Alliance of Democracies

Democracy
Perception Index 2021
The world’s largest annual study on how
people perceive democracy

State of Threats to Democracy

Democracy Democracy during COVID
Page 6 Page 15 Page 34

PUBLISHED BY Latana.com
Welcome
The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) is the world’s largest 53,194

annual study on how people perceive democracy, conducted respondents

by Latana in collaboration with the Alliance of Democracies. 53

The 2021 edition offers an unprecedented comparison of countries

global attitudes towards democracy since the beginning of

the COVID crisis. Results are based on nationally Spring 2021

representative interviews with over 53,000 respondents from February 24th - April 14th, 2021

53 countries conducted between February 24th and April

14th 2021.
75%

of global population represented

The DPI was published ahead of the 2021 Copenhagen

Democracy Summit to support the discussion on the global
state of democracy.

Dr. Nico Jaspers

CEO at Latana

© 2021 Latana

Frederick DeVeaux

Senior Researcher

Ekaterina Golovanova

Senior Designer

Angeley Mullins

Chief Marketing Officer

Democracy Perception Index 2021

Contents

P. 4

Foreword

P. 5

Executive Summary

CHAPTER I

P. 6

State of Democracy

CHAPTER II

P. 15

Threats to Democracy

CHAPTER III

P. 34

Democracy during COVID

P. 40

Methodology

P. 41

About Latana

P. 42

About the Alliance of Democracies

P. 43

Questionnaire

Democracy Perception Index 2021

Foreword Copenhagen Democracy Summit

The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) was released ahead of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation’s fourth-annual

Copenhagen Democracy Summit, held virtually with leaders and democracy activists from around the world.

“
This poll shows that democracy is still alive in people’s hear ts and

minds. We now need to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic by

delivering more democracy and freedom to people who want to see

their countries become more democratic.

“
The positive suppor t for an Alliance of Democracies, whether the

UK’s D10 initiative or President Biden’s Summit for Democracy,

shows that people want more cooperation to push back against

the autocrats. Leaders should take note of these perceptions and

act upon them.


Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Chair of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, 


former NATO Chief, and Danish Prime Minister

“
As we’re entering a period of profound economic, political 


and societal changes, democracy is more impor tant than ever. 


It enables us to have a say in what we want our collective future 


to look like.

Dr. Nico Jaspers, CEO Latana

D e m o c racy P e rc e pt i o n I n d ex 2 0 2 1 4
Executive Summary
The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) aims to understand the global crisis that democracy is facing from the perspective of
ordinary people from around the world. It is the largest annual study on people’s perception of democracy, representing over 75%
of the world’s population.

State of Democracy
The first chapter examines the current state of democracy in the eyes of the public, namely how important people think democracy
is and what they think about the level of democracy in their country. The results show that:
Governments are not living up to the democratic expectations of their citizens: A vast
majority of people - 81% - continue to think that democracy is important, yet only half
feel like they have democracy in their country. This gap between the democracy
people want and the democracy they feel they have is big and growing - even in
democracies.
Threats to Democracy
The second chapter identifies what people view as the biggest threats to democracy in their country, ranging from free speech
limitations to foreign election interference. The results show that:
The biggest perceived threat to democracy isn’t foreign election interference, 

Russian influence, or the power of Big Tech - it’s economic inequality.

Since 2020, more people have become concerned that social media platforms 

have a negative impact on democracy - particularly in the US and Europe.

Since Biden’s inauguration, global opinion of the US’s impact on democracy

worldwide has increased in most parts of the world.

However, nearly half (44%) of people around the world are still concerned that the 

US threatens democracy in their country. Fear of China’s influence is 38%, and fear 

of Russia’s influence is lowest at 28%.

Democracy during COVID

The third chapter provides an unprecedented look into how people assess their government’s handling of the COVID crisis, and
what this means for democracy. The results show that:
People around the world are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their
government’s response to the COVID crisis - especially in democracies, where
satisfaction has dropped from 70% in the Spring of 2020 to 51% one year later

Concern that governments are doing too much to limit freedoms during COVID is also
growing around the world, from 45% globally in the Spring of 2020 to 53%.

Democracy Perception Index 2021 5

chapter i

State of Democracy
According to Freedom House, 2021 marks the 14th consecutive year that democracy is in decline globally.


This first chapter examines how people from around the world think about the current state of democracy 


in their country.

P. 7

Importance of Democracy

P. 8

Democracy Today

P. 9

Perceived Democratic Deficit

P. 10

Desire for More Democracy

P. 12

Government Accountability

Democracy Perception Index 2021 6

Importance of Democracy
Despite the global decline of democracy for the past several years, the vast majority of people around the world consistently 

say that democracy is important to have in their country.

Democracy is important for people around the world

% say that it is important* to have democracy in their country

In your opinion, how important is it for your country to be a democracy?

0 - not at all important; 10 - very important

importanT
*values from 7-10 are categorized as “Important”
0% 1 00 %

key findings Democracy is Important

Across the 53 countries surveyed in the Democracy Perception Index (DPI) study, an
average of 81% say that democracy is important, ranging from 92% in the birthplace of
“People are not losing democracy, Greece, to 62% in Japan. This is a majority opinion in all countries.
faith in democracy.
81% of the global Greece
population says that 92%
democracy is important
Global
to have. This number 81%
has remained
consistent over the past Japan
three years” 62%

Democracy Perception Index 2021 7

Democracy Today
When asked how democratic people think their country currently is, only about half the world (53%) says that their country is
actually democratic. This is true even in democracies labeled as “free” by Freedom House, where only 58% say that their country
is democratic.

People don’t think their countries are very democratic - even in democracies
% say that their country is currently democratic*

Think about your country today. How democratic do you think it is?

0 - not at all democratic; 10 - very democratic

democratic
*values from 7-10 are categorized as “Democratic”

0% 100%

key findings Only about half the world (53%) says that
their country is actually democratic
The countries considered most democratic by their citizens are Denmark, Switzerland,
and Norway. Out of all countries labeled as “free” democracies by Freedom House,
Poland is considered the least democratic by its people (31%).

methodology Across the 53 countries surveyed, Venezuela, Iran, and Hungary have the smallest share
of people who say their country is democratic.

How the DPI categorizes democracies:

In order to compare public opinion results between more

democratic countries and less democratic countries, the
DPI uses the 2021 categories from Freedom House to
Most democratic Least democratic
create two groups:

Denmark Venezuela
"Free" - the most democratic countries, labeled as "Free" 77% 25%
by Freedom House

Switzerland Iran
"Less Free" - less democratic countries and 75% 28%
non-democratic countries, labeled as either "Partially
Free" or "Not Free" by Freedom House Norway Hungary
71% 30%

Democracy Perception Index 2021 8

Perceived Democratic Deficit
To capture public dissatisfaction with the state of democracy, the DPI measures the difference between how important people say
democracy is and how democratic they think their country is. This difference is called the Perceived Democratic Deficit. The larger
the deficit, the more governments are failing to live up to the democratic expectations of their citizens.

Governments are not living up to the democratic expectations of their citizens

% say that democracy is important vs. % say that their country is democratic

country is Democracy is
democratic im p ortant Deficit
Switzerland
9
Perceived Democratic Deficit
Norway
10
No country is fully living up to the
Vietnam
12

democratic expectations of its citizens - in

Taiwan
12

other words, no country has a Perceived

Denmark
13

Democratic Deficit of 0.

Australia
13

Japan
13
However, some countries are much closer
Philippines
14
to fulfilling their citizens’ expectations than
India
14
others.

