVS*	762	2020, WVS*	914	Same program	No
North Macedonia	1998, WVS*	852	2008, EVS*	1,358	2019, EVS*	1,034	Program switched	Yes
Norway	1996, WVS*	1,108	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2,090	2018, EVS*	1,109	Program switched	Yes
Peru	1996, WVS*	1,094	2006, WVS*	1,392	2018, WVS*	1,336	Same program	No
Romania	1998, WVS*	1,090	2005 to 2008, WVS*	2,848	2018, EVS*	2,582	Program switched	Yes
Russia	1995, WVS*	1,590	2006 to 2008, WVS*	2,821	2017, EVS*	3,148	Program switched	Yes
Serbia	1996, WVS*	1,088	2006 to 2008, EVS*	2,374	2017 to 2018, EVS*	2,183	Program switched	Yes
Slovakia	1998, WVS*	1,041	2008, EVS*	1,285	2017 to 2022, EVS*	2,474	Program switched	No
Slovenia	1995, WVS*	927	2005 to 2008, EVS*	2,212	2017, EVS*	1,033	Program switched	Yes
South Korea	1996, WVS*	1,231	2005, WVS*	1,199	2018, WVS*	1,245	Same program	Yes
Spain	1995, WVS*	1,140	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2,582	2017, EVS*	1,176	Program switched	Yes
Sweden	1996, WVS*	978	2006 to 2009, EVS*	2,022	2017, EVS*	1,170	Program switched	Yes
Switzerland	1996, WVS*	1,092	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2,433	2017, EVS*	3,111	Program switched	Yes
Taiwan ROC	1995, WVS*	743	2006, WVS*	1,216	2019, WVS*	1,200	Same program	Yes
Ukraine	1996, WVS*	1,935	2006 to 2008, EVS*	1,998	2020, EVS*	2,523	Program switched	No
United States	1995, WVS*	1,433	2006, WVS*	1,200	2017, WVS*	2,509	Same program	Yes
Uruguay	1996, WVS*	965	2006, WVS*	931	2022, WVS*	933	Same program	No

Show data

Data for The fixed set has 39 countries, and 30 of them meet the floors for the age and cohort comparisons
country	n_w3	n_w5	n_w7	program_group	subpanel	survey_w3	survey_w5	survey_w7
Argentina	1,042	917	973	Same program	Yes	1995, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2017, WVS*
Armenia	1,630	1,361	2,566	Program switched	Yes	1997, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2018 to 2021, EVS*
Australia	1,872	1,376	1,732	Same program	Yes	1995, WVS*	2005, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Belarus	1,726	1,236	1,435	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2018, EVS*
Bosnia Herzegovina	1,163	1,399	1,676	Program switched	Yes	1998, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2019, EVS*
Brazil	1,095	1,443	1,469	Same program	Yes	1997, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Bulgaria	839	2,048	1,372	Program switched	Yes	1997, WVS*	2006 to 2008, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Chile	935	915	910	Same program	No	1996, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Colombia	5,759	2,826	1,520	Same program	Yes	1997 to 1998, WVS*	2005, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Croatia	1,155	1,368	1,437	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Czechia	1,092	1,592	2,803	Program switched	Yes	1998, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2017 to 2022, EVS*
Estonia	933	1,342	1,141	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2018, EVS*
Finland	905	1,998	1,131	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2005 to 2009, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Georgia	1,801	2,680	2,003	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2008 to 2009, WVS*	2018, EVS*
Germany	1,974	3,874	3,573	Program switched	Yes	1997, WVS*	2006 to 2008, WVS*	2017 to 2018, EVS*
Hungary	595	2,392	1,445	Program switched	Yes	1998, WVS*	2008 to 2009, EVS*	2018, EVS*
India	1,576	1,527	1,267	Same program	No	1995, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2023, WVS*
Japan	918	964	1,172	Same program	No	1995, WVS*	2005, WVS*	2019, WVS*
Latvia	1,099	1,320	1,186	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2021, EVS*
Lithuania	847	1,164	1,315	Program switched	Yes	1997, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2018, EVS*
Mexico	1,286	1,456	1,702	Same program	Yes	1996, WVS*	2005, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Montenegro	220	1,315	932	Program switched	No	1996, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2019, EVS*
New Zealand	998	762	914	Same program	No	1998, WVS*	2004, WVS*	2020, WVS*
North Macedonia	852	1,358	1,034	Program switched	Yes	1998, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2019, EVS*
Norway	1,108	2,090	1,109	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2018, EVS*
Peru	1,094	1,392	1,336	Same program	No	1996, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Romania	1,090	2,848	2,582	Program switched	Yes	1998, WVS*	2005 to 2008, WVS*	2018, EVS*
Russia	1,590	2,821	3,148	Program switched	Yes	1995, WVS*	2006 to 2008, WVS*	2017, EVS*
Serbia	1,088	2,374	2,183	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2006 to 2008, EVS*	2017 to 2018, EVS*
Slovakia	1,041	1,285	2,474	Program switched	No	1998, WVS*	2008, EVS*	2017 to 2022, EVS*
Slovenia	927	2,212	1,033	Program switched	Yes	1995, WVS*	2005 to 2008, EVS*	2017, EVS*
South Korea	1,231	1,199	1,245	Same program	Yes	1996, WVS*	2005, WVS*	2018, WVS*
Spain	1,140	2,582	1,176	Program switched	Yes	1995, WVS*	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Sweden	978	2,022	1,170	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2006 to 2009, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Switzerland	1,092	2,433	3,111	Program switched	Yes	1996, WVS*	2007 to 2008, EVS*	2017, EVS*
Taiwan ROC	743	1,216	1,200	Same program	Yes	1995, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2019, WVS*
Ukraine	1,935	1,998	2,523	Program switched	No	1996, WVS*	2006 to 2008, EVS*	2020, EVS*
United States	1,433	1,200	2,509	Same program	Yes	1995, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2017, WVS*
Uruguay	965	931	933	Same program	No	1996, WVS*	2006, WVS*	2022, WVS*

