Can democracy deliver? Pakistanis answer in new report

Open Society Barometer conducted a survey on one question: Can Democracy Deliver?

The survey is based on representative polling in 30 countries with a combined population of over 5.5 billion people, including Pakistan, to reflect on geographic, economic, and political diversity.

The report surveyed 36,344 respondents aged 18 or older in each country

According to the survey, 86 per cent of respondents have faith in democracy while only 20 per cent believe that authoritarian countries can deliver “what citizens want.”

72 per cent believe that human rights have been a “force for good” in the world, and 71 per cent agree that “human rights reflect values that I believe in.”

It is noteworthy that only 57 per cent of 18-35-year-olds prefer democracy to any other form of government, compared to 71 per cent of older respondents.

Democracy and Pakistan
The global average percentage of respondents who deem it important to live in a democratically governed country is 86 per cent while in Pakistan it is 79 per cent.

Similarly, 56 per cent of Pakistanis preferred democracy over other form of governance in comparison to 62 per cent of the global average.

The global average percentage of respondents who believe human rights have been a force for good in the world is 72 per cent while in Pakistan it is 81 per cent.

Human Rights and Pakistan

With the global average of 72 per cent respondents, 81 per cent Pakistanis believe human rights have been a force for good in the world.

78 per cent of Pakistanis believe human rights reflect the values that they believe in in comparison to the global average of 71 per cent.

The highest percentage of Pakistanis, i.e. 39 per cent, rank economic and social rights as the most important. This is followed by civil and political rights with 23 per cent, environmental rights with 16 per cent and digital rights with 12 per cent.

Most importantly, 43 per cent of Pakistanis disagree with army rule as a “good way of running a country” in comparison to 33 per cent who agree.

Likewise, 45 per cent of Pakistanis disagree with having a leader who “does not bother with parliaments or elections is a good way of running a country” while 33 per cent agree.

Equity, justice and Pakistan

73 per cent of Pakistanis fear that political unrest in their country could lead to violence next year in comparison to 58 per cent of the global average.