Canada
14

China
14

Saudi Arabia
18

Smallest Deficit
Ireland
19

Switzerland
South Korea
19

9
Sweden
19

Portugal
19
Norway
United Kingdom
20
10
Germany
21

Vietnam
Pakistan
21

12
Singapore
21

Malaysia
21

Hong Kong
24
Largest Deficit
Argentina
25

25

Hungary
Austria

53
Netherlands
25

Spain
26
Nigeria
France
27
54
United States
28

Poland
Indonesia
28

55
Colombia
29

Mexico
30

Chile
30

Latin America
Peru
32

Morocco
33
stands out as the region in the world with
Russia
33
the largest dissatisfaction with the state
Romania
33
of democracy, while Asia has the least
Belgium
34
dissatisfaction.
Israel
35

Iran
35

South Africa
36

Italy
37
trend 2020 VS 2021
Thailand
37

Kenya
38

The Perceived Democratic

Brazil
40
Deficit has increased slightly in
Egypt
40
most countries since 2020.
Algeria
42

Ukraine
43
Across the 53 countries, the average
Greece
44
increase is 6 percentage points. However,
Turkey
45
some countries have experienced much
Venezuela
49
larger and significant increases: Greece,
Hungary
53
Nigeria, Israel, Iran, Netherlands. No
Nigeria
54
country has seen a meaningful decrease
Poland 55 in the Perceived Democratic Deficit.

0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

In your opinion, how important is it for your country to be a democracy?

Think about your country today. How democratic do you think it is?

0 - not at all important; 10 - very important

0 - not at all democratic; 10 - very democratic

*values from 7-10 are categorized as “Important”

*values from 7-10 are categorized as “Democratic”

D e moc r acy P er c e pt io n I nde x 2021 9

Desire for More Democracy
Across the 53 countries surveyed, 40% of people say there is “not enough democracy” in their country, while 46% say there is the

“right amount” and only 14% say there is “too much”.

40% of people say there is "not enough democracy" in their country

% say there is "Not Enough", the "Right Amount" or "Too Much" democracy in their country

N ot enough right amount too much

South Korea
Not Enough Democracy

Taiwa n

The feeling that there is “not enough

China

democracy” is as high as 37% even in countries

Vietnam

considered “free” democracies, led by Poland,

Philippine s

Brazil, and Greece.

Denmark

Switzerlan d
Overall, this sentiment is highest in Latin

Japan
America (59%), then Europe (40%), and lowest

Singapor e
in Asia (29%).

Australi a

Norway

Saudi Arabi a
N ot enough right amount too much

Indi a

Netherlands

Global

Egyp t

Free
Canada

Less Free
German y

Morocco

Asia

Malaysia

Europe

Irelan d

Latin America

Portuga l

United Kingdom

0 % 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

Swede n

Austri a

Hong Kong

France

Algeri a

Too Much Democracy

Israe l

Belgiu m
The countries with the largest share of people

Pakista n
who think there is “too much democracy” are

Russia
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the Philippines, India,

United States
and Taiwan.

Argentin a

Ital y

Spai n
Saudi Arabia

Romania

33%
Iran

Pakistan
Kenya

Chile
27%

Turke y
Philippines

South Afric a
26%

Ukraine

India
Greec e

Thailan d
24%

Mexico
Taiwan

Brazi l
23%

Colombia

Hungary

Per u

Polan d

Indonesi a

Venezuela

Nigeria

0 % 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

I think there is not enough democracy in my country

I think there is the right amount of democracy in my country

I think there is too much democracy in my country

D e m o c racy P e rc e pt i o n I n d ex 2 0 2 1 10
TREND 2020 vs 2021

Growing Desire for More Democracy since 2020

Since the Spring of 2020, the share of people who say “there is not enough democracy in my country” has increased in most
countries around the world, both in democracies and non-democracies.

Desire for more democracy increases since 2020

% say “Not enough democracy”

2020 2021 Diff

Venezuela
+1
The desire for democracy has increased
Nigeria
+11
from 31% to 37% in “free” democracies
Indonesia
+5
from the Spring of 2020 to 2021.

Poland
+7

Hungary
+5

Chile
-4

Out of all countries, the biggest increases

Colombia
+6

Brazil
+7
are in Peru, Greece, Argentina, Austria,
Iran
-4
and Turkey (from +21 to +12, respectively)

Mexico
+4

Thailand
+3

Kenya
+2
The only country to see a significant
Ukraine
+5
decline in the desire for more democracy is
Hong Kong
-10
Hong Kong (-10).
Romania
+5

Spain
+5

Italy
+7

Peru
+21

South Africa
+12
2020 2021 Diff
Turkey
+12

Russia
+5
Global +5
Pakistan
+1

Greece
+17
Free +6
United States
+9
Less Free +4
Belgium
+4

France
+3

Asia +2
Israel
+8

Europe +5
Egypt
-3

Latin America +7
Sweden
+3

Algeria
+7

Argentina
+15
US +9

Ireland
+1

Germany
+3
25% 50% 75%
United Kingdom
+5

Morocco
+4

Norway
-1

Portugal
+7

India
+3

Malaysia
+6

Japan
+1

Austria
+13

Australia
+2

Canada
+7

Singapore
+2

Netherlands
+7

Saudi Arabia
+6

Switzerland
+3

Philippines
0

Denmark
+4

Vietnam
+1

China
+3

Taiwan
+2

South Korea +5

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

I think there is not enough democracy in my country

I think there is the right amount of democracy in my country

I think there is too much democracy in my country

Democracy Perception Index 2021 11

Government Accountability
The DPI asks citizens around the world if they think their government usually acts in the interests of most people in their country,
or of just a small group of people (a minority). The results show that around half (49%) say that their government only serves a
minority.

Half of the world says their government only serves a minority

% say their government usually acts in the interest of a "small group of people"

“My government usually acts in the interest of…”

minority
... a small group of people in my country

… most people in my country

0% 100%

key findings People in Eastern Europe and Latin America

say their government mainly serves a minority
The study finds that across the 53 countries surveyed, % say their government acts in the interest of...
people are divided roughly in half, with 49% saying
that their government mainly acts in the interest of a
small group of people.

minority majority

Global

This sentiment is just as high in “free” democracies,

with 50% saying their government serves the interest Free

Less Free
of a minority.

Asia

The countries where the fewest people say their Europe

government mainly acts in the interest of a minority are Latin America

countries classified as “not-free” by Freedom House:

Vietnam, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, followed by US

some of the most democratic countries: Denmark, China

Switzerland, and Norway.

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Democracy Perception Index 2021 12

TREND 2020 vs 2021

More and more people believe their government mainly

acts in the interest of a minority
Since the earlier stages of the COVID pandemic in the Spring of 2020, the share of people who say their government acts in the
interest of a small group of people has grown in almost all countries, from 43% to 49% globally.

Perception that governments mainly act in the interest of a minority grows in 2021
% say their government mainly acts in the interest of a small group of people

2020 2021 Diff

Venezuela
+3
Latin America sees the biggest growth in
Chile
-3
the share of people who think that their
Nigeria
+10
government only serves the interest of a
Brazil
+2
small group of people (from 58% to 68%).