Each row is one country of the fixed set with the years in which it was surveyed in each wave, the survey program (WVS or EVS) and the number of adults who answered the democratic-system question. The last two columns say whether the program changed between Wave 3 and Wave 7 and whether the country is in the age and cohort comparisons.Note: A country is in the set when its effective sample is at least 100 on each of the four political-system items in Waves 3, 5 and 7. The respondent counts are unweighted. Countries with fewer than the floor in some age or cohort cell are left out of the age and cohort figures.Note: An asterisk marks a country and wave in which both programs appear; the program shown has more respondents. Albania also meets the rule for the set and is left out because of its Wave 3 response pattern. Turkey is left out because its Wave 7 survey has no army-rule item. China, Poland and the United Kingdom were not surveyed in Wave 3.Source: World Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3, 5 and 7 (1995 to 2023); weighted (weight, S017 within country; equal weight per country across countries)

What these data cannot show

The questions ask whether four ways of governing the country would be good, not whether a respondent would act on the view, and a rating of a strong leader who does not bother with parliament and elections may mean different things to different respondents. Items on the legitimacy of elections and on political violence, which come closer to behavior, are in Chapter 6.8, Political violence and democratic norms. Confidence in institutions outside the United States is the subject of Chapter 6.5, Institutional trust outside the United States (planned), and Chapter 6.1, Confidence in thirteen institutions covers the United States.

Each wave interviews different people, so the chapter describes how distributions changed and not how individuals did. The data end in 2023 and say nothing about the period since the 2024 United States election.

Differences in how the surveys were run can look like change. The WVS file carries no interview-mode variable. The American survey was face to face in 1995, on the web in 2006 and by web and telephone in 2017, and the 2011 documentation describes an online panel while listing face-to-face interviews as the program standard, so part of the American change could come from a change of mode. The program switch between Wave 3 and Wave 7 is confounded with region, the Wave 3 surveys are in effect unweighted, and Albania shows that a country-wave can look unlike its neighbors for reasons the file does not record. The top rating on the importance question depends on how respondents use a ten-point scale, which varies by country and age.

The age and cohort comparisons rest on assumptions that repeated cross-sections cannot test, and the left-right comparisons leave out respondents who do not place themselves. The ESS items measure evaluations of a country's democracy and not preferences among regimes, so the ESS cannot say whether appetite for an alternative rose in Europe. Nothing here is causal: the chapter does not say why approval of a strong leader rose or why young Americans differ.

