Laura Clancy

We asked over 30,000 people what would help democracy work better in their country. Key themes in their responses were addressing basic needs and improving or rebuilding the political system.

Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.

Across more than 20 countries surveyed, a median of 91% say being able to speak their country’s most common language is important for being considered a true national. And 81% say sharing their country’s customs and traditions is important for true belonging.

In most places surveyed, more people name China’s influence as a major threat than any of the other geopolitical issues asked about.

People in 23 countries tend to see U.S. President Joe Biden more positively than Chinese President Xi Jinping.

We examine how the U.S. and China stack up to one another on more than 10 measures of international public opinion, spanning from confidence in their leaders to views of their universities and technological achievements.

Only about a third of the world’s countries practice daylight saving time, and the vast majority of them are in Europe.

People in Hungary and Poland have different views on the future of the economic sanctions that the European Union and the U.S. have imposed on Russia. Roughly half of Hungarians believe these sanctions should be decreased, while just 3% of Poles say the same. Most Polish adults (67%) prefer instead to increase sanctions against Russia.

A median of 48% of people across the 24 countries have a favorable view of Taiwan, compared with a median of 28% who have an unfavorable view.

More than a third of Americans (37%) say foreign aid from the United States and China both benefits and harms developing countries.