Ukraine
+8

Romania
+10
The only country to buckle the worrying
Iran
+1
trend is Hong Kong, where this sentiment
Poland
+8
has dropped 17 percentage points.
Hungary
+8

Colombia
+7

Russia
0

Italy
+6
2020 2021 Diff
Kenya
+4

Greece
+12
Global +6
Thailand
-2

France
-3

Free +6
Mexico
+3

Less Free +5
Israel
+6

Spain
+9

United States
+7
Asia +2
Hong Kong
-17
Europe +6
Belgium
+1
Latin America +10
Portugal
+7

South Africa
+18
US +7
Japan
+5

Peru
+30
2 5% 50% 75%
United Kingdom
+4

Egypt
0

Ireland
+4

Algeria
+10

Morocco
+7

Pakistan
+10

Indonesia
+6

Germany
+4

Argentina
+28

Canada
+6

Australia
+5

Sweden
+5

Netherlands
+9

Norway
-3

Turkey
+10

Taiwan
+4

Austria
+13

Malaysia
+5

South Korea
+5

Philippines
+8

India
+5

Switzerland
+2

Denmark
+4

Saudi Arabia
+4

Singapore
+3

China
+1

Vietnam 0

0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

“My government usually acts in the interest of…”

... a small group of people in my country

… most people in my country

Democracy Perception Index 2021 13

deep dive

State of Democracy in America

2020-2021 has been a turbulent year for democracy in America. While faith in democracy remains high in the US, the feeling that

there is not enough democracy and that the government mainly acts in the interest of a small group of people are both growing.

key findings Americans still have faith in democracy

In both 2020 and 2021, a vast majority of Americans say that it is important to have

democracy in their country.

2020 73%

2021 77%

However, more Americans say there is “not enough

democracy”

This has increased significantly from 36% in 2020 to 45% in 2021.

2020 36%

2021 45%

More Americans believe that their government mainly acts in

the interest of a minority

Since 2020, more people in the US say that their government mainly acts in the

interest of a small group of people, growing from 52% in 2020 to 59% in 2021.

2020 52%

2021 59%
US

D e m o c racy P e rc e pt i o n I n d ex 2 0 2 1 14
chapter iI

Threats to Democracy
To better understand why democracy is in global decline, this chapter asks people from around the world
what they see as the most important threats to democracy in their country. It covers the following topics:

P. 17

Economic Inequality

P. 19

Free Speech

P. 20

Big Tech

P. 21

Social Media

P. 25

Elections

P. 28

Global Politics

Democracy Perception Index 2021 15

Threats to Democracy
According to Freedom House, 2021 marked the 14th consecutive year that democracy is in decline globally. This chapter aims to
shed a light on the reasons why democracy is under threat according to people from around the world.

The results show that out of all the possible threats listed in the DPI, economic inequality is viewed as the most significant threat:
an average of 64% of people across all 53 countries agree that economic inequality threatens democracy in their country.

Economic Inequality is viewed as the biggest threat to democracy worldwide

% agree* that ______ is a threat to democracy in their country

disagree agree

Economic Inequality 15 64

Limits on Free Speech 25 53

Unfair or Fraudulent Elections 27 49

Power of Big Tech 23 48

US’s Influence 26 44

Foreign Election Interference 29 42

China’s Influence 32 38

Russia’s Influence 36 28
threat
50% 0% 75%

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

“Democracy in my country is threatened by …”

“… the influence of China”

“… the influence of Russia”

“… the influence of the United States”

“… economic inequality”

“… the influence of Big Tech companies (Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook)”

“… limitations on free speech”

“… election interference from foreign powers”

“… unfair elections and/or election fraud”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 16

Economic Inequality
Out of all the threats listed in the DPI survey, economic inequality is by far the biggest perceived threat to democracy around the
world. While there are some major variations by country, around 64% of people in both democracies and non-democracies and in
all major regions of the world agree that economic inequality threatens democracy in their country.

Majority of people in almost all countries say that economic inequality is a threat to democracy
% agree* that economic inequality is a threat to democracy in their country

Nigeria
Economic inequality is a
Ukraine
threat to democracy
Kenya

Brazil
It is a majority opinion in all but
Greece
seven out of the 53 countries
South Africa
surveyed.
Portugal

Colombia

Peru
Neutral

Pakistan
21%
Thailand

Hungary
Disagree
Agree

Romania
15% 64%
Argentina

Mexico

Philippines

Venezuela

Italy

Chile

India
Highest Threat
Indonesia

Spain
Nigeria
Turkey
82%
France

Poland
Ukraine
Israel
81%
Taiwan
Kenya
Russia
81%
Iran

Brazil
Belgium

Japan
81%
United States
Greece
Malaysia
78%
Canada

Ireland

United Kingdom
Lowest Threat
Austria

Netherlands
Hong Kong
Sweden
47%
Singapore

Vietnam
Australia

46%
Switzerland

South Korea
Denmark
Algeria
46%
China

Saudi Arabia
Egypt

46%
Morocco

Germany
Norway
Hong Kong
42%
Vietnam

Denmark

Saudi Arabia

Norway threat
0% 2 5% 50% 7 5% 100 %

“Democracy in my country is threatened by economic inequality”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 17

deep dive

How is economic inequality related to democracy?

The perception of “economic inequality” as a threat to democracy is very strongly correlated with the sense that “government is
acting in the interest of a minority of people” (p.12).

key findings Perceptions of economic and political inequality

go hand in hand
The perception of “economic inequality” as a threat to democracy is very strongly correlated with the sense
that “government is acting in the interest of a minority of people” (p.12).

As demonstrated in the graph below, people in more democratic countries are just as worried about these
two issues as people in less democratic countries.

The democratic countries most afflicted with both concerns of economic inequality (% say that economic
inequality is a threat) and political inequality (% say that my government only acts in the interest of a
minority) are the green countries in the top right corner: Brazil, Greece, Romania, and South Africa.

*Free Less free R² = 0.62

*methodology 100%

“Free” includes more democratic countries,

based on Freedom House’s classification of
“Free”

“Less Free” includes less democratic and

non-democratic countries, based on
% say that economic inequality is a threat to democracy in their country

Freedom House’s classifications of

“Partially Free” and “Not Free”
75%

50%

25%

0%
25% 50% 75% 100%

% say that government acts in the interest of a minority

“Democracy in my country is threatened by economic inequality”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

“My government usually acts in the interest of…”

... a small group of people in my country / … most people in my country

Democracy Perception Index 2021 18

Free Speech
After economic inequality, “limits on free speech” is the second most cited threat to democracy. Around half of the people around
the world (53%) agree that it threatens democracy in their country.

Violation of free speech is the second most cited threat to democracy

% agree* that limits to free speech threaten democracy in their country

Nigeria
A majority of people
Poland
around the world (53%)
Venezuela
are concerned with limits
Ukraine

Pakistan
on free speech
Hungary
While free speech concerns are
India
higher in less democratic
Thailand

Colombia
countries (58%), they are still
Philippines
remarkably high in more
Brazil
democratic countries (48%).
Kenya

Peru
Global
Mexico
53%
South Africa

Greece

Romania
Free
Argentina
48%
Chile

Indonesia
Less Free
Spain
58%
Egypt

United States

Singapore
Asia
France
52%
Malaysia
Europe
Turkey
49%
Russia

Algeria
Latin America
Israel
61%
Hong Kong

South Korea

Saudi Arabia

Morocco

Iran

Belgium

Ireland

Austria

United Kingdom

Vietnam

Netherlands

Australia

Canada

Portugal

Germany

Switzerland

Italy

Japan

Sweden

China

Taiwan

Norway

Denmark threat
0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

“Democracy in my country is threatened by limitations on free speech”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 19

Big Tech
The third most cited threat to democracy is the power of Big Tech companies, with about half (48%) of people globally saying it
threatens democracy in their country. Despite some major country variations, ranging from 70% in the Philippines all the way
down to 31% in Venezuela, concerns are consistently high across democracies and non-democracies, and across all major regions
(Asia, Europe, and Latin America).