Data sources

World Values Survey and EVSWorld Values Survey and European Values Study, Waves 3 to 7 (1995 to 2023): political-system battery, importance of democracy, perceived democraticness, left-right placement, ageYears: 1981-2023 (7 unified waves) · Weights: weight (S017) within country; equal weight per country across countries · License: Free download with registration; users must cite the release.
European Social SurveyEuropean Social Survey, Round 6 (2012 to 2013) and Round 10 (2020 to 2022): democracy evaluations and satisfaction with democracyYears: 2002-2023 (rounds 1 to 11; round 11 was fielded in 2023 and 2024) · Weights: weight (anweight) within country; equal weight per country across countries · License: Open access after free registration in the ESS Data Portal; follow the ESS data citation requirements.

All data sources

Methods

Sample: respondents aged 18 or older in the cleaned World Values Survey and European Values Study file (WVS/EVS, 666,907 respondents in all, seven unified waves; 657,686 adult respondents with a positive weight). The political-system questions (E114 strong leader, E115 experts, E116 army rule and E117 a democratic political system) were asked from Wave 3 on; importance of living in a democracy (E235) and how democratically the country is governed (E236) from Wave 5. "Good" is a rating of fairly good or very good (codes 3 and 4 of the cleaned file, where the dictionary direction is low = very bad and high = very good); the top rating on importance is 10. Fixed set: the countries with an effective sample of at least 100 on every one of the four political-system items in each of Waves 3, 5 and 7 (Wave 3 fieldwork 1995 to 1998, Wave 5 2004 to 2009, Wave 7 2017 to 2023), less Albania, which meets that rule: 39 countries. Turkey is out because its Wave 7 survey has no army-rule item; China, Poland and the United Kingdom are out because they were not surveyed in Wave 3. Albania is out because its Wave 3 survey (1998) has an implausible response pattern: 39.5 percent of respondents call all four ways of governing good against a median of 2.9 percent in the other countries of the set (the next highest is 24.7 percent), 42.5 percent rate both army rule and a democratic system very good against 1.2 percent in Wave 5, and it is the only country with a change above 40 points between adjacent waves on any of the four shares. The chapter reports the set with Albania (40 countries) as a check. Other sets: 17 countries observed in every wave from 3 to 7 (a check); 46 countries with the importance question in Waves 5 and 7; 30 countries of the fixed set with every age-group and cohort cell at or above the floor for the four political-system items (the age and cohort comparisons); 37 countries with every importance cell above the floor; all 92 countries surveyed in Wave 7 for the cross-section (90 for the army-rule item); 73 countries with a left group and a right group above the floor in Wave 7 (71 for the army-rule item); 24 ESS countries. Weights: the WVS weight (S017) within each country. In 32 of the 39 countries of the fixed set the Wave 3 survey gives every respondent the same weight (6 in Wave 5 and 4 in Wave 7), so Wave 3 shares are in effect unweighted and later shares are weighted; the chapter reports the unweighted change as a check. A country cell is a weighted share or mean with a normal interval on the Kish effective sample size, which treats the weighted sample as a simple random sample. A figure for a set of countries gives every country the same weight: it is the mean of the country cells. Its interval is clustered by country, the standard deviation of the country values over the square root of the number of countries with a t critical value on one fewer degree of freedom. That interval is a median of 11.0 times as wide as one that counts only the sampling error inside the countries (range 6.6 to 15.3), because it also carries differences between countries and treats the countries as a sample of countries like them. The WVS file has no strata or primary sampling units, so no interval includes design effects. Contrasts between two waves or two groups (young minus older adults, right minus left, a later wave minus an earlier one) are computed country by country and then averaged over the countries that have both cells, so the paired design is kept; a contrast within one country combines the standard errors of two independent groups. The United States against the other countries is the American change (Kish standard error of two independent samples) minus the equal-weight mean change of the other countries (standard error clustered by country); the two standard errors combine in quadrature. The difference between two groups of countries (same survey program against switched program) uses a Welch t interval. A country is counted as having risen, fallen or held steady when its own interval for the change lies above zero, below zero or includes zero. Survey program: the program (WVS or EVS) with more respondents in the country and wave; Wave 3 is WVS in every country of the set and Wave 7 is WVS in 14 and EVS in 25; both programs appear in 117 country-waves. Every country whose program switched is in the World Bank region Europe and Central Asia and none of the others is, so program and region cannot be separated. Age groups are 18 to 34, 35 to 54 and 55 or older at interview. Birth year is the survey year minus age, so it can be wrong by one. Cohorts: born before 1960, 1960 to 1977, 1978 to 1986 and 1987 or later. The first three are shown in a wave only if every member was 18 or older at that wave's earliest fieldwork year in the set (1995, 2004 and 2017, so last birth years of at most 1977, 1986 and 1999); the last is open-ended and is shown in Wave 7 only, where it holds respondents born from 1987 who were 18 or older at interview. Left is placement 1 to 4 and right is 7 to 10 on the ten-point scale. Floors: a country cell for a whole-country share needs an effective sample of at least 100 (b3.stats wvs_ess_mean); a cell for an age group, cohort or left-right group needs at least 100 respondents and 100 effective respondents (b3.stats subgroup_year); no published cell rests on fewer than 30 respondents. Democracy only means a democratic system is good and neither a strong leader nor army rule is good; democracy and an alternative means a democratic system is good and at least one of the two is good; the third group does not call a democratic system good; all three require an answer to all three items. ESS: Round 6 (2012 to 2013) and Round 10 (2020 to 2022), the evaluation items (how far a feature of democracy applies in the country, 0 to 10) and satisfaction with democracy; the clean file keeps no importance battery. Round 10 used self-completion instead of face-to-face interviews in nine countries, six of them in the ESS set (Cyprus, Germany, Israel, Poland, Spain and Sweden), so the ESS figure leads with the 18 face-to-face countries and has a mode split. Interview mode in the WVS: the file has no interview-mode variable. The WVS documentation lists face-to-face interviews for the American 1995 survey, a self-administered web survey by Knowledge Networks for 2006, web and telephone interviews for 2017 (fieldwork 28 April to 31 May 2017), and for 2011 a Knowledge Networks online panel while the catalog's mode field gives the program standard of face-to-face interviews. Some Wave 7 surveys in other countries also used web or self-completion modes. Rounding: displays round half up from the unrounded estimate and differences are computed before rounding, so a printed difference can differ by 0.1 from the difference of two printed shares, and the average of country differences differs from the difference of two averages when a country has a cell in one wave only.