Half of the world's population fears the influence of Big Tech companies
% agree* that the power of Big Tech companies threatens democracy in their country

Philippines
Fear of Big Tech is higher
India
in the US than in any
United States

Ireland
other democracy
Thailand
The United States, home of the Big
Pakistan
Tech companies, is the “free”
Canada
democracy with the largest share
United Kingdom

of people concerned with Big Tech:

Australia

Indonesia
62% say that Big Tech threatens
Morocco
democracy, making it the top
Switzerland
threat in the US, slightly
Saudi Arabia
surpassing the 61% of Americans
Egypt
who are concerned with economic
Netherlands
inequality.

Austria

Vietnam

Mexico

South Korea

Taiwan

Colombia

Israel

Turkey

Hong Kong

Spain

Belgium
US
France
62%
Malaysia

Sweden

Peru
Global
Germany
48%
South Africa

Japan

Chile
Free
Iran
48%
Singapore
Less Free
Greece
48%
China

Portugal

Romania
Asia
Algeria

53%
Brazil

Italy
Europe
Argentina
46%
Denmark

Latin America
Hungary

44%
Nigeria

Kenya

Norway

Poland

Ukraine

Russia

Venezuela threat
0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

“Democracy in my country is threatened by the influence of Big Tech companies (Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook)"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 20

Social Media Influence
Most people around the say that social media platforms have a more positive impact on democracy in their country than negative:
62% positive vs 24% negative. People in Europe and the US, however, are much more critical.

Most people think social media has a positive effect on democracy - except Americans
% say social media platforms have a positive / negative impact on democracy in their country

negative positive Net

Nigeria
78
Americans are the most critical
Kenya
70
of social media’s influence on
Vietnam
69

Peru
68

democracy
Egypt
68
The United States stands out as the country
Venezuela
67
with the most negative view of social media
China
65
platforms’ impact on democracy: 47%
Saudi Arabia
64
negative vs. 41% positive.

Morocco
62

Algeria
60
It is one of the only few countries, joined by
Brazil
60
Hungary, Austria, Denmark, Germany, and
Philippines
58
the Netherlands where people have a net
Mexico
58
negative opinion of social media platforms.

Colombia
57

Pakistan
57

Malaysia
55

India
55

Hong Kong
53

Chile
51

South Korea
50

Iran
48

Indonesia
47

Singapore
47

Ukraine
46

Argentina
44

Turkey
43
US 47 41
Thailand
42

Taiwan
40
Global 24 62
Poland
38

Russia
37

Portugal
36

South Africa
36

Free 32 53
Romania
36

Greece
31

Less Free 16 71
Norway
26

Spain
26

Switzerland
23

Israel
21
Asia 18 69
Italy
20

Japan
18
Europe 34 50
Ireland
13

Australia
12
Latin America 16 74
Canada
11

France
9

United Kingdom
8

Belgium
5

Sweden
4

Netherlands
-1

Germany
-2

Denmark
-4

Austria
-5

Hungary
-6

United States -6
100% 5 % 0 0% 0
5 % 100%

Overall, do you think that social media platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) have a positive or negative impact on democracy in your country?

Very positive / Somewhat positive / Somewhat negative / Very negative / No impact / Don’t know

*P ositive includes “Very positive” and “Somewhat positive”.

Democracy Perception Index 2021 21

TREND 2020 vs 2021

The world becomes much more critical of social media

platforms in 2021

The overall opinion towards social media’s influence on democracy has decreased significantly in most countries in 2021. This
decrease is driven almost entirely by public opinion in more democratic countries, particularly in Europe (-17) and the US (-20).
There has been virtually no overall change in Asian countries (-2).

Opinion of social media's impact on democracy takes a negative turn in 2021

net opinion* of social media platform's impact on democracy

2020 2021 Diff

Venezuela
-8
Europeans grow more critical of
Nigeria
3

Peru
-4

social media platforms

Kenya
0

Vietnam
0
The countries where opinion towards social
Malaysia
-12
media has dropped most significantly since
Egypt
2
2020 are European democracies, led by
Mexico
-7
Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands,
Brazil
-4

Norway, and Sweden.

Philippines
-5

Colombia
-6

Saudi Arabia
4

Morocco
3

Chile
-7
2020 2021 Diff
Argentina
-15

Portugal
-20
Global -9
India
-1

Iran
-7
Free -15
Algeria
5
Less Free -2
Indonesia
-8

Poland
-16
Asia -2
Singapore
-6
Europe -17
Ukraine
-6
Latin America -7
Hong Kong
2

China
14

Pakistan
6
US -20

Norway
-23

Taiwan
-8
-25% 0% 25% 50% 75%

South Africa
-12

Russia
-9

Thailand
-4

Spain
-20

South Korea
5

Romania
-10

Turkey
0

Greece
-9

Italy
-18

Israel
-13

Ireland
-18

Switzerland
-6

Japan
-11

Australia
-15

Sweden
-22

Belgium
-20

Denmark
-27

France
-15

Netherlands
-23

Canada
-11

Austria
-23

United Kingdom
-10

Germany
-19

Hungary
-21

United States -20

-25% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Overall, do you think that social media platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) have a positive or negative impact on democracy in your country?

Very positive / Somewhat positive / Somewhat negative / Very negative / No impact / Don’t know

*Net opinion of each year is calculated as % positive - % negative

Democracy Perception Index 2021 22

Social Media Regulation
While more people support “more regulation” than “less regulation” on social media content, most countries do not have a majority
of people on either side the issue. Globally, 37% want more regulation, 17% want less and the rest don’t take sides. Only a handful
of countries, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, have populations that prefer less regulation.

There is no majority opinion about social media regulation in most countries

% say that there should be more/less regulation on social media content
less regulation more regulation Net
Colombia
57

China
52

Peru
51

Italy
50

Portugal
45

Brazil
41

France
41

United Kingdom
41

Philippines
38

Ireland
37

Mexico
37

Argentina
35

Spain
35

Vietnam
35

Belgium
34

Venezuela
33

Kenya
33

Chile
31

Israel
31

Thailand
30

Romania
29

South Africa
28

Turkey
27

Canada
25

India
24

Denmark
24

Pakistan
24

Indonesia
24

Singapore
23

Australia
22

Greece
21

Sweden
19

Netherlands
19

Germany
19

Malaysia
19

Nigeria
19

Switzerland
18

Austria
18

Iran
16

Taiwan
16

Norway
15

United States
14

Poland
11

Japan
10

South Korea
8

Russia
8

Hungary
7

Hong Kong
6

Ukraine
5

Algeria
-28

Saudi Arabia
-33

Morocco
-35

Egypt -43

100% 50% 0% 50% 100%

In general, do you think there should be more or less regulation on content that people share on social media platforms?

More regulation / Neither more nor less / Less regulation / Don’t know

Democracy Perception Index 2021 23

TREND 2020 vs 2021

Despite growing criticism of social media platforms,

the desire for more regulation declines in 2020

Even though the perception of social media platforms and their impact on democracy has become much more negative in 2021 in
almost all countries (p.22), the support for more regulation on social media content has declined slightly, while support for less
regulation has increased. This has reduced the overall relative popularity of “more regulation” in most countries.

Desire for more regulation on social media drops slightly in 2020

net opinion* of social media regulation in 2020 and 2021

2020 2021 Diff

China
-9
“More Regulation” loses it’s relative
Colombia
-1

Peru
-5

popularity in most countries

Italy
0

Mexico
-10
This is in part due to the growing share of people
France
-5
who support less regulation. As more people
Portugal
-1

support less regulation, the net opinion towards

Venezuela
-11

Brazil
-2

regulation has dropped.

Argentina
-8

United Kingdom
-1

Nigeria
-22
This is particurarly apparent in the US, where the
South Africa
-10
share of people who want less regulation has
Ireland
-1
increased from 14% to 21%, thus causing the
Chile
-6
net opinion towards regulation to drop 6 points.

Vietnam
-1

Philippines
2

Kenya
-3

Spain
1

Belgium
0
2020 2021 Diff
Thailand
-3

Australia
-9
Global -3
Romania
-1

Singapore
-6
Free -3
Greece
-9
Less Free -4
Canada
-2

Turkey
1
Asia -3
India
1
Europe -2
Indonesia
1

Malaysia
-4

Latin America -6

Hungary
-16

Israel
9
US -6

Germany
-3

Pakistan
3
0% 25% 50%
Taiwan
-5

Netherlands
-1

Iran
-4

United States
-6

South Korea
-11
People worried about free speech (p.19)
Switzerland
-1
generally want less regulation on social
Denmark
5
media than those who aren’t worried:
Poland
-7
20% vs. 12% globally

Austria
0

Sweden
2

Norway
-2
People worried about social media’s
Japan
-3

impact on democracy want more

Hong Kong
-5

Ukraine
-5
regulation than those who aren’t worried:
Russia
-1
49% vs. 37% globally

Morocco
-3

Saudi Arabia
2

Algeria
8

Egypt less regulation more regulation -2

-50% -25% 0% 25% 50% 75%

In general, do you think there should be more or less regulation on content that people share on social media platforms?

More regulation / Neither more nor less / Less regulation / Don’t know

*Net opinion is calculated for each year as: % more regulation - % less regulation.

Democracy Perception Index 2021 24

Free and Fair Elections
Half of the world (49%) says that “unfair elections and/or election fraud” threatens democracy in their country. While this concern

is lower in more democratic countries, it is still as high as 42%.

Half of the world says unfair elections threaten democracy in their country

% agree* that unfair elections and/or election fraud threatens democracy in their country

Nigeri a

Highest Threat
Keny a

Ukrain e
Nigeria

Hungar y
84%

Romani a

Colombia
Kenya

Venezuela
84%

Thailand
Ukraine

Pakistan
77%

Philippines

Hungary
Poland

72%
Mexico

South Afric a
Romania

Peru
72%

Brazil

India

Russi a

Lowest Threat
Indonesia

Argentin a
Austria

Turkey
31%

Malaysia

Sweden
United State s

29%
Israel

Hong Kon g
Germany

Greec e
27%

Chile

Norway
South Kore a

23%
Japan

Taiwan
Denmark

Italy
20%

Vietnam

Algeri a

S pain
Around half of Americans say
Iran

that “unfair elections and / or

Ireland

election fraud” threatens

France

Belgium
democracy in their country

Australi a

Saudi Ara bia

United Kingdo m

Egypt

Morocco

China

Canada

Swit zerland

Singa pore

Portugal

US
Netherland s

49%
Austri a

Swede n

German y

Norwa y

Denmark
threat
0 % 25 % 50 % 75% 100 %

“Democracy in my country is threatened by unfair elections and/or election fraud"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

D e m o c racy P e rc e pt i o n I n d ex 2 0 2 1 25
Foreign Election Inter ference
While concern of foreign election interference isn’t as high as other perceived threats, such as economic inequality, limits on free

speech, unfair elections, the power of Big Tech, and the US’s global influence, it is still remarkably high: around 42% of people

around the world say that their democracy is threatened by election interference from foreign powers.

42% of people around the world say foreign election inter ference threatens their democracy

% agree* that their democracy is threatened by election interference from foreign powers

P akista n
40% of people in “free”
Ukrain e

P s

democracies fear foreign

hilippine

Indi a
election inter ference

R omani a

G reec e
It is particularly high in the US, where a

Taiwa n
slight majority (53%) say that it threatens

South A a
fric
democracy

United State s

K eny a

C olombi a

Bra z l

N a
igeri

P u

er

H ungar y

M x o

e ic

Turke y

d
US

53
Thailan

Indonesi a
%

A ustrali a

P d

olan

V z a

ene uel
H T
A a

ighest hreat
rgentin

H K g

ong on
Pakistan

C e
hil
66 %

South K a
ore

l
Ukraine

66
Israe

C anad a
%

Saudi A a
rabi
P hilippines

M orocc o
63 %

United K ingdo m

y
India

56
Ital

Swit z erlan d
%

M alaysi a
R omania

Irelan d
56 %

P ortuga l

N etherland s

V ietna m
L owest T hreat
A a
lgeri

Singapor e
A ustria

E t

gyp
31 %

G erman y

n
Iran

31
Spai

Swede n
%

F e

ranc N orway

J n

apa
31 %

R a

C
ussi

D k
hina

31
enmar

A a
ustri
%

Ira Belgium

N orwa y
29 %

C a
hin

Belgium
threat

0 % 2 5% 5 %
0 75% 100 %

“Democracy in my country is threatened by election inter ference from foreign powers"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

D e m o c racy P e rc e pt i o n I n d ex 2 0 2 1 26
TREND 2020 vs 2021
Fear of foreign election interference grows in almost all
countries since 2020
The perception that foreign election interference will “likely” have an influence on people’s next major elections has grown slightly
in most countries around the world, both in more democratic and less democratic countries.

Fear of foreign election interference grows around the world

% say that foreign election interference will likely* affect their country's next elections.
2020 202 1
D iff
Indonesi a
7
Perception of likely foreign election
Romani a
7
interference is highest in Indonesia,
Pakista n
5

Romania, the Philippines, Pakistan, and

Indi a
6

Colombia.

Philippine s
1 0

K eny a
4
It has increased in almost all countries since
Greec e
6

2020, growing from 55% to 60% overall. The

Per u
1

increase is highest in mostly Asian countries

exic
M

Colombi
o

(+8) and in the US (+10).

B ra i
z l
8

N igeri a
9

Portuga
2020 202
l
-2

South Afric a
3
1
iff
Ukrain
D

e
1 0

V ene uel z a
-8
Global 5
M alaysi a
1 1

Argentin a
6
Free 4
H ong on K g
1 1
Less Free 7
South ore K a
1 0

Israe l
-9

Asia 8
Italy
8

Europe 3
Taiwa n
9

Latin America 4
Ira n
2

Thailan 1 US
d

10
2

V ietna m
8

United State s
1 0

Saudi Arabi a
7

25% 50% 75%

Swit erlan
z d
3

Australi a
6

Spai n
3

Turke y
1 2

N orwa y
-3

Chil e
9

Swede n
-2

Singapor e
5

B elgiu m
-2

Canad a
7

Algeri a
8

United ingdo K m
3

M orocc o
1 2

Egyp t
8

D enmar k
-4

N etherland s
-2

German y
1

Irelan d
7

Japa n
1

Franc e
8

Austri a
7

Polan d
7

H ungar y
9

Russi a
-1

China 9

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Think about the next major elections in your country.

How likely do you think that interference from foreign powers will influence the results of the election?

Very likely / Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely / Very unlikely / Don’t know

*Likely includes “Very likely” and “Somewhat likely”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 27

Superpower Influence
Nearly half (44%) of people around the world are concerned that the US threatens democracy in their country. Fear of Chinese
influence is 38%, and fear of Russian influence is lowest at 28%.

The US is viewed as a bigger threat to democracy than either China or Russia

% agree* that the influence of the US / China / Russia threatens democracy in their country

Russia CHINA US
Pakistan
Far more people believe that
Philippines
their democracy is threatened
Taiwan
by the US than either China or
South Korea

India
Russia.
Mexico

Japan
Out of the 53 countries surveyed, 46
Canada
think the US is a bigger threat than
Greece
Russia, and 36 countries think the US is a
Colombia
bigger threat than either China or Russia.