References

Kish, Leslie (1965). Survey Sampling. John Wiley and Sons.
Foa, Roberto Stefan; Mounk, Yascha (2016). The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect. Journal of Democracy 27(3): 5-17. doi:10.1353/jod.2016.0049
Foa, Roberto Stefan; Mounk, Yascha (2017). The Signs of Deconsolidation. Journal of Democracy 28(1): 5-15. doi:10.1353/jod.2017.0000
Voeten, Erik (2017). Are People Really Turning Away from Democracy?. Journal of Democracy Web Exchange, Online Exchange on Democratic Deconsolidation. www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Journal-of-Democracy-Web-Exchange-Voeten_0.pdf
Norris, Pippa (2017). Is Western Democracy Backsliding? Diagnosing the Risks. Journal of Democracy Web Exchange, Online Exchange on Democratic Deconsolidation (also HKS Faculty Research Working Paper RWP17-012). www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Journal-of-Democracy-Web-Exchange-Norris_0.pdf
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How to cite

@misc{singh2026supportfordemocracy,
  author = {Singh, Vishal},
  title = {Support for democracy},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://vishalsingh.org/politics/support-for-democracy},
  note = {In The Public Mind. Published 3 October 2026.}
}

Pooled support for a democratic system did not change, and the pool hides opposite movements

Approval of a strong leader and of army rule rose after Wave 5

Fewer respondents rule out both alternatives

The United States differs on support and on army rule

Young adults closed the gap with older adults on a strong leader

Right and left differ on the alternatives

Among European countries that kept face-to-face interviews, media freedom ratings fell

Countries and fieldwork years

What these data cannot show

Data sources

Methods

References

How to cite

Reading paths