Israel

Ukraine

Turkey
US
Brazil
44%
Australia

Thailand
China
Romania
38%
Nigeria
Russia
Peru
28%
Morocco

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Egypt

Chile

Argentina

Ireland

Kenya

Indonesia

Hong Kong

Vietnam

Portugal

China

Norway

Singapore

Sweden

Italy

Malaysia

Netherlands

Algeria

Russia

Germany

Iran

France

Spain

Denmark

Poland

Belgium

Venezuela

Hungary

Austria

United States threat

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Democracy in my country is threatened by the influence of the US / Russia / China"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 28

deep dive

Superpower Influence - Global

In nearly all major regions of the world, including Europe and Latin America, and in both more democratic countries and in less
democratic countries, more people say that the US is a threat to democracy than either Russia and China.

key findings The US is considered the bigger threat to democracy in

almost all major regions of the world
% agree* that the influence of the US / China threatens democracy in their country

US Russia CHINA

Global

Free

Less Free

Asia

Europe

Latin America

US

China

R ussia
threat
0% 2 5% 0
5 % 75% 100 %

Top 5 countries most threatened by:

US China Russia

Pakistan Taiwan Ukraine

65% 65% 63%
Philippines Philippines Hungary
62% 57% 48%
Taiwan Pakistan Venezuela
58% 56% 47%
South Korea South Korea India
58% 55% 43%
India Hong Kong United States
55% 54% 43%

“Democracy in my country is threatened by the influence of the US / Russia / China"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 29

deep dive

Superpower Influence - Asia

In many Asian countries currently caught in the US-China power struggle, the majority of people say that both the US and China
are a threat to democracy in their country.

key findings Both the US and China are perceived as threats to

democracy by most people in Asia
% agree that the influence of the US / China threatens democracy in their country

US CHINA

Pakistan

Philippines

Taiwan

South Korea

India

Japan

Thailand

Indonesia

Hong Kong

Vietnam

Singapore

threat
Malaysia

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Democracy in my country is threatened by the influence of the US / China"

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 30

US Impact On Democracy
When it comes to the US’s global role in world affairs, the world is split about the US’s impact on global democracy: while more
countries say the US has a positive than negative impact on democracy (49% positive vs. 35% negative), there is a strong regional
divide, with Europe as particularly negative (38% positive vs. 45% negative).

World is split about the US’s impact on democracy worldwide

net opinion* of the US's influence on democracy worldwide

Overall, do you think the United States has a positive or negative impact on democracy around the world?
negative positive
Very positive / Somewhat positive / Somewhat negative / Very negative / No impact / Don’t know

-100% 1 00 %
*Net opinion is calculated as: % positive - % negative.

key findings People in Asia and Latin America have a more positive view
of the US’s role in world affairs than people in Europe.
The countries that are overwhelmingly negative about the US’s influence are Russia
(net opinion of -37) and China (-32), followed by European democracies, of which
Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are the most critical.
negative Positive Net*

Global 35 49 13

Free 41 43 1
Less Free 29 55 27

Asia 27 56 29
Latin America 32 58
58% 26
Europe 45 38 -7

US 34 52 18

US China 59 27 -32
Russia 58 21 -37

*Results may vary due to rounding

100% 50% 0% 50% 100%

Democracy Perception Index 2021 31

TREND 2020 vs 2021

The Biden Effect: global attitudes towards the US’s role

in world affairs take a positive turn in 2021
The perception of the US’s global influence on democracy has increased significantly around the world since the Spring of 2020,
from a net opinion of +6 to a net opinion of +14. This increase is particularly high in Germany (+20) and China (+16).

Perception of the US’s global influence takes a positive turn in 2021

net opinion* of the US's global influence on democracy

2020 2021 Diff

Nigeria
-4
Russians become more critical
Vietnam
9

India
5
Attitudes towards the US’s impact on global
Philippines
13
democracy take a negative turn in only a few
Israel
-1
countries: Russia (-13), Norway (-8), Poland (-7),
Kenya
20

and Australia (-3).

Venezuela
4

Brazil
8
Opinion in the US itself has also decreased
Romania
0
slightly, though not significantly (-3).
Poland
-7

Taiwan
7

Peru
1

Thailand
14

2020 2021 Diff

Morocco
26

Hong Kong
16

Global 8
Saudi Arabia
0

United States
-3

South Korea
Free 7
13

Less Free
Pakistan
12
9

Colombia
18

Indonesia
0
Asia 10
South Africa
-1
Europe 8
Iran
13
Latin America 8
Ukraine
1

Japan
8
US -3
Egypt
12
China 16
Mexico
11
Russia -13
Hungar y
7

Singapore
8
-5 0 % 0% 50%

Malaysia
14

Chile
8

Algeria
9

Australia
-6

Portugal
18

Argentina
9

Italy
14

Norway
-8

Turkey
6

United Kingdom
1

Spain
18

Switzerland
11

Netherlands
11

Russia
-13

Greece
5

France
13

Sweden
5

Canada
11

Belgium
13

Ireland
17

Denmark
4

Austria
7

Germany
20

China negative positive 16

- 100 % -5 0 % 0% 50% 100 %

Overall, do you think the United States has a positive or negative impact on democracy around the world?

Very positive / Somewhat positive / Somewhat negative / Very negative / No impact / Don’t know

Net opinion is calculated for each year as: % positive - % negative.

Democracy Perception Index 2021 32

Alliance of Democracies

About half the world supports the “Alliance of Democracies” initiatives proposed by the UK and President Biden, which both have
the stated intention to "stand up to countries considered undemocratic, such as China and Russia."

About half the global population supports both "Alliance of Democracies" initiatives
proposed by the UK and Biden
% say the UK-10 initiative / Biden's Democracy Summit is a good* idea

UK-D10 Biden’s Democracy Summit

Out of the ten D10 countries,

51
Global the support for both initiatives
55
is highest in India and lowest
D10 countries in Italy. People from the three
India
67 EU members of the D10 (Italy,
70
France and Germany) are

Australia
63 slightly more likely to support
56
the initiative from Biden than
59 the UK.

United States
56

59
United Kingdom The two countries that show
60
the least support globally are
58
Canada
58
Russia and China, where only
~23% and ~15% say the
57
South Korea initiatives from Biden and the
56
UK are a good idea.
49
Germany
54

47
Japan
47

43
France
54

39
Italy
44

22
China
24

13
Russia
18

0% 25% 50% 75%

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, plans to organize a conference for democratic The United Kingdom plans to form a group of democratic countries that includes the UK, the US,

countries. One purpose of this group is to stand up to countries considered undemocratic such as India, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, South Korea and Australia. One purpose of this group is

China and Russia.

to stand up to countries considered undemocratic, such as China and Russia.

Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

Very good / Somewhat good / Neither good nor bad / Somewhat bad / Very bad / Don’t know

Very good / Somewhat good / Neither good nor bad / Somewhat bad / Very bad / Don’t know

*Good includes both “Very good” and “Somewhat good”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 33

chapter iII

Democracy during COVID

The results of this year’s Democracy Perception Index (DPI) offer an unprecedented comparison of attitudes around
the world during the COVID pandemic. If COVID is a test for democracies, then the findings in this chapter show
that democracies are failing in the eyes of their citizens.

P. 35

Government Response

P. 38

COVID Restrictions

Democracy Perception Index 2021 34

Government Response
People around the world are sharply divided about how well their country is responding to the COVID crisis. Across all 53 countries
surveyed, an average of 58% say that their country is responding well, ranging from 96% in Vietnam to 19% in Brazil.

COVID: Europe and Latin America are failing in the eyes of their citizens
% say that their country is responding well* to the COVID 19 crisis

How well do you think your country is responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis?

Very well / Somewhat well / Somewhat poorly / Very poorly / Don’t know

R esponding Well

0% 1 00 %
*Well includes “Very well” and “Somewhat well”

key findings People in Asia are most

Average satisfaction in Asia (75%) is significantly higher than in Europe (45%) satisfied with their country’s
and Latin America (42%). People living in democracies are also much less response
satisfied with their country’s response, with only 51% saying their country is
responding well.
Global
58%

Most satisfied Least satisfied Free

Vietnam Italy 51%
96% 28% Less Free
China France 65%
93% 27%
Taiwan Poland Asia
86% 27% 75%
Saudi Arabia Peru Europe
86% 27% 45%
Singapore Brazil Latin America
87% 19% 42%

Democracy Perception Index 2021 35

TREND 2020 vs 2021

People are losing faith in their country’s handling of

COVID - especially in democracies
In the Spring of 2020, 70% of people around the world said their country was responding well to the pandemic. One year later,
satisfaction has dropped down 12 points to 58% globally. This downturn is even more severe in more democratic countries (-19),
Latin America (-16), and Europe (-24).

People are increasingly dissatisfied with their country's COVID response

% say their country is responding well to the COVID crisis in 2020 and 2021

2020 2021 Diff

China
-2
Satisfaction drops sharply in Europe
Vietnam
1

and Latin America

Greece
-39

Malaysia
-10

Ireland
-35
While a majority of people in Europe (70%) and
Taiwan
-1

Latin America (58%) were satisfied with their

South Korea
-11

country’s response to COVID during the Spring

Australia
-3

Denmark
-8
of 2020, satisfaction has now dropped
Austria
-39
significantly in both regions: down to 45% in
Morocco
-3
Europe and 42% in Latin America. On the other
Singapore
2
hand, public opinion in most Asian countries
Saudi Arabia
1

has remained consistently positive over the

Israel
-29

past year, with the vast majority of people just

Portugal
-27

Argentina
-35
as satisfied in 2021 as in 2020 (75% vs. 77%).
Canada
-22

Norway
-9

India
-3
2020 2021 Diff
Netherlands
-33

Switzerland
-21
Global -13

Thailand
-4

Turkey
-18
Free -19
South Africa
-9
Less Free -6
Egypt
0

Germany
-23

Asia -2
Pakistan
10

Europe -24
Kenya
-1

Latin America -16

Venezuela
-19

Sweden
-26

US -5
Philippines
-8

Colombia
-10

Indonesia
-3

0% 50% 100 %
Algeria
10

Romania
-32

Hungary
-28

Nigeria
-8

Belgium
-25
Dissatisfaction grows in democracies
Ukraine
-27

Peru
-31

Whereas in the Spring of 2020 people in both

United Kingdom
-5

Poland
more democratic and less democratic countries
-30

Iran
-8
were equally satisfied with their government’s
Mexico
-11
response to COVID (around 70%), satisfaction
Hong Kong
8
levels have now dropped all the way down to
Russia
10

51% in “free” democracies, significantly more

United States
-5

than in less democratic countries (down to

Italy
-25

Japan
65%).
-8

Spain
-15

France
-19

Chile
11

Brazil -16

0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 %

How well do you think your country is responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis?

Very well / Somewhat well / Somewhat poorly / Very poorly / Don’t know

*Well includes “Very well” and “Somewhat well”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 36

deep dive

Public opinion reflects COVID realities

key findings Democracies struggle to deal with COVID - in reality, and

in the eyes of their citizens
The public’s perception of their government’s response to COVID largely reflects the
reality of the crisis: people are most satisfied with their government’s handling of the
crisis in countries that have seen the fewest deaths per capita.

The results paint a grim picture for democracies: COVID deaths per capita are higher
and public satisfaction levels are lower in “free” democracies.

China and Vietnam have some of the highest levels of public satisfaction and lowest
recorded deaths per capita, with Belgium on the other side of both spectrums.

*FREE Less Free R² = 0.58

* met h odo logy 100%

“Free” includes more democratic countries,

based on Freedom House’s classification of
“Free”

“Less Free” includes less democratic and

non-democratic countries, based on
Freedom House’s classifications of
“Partially Free” and “Not Free”

75%
% say their country is responding well to COVID

50%

25%

0%

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Deaths per million from COVID as of March 8th 2021

How well do you think your country is responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis?

Very well / Somewhat well / Somewhat poorly / Very poorly / Don’t know

Democracy Perception Index 2021 37

COVID Restrictions
Slightly more than half of the people around the world (53%) say their government has done too much to limit basic freedoms
during the COVID crisis. While this concern is higher in less democratic countries (60%), it is still as high as 46% in “free”
democracies.

Majority of people say their country has done too much to limit freedoms during COVID
% agree* that their government has done too much to limit people's freedoms during COVID

disagree agree Net

Pakistan
61
46% of people in democratic
Morocco
61
countries say their freedoms have
Saudi Arabia
62
been restricted too much
India
58

Kenya
51
Net**
Malaysia
57
Global 26 53 26
Peru
50

Greece
54

Egypt
53
Free 32 46 14
Poland
44

Algeria
56
Less Free 20 60 39
Argentina
46

Philippines
51

Colombia
49
Asia 26 52 26
South Africa
42
Europe 31 48 18
Thailand
46

Venezuela
43
Latin America 24 58 35
Nigeria
38

Ukraine
38

Hong Kong
43
US 34 43 8
Chile
37
China 51 30 -20
Israel
38

Mexico
35

Austria
32
**Results may vary due to rounding

Indonesia
31

Netherlands
29

Hungary
22

Switzerland
29

Russia
27

Turkey
27

Romania
33

Belgium
23

Denmark
17

Vietnam
13

Ireland
15

Germany
17

Spain
14

France
17

Iran
24

South Korea
10

United States
8

Singapore
13

Portugal
4

Canada
-6

United Kingdom
-8

Norway
0

Italy
-5

Australia
-7

Brazil
-17

China
-20

Taiwan
-22

Japan
-9

Sweden -38

100 % 50% 0% 50% 100 %

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“My government has done too much to limit people’s freedoms during the coronavirus crisis”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 38

TREND 2020 vs 2021

People are increasingly worried about basic freedoms

during COVID

The perception that governments have done too much to limit freedoms during COVID has grown over the past year in almost all

countries: from a global average of 45% in the Spring of 2020 to 53% in the Spring of 2021.

Concern grows that governments are violating basic freedoms during COVID
% agree* that their government has done too much to limit people’s freedoms during COVID

2020 2021
Diff

Morocco
-5
Concern with COVID restrictions
Saudi Arabia
-2

Pakistan
5

increases most in Europe

Algeria
-2

Malaysia
2
This sentiment has grown most significantly
India
3

in European countries (+10), led by Hungary

Ukraine
-4

(+23), France (+22) and Ireland (+21).

Venezuela
-2

Peru
4

Greece
6

2020 2021
Thailand
4
Diff

Egypt
7

Global 8
Colombia
6

Mexico
-1

Argentina
Free 9
8

Philippines
9
Less Free 6

Nigeria
8

South Africa
14
Europe 10

Kenya
21
Asia 6

Russia
5
Latin America 4

Romania
5

Poland
19
US 9

Austria
9
France 22

Israel
13

Chile
14

0% 2 5% 50% 75%
Turkey
9

Hong Kong
17

Indonesia
11

Vietnam
6

In the Spring of 2020, France had the lowest

Spain
6

level of concern with COVID restrictions (23%).

Germany
7

Over the past year, France has seen one of the

Norway
-5

Switzerland
15

largest increases in concern, nearly doubling to

Denmark
12
half the French population (45%).

Portugal
6

Brazil
-4

Netherlands
19
disagree agree

Iran
10

2020 53 23
United States
9

South Korea
12

2021 27 45
China
-1

Hungar y
23

Singapore
12

Belgium
20

Italy
5

Canada
8

Taiwan
-1

Ireland
21

Australia
8

Japan
1

United Kingdom
12

Sweden
-2

France 22

0% 2 5% 50% 75% 100 % france

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“My government has done too much to limit people’s freedoms during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis”

Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree

*Agree includes “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Democracy Perception Index 2021 39

Methodology
This report presents an overview of a study conducted by Latana and the Alliance of Democracies in the Spring of 2021, between
February 24th and April 14th. The sample of n=53,194 online-connected respondents was drawn across 53 countries, with an
average sample size of around 1,000 respondents per country. Nationally representative results were calculated based on the
official distribution of age, gender, and education for each country’s population, sourced from the most recent and available data
from Barro Lee & UNStat, and census.gov. The average margin of error across all countries sampled is (+/-) 3.2 percentage points.

Here are the full summary tables of the results used in this report: (DPI 2021 - Topline Results)

Data Collection

Latana’s surveys are conducted online through internet-connected devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Latana
follows an open recruitment approach that leverages the reach of over 40,000 third-party apps and mobile websites. To ensure
coverage across different demographic groups and geographical regions, Latana targets a highly diverse set of apps and
websites – from news to shopping, to sports and games. As a result, Latana generates up to 21 million answers every month from
respondents living in as many as 100 different countries.

Data Privacy and Anonymity

Once a user opts-in to complete a survey, Latana informs the respondent about the nature of the questionnaire and explains that
all answers – including the generic demographics that are part of the targeting and quality assurance process – are recorded
anonymously. To ensure respondent privacy and a high quality of response data, Latana does not collect any personally
identifiable information (PII) on users. In contrast to surveys conducted face-to-face or by telephone, the anonymity offered with
Latana’s methodology may help reduce response bias, interviewer bias, and respondent self-censorship.

For more information, please contact:

Frederick DeVeaux

Senior Researcher at Latana

[email protected]

Democracy Perception Index 2021 40

About latana

Latana

Our vision is to lead the development of a new

generation of research technologies that enable us to

better understand the needs, desires, and preferences

of people around the world.

Latana is an AI-Powered brand tracking solution that leverages key insights to help companies track their brand and 


campaign performance. An international market leader in brand tracking services, Latana also uses its technology to 


understand the underlying forces behind the opinions of people worldwide.

We are proud to pioneer advanced machine learning technology that has access to billions of consumers around the globe. 


This enables us to quickly understand consumer perception, and thus predict consumer behavior - the cornerstone of brand value.

We have devised Brand Analytics, a new insights category nobody has built before. This innovative data solution can be utilized

by all companies, large or small, to measure brand health and make better marketing decisions.







Contact Us

For General Inquiries: [email protected]

For Sales: [email protected]

For PR/Partnerships: [email protected]

www.latana.com

Democracy Perception Index 2021 41

About The Alliance of Democracies

The Alliance of Democracies

Foundation

Alliance of Democracies vision is to become the world’s

leading “megaphone” for the cause of democracy.

The Alliance of Democracies Foundation

The Alliance of Democracies Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 by Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The
Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of democracy and free markets across the globe and runs three core programmes:
the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, the Expeditionary Economics Program and the Campaign for Democracy.

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit


The Copenhagen Democracy Summit is an annual conference bringing together political and business leaders, including current
and former heads of government, from the world’s democracies. The goal of the Summit is to be the top international forum for
analysis on the security and economic challenges facing the democratic world as well as a forum for analysis on the interplay
between technology and democratic norms.

Alliance of Democracies Copenhagen Democracy Summit

Contact Us

General Inquiries: [email protected]

Press Inquiries: [email protected]

www.allianceofdemocracies.org







Democracy Perception Index 2021 42

Questionnaire
Q1
Q8

In your opinion, how important is it for your country to Think about the next major elections in your country.

be a democracy?
How likely do you think that interference from foreign
Slider: 0 - not at all important; 10 - very important

powers will influence the results of the election?

Very likely

Q2
Somewhat likely

Which of the following statements comes closest to your Somewhat unlikely

view?
Very unlikely

I think there is not enough democracy in my country

Don’t know

I think there is the right amount of democracy in my country

I think there is too much democracy in my country

Q9

Overall, do you think the United States has a positive or

Q3
negative impact on democracy around the world?

Think about your country today.

Very positive

How democratic do you think it is?

Somewhat positive

Slider: 0 - not at all democratic; 10 - very democratic

Somewhat negative

Very negative

Q4
No impact

Which of the following statements comes closest to your Don’t know

view? “My government usually acts in the interest of…”

… most people in my country

Q10

... a small group of people in my country

# The United Kingdom plans to form a group of

democratic countries that includes the UK, the US, India,
Q5
Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, South Korea, and
Which of the following statements comes closest to your Australia.

view? “Business leaders and CEOs usually act in the

interest of…”
One purpose of this group is to stand up to countries
… most people in my country
considered undemocratic, such as China and Russia.

... a small group of people in my country

Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

Very good

Q6
Somewhat good

Overall, do you think that social media platforms (i.e. Neither good nor bad

Facebook, Twitter) have a positive or negative impact on Somewhat bad

democracy in your country?

Very bad

Very positive
Don’t know

Somewhat positive
[shown randomly to one=half of respondents in each countr y]

Somewhat negative

Very negative
Q11

No impact
# Joe Biden, the President of the United States, plans to
Don’t know
organize a conference for democratic countries.

[In Chinese questionnaire “Facebook, Twitter” are replaced with “Qzone, WeChat”]

One purpose of this group is to stand up to countries

Q7
considered undemocratic such as China and Russia.

In general, do you think there should be more or less Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

regulation on content that people share on social media Very good

platforms?
Somewhat good

More regulation
Neither good nor bad

Neither more nor less

Somewhat bad

Less regulation
Very bad

Don’t know
Don’t know

[shown randomly to the other half of respondents in each countr y]

Democracy Perception Index 2021 43

Questionnaire
Q12
Q17

How well do you think your country is responding to the “… economic inequality”

coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis?

Strongly agree

Very well
Somewhat agree

Somewhat well
Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat poorly
Somewhat disagree

Very poorly
Strongly disagree

Don’t know

Q18

Q13
“… the influence of Big Tech companies (Google,
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:
Amazon, Apple, Facebook)”

“My government has done too much to limit people’s Strongly agree

freedoms during the coronavirus crisis”

Somewhat agree

Strongly agree
Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Strongly disagree

Somewhat disagree
[In Chinese questionnaire company names are replaced with “Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Meituan”]

Strongly disagree

Q19

# Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

“… limitations on free speech”

# “Democracy in my country is threatened by …”

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Q14
Neither agree nor disagree

“… the influence of China”

Somewhat disagree

Strongly agree
Strongly disagree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Q20

Somewhat disagree
“… election interference from foreign powers”

Strongly disagree
Strongly agree

[Question excluded in Chinese questionnaire]

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Q15
Somewhat disagree

“… the influence of Russia”

Strongly disagree

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree
Q21

Neither agree nor disagree

“… unfair elections and/or election fraud”

Somewhat disagree
Strongly agree

Strongly disagree
Somewhat agree

[Question excluded in Russian questionnaire]

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Q16
Strongly disagree

“… the influence of the United States”

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

[Question excluded in US questionnaire]

Democracy Perception Index 2021 44