Living in democratically governed country important to 91% Bangladeshis: Study
While an average of 86% of respondents told the Open Society Foundations that they want to continue living in a democracy, 20% believe that authoritarian countries can deliver “what citizens want"
A staggering 91% of Bangladeshis believe in the importance of living in a democratically governed country, found a new survey by Open Society Foundation, a New York-based private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.
Besides, 63% of the respondents believe that the rise of China on the global stage will have positive impacts on their economy.
The survey report titled "Open Society Barometer: Can Democracy Deliver?" was released Monday (on 11 September).
The Open Society Foundations, with their partners, surveyed over 36,000 respondents over a representative group of 30 countries around the world, including Bangladesh, that have a combined population of over 5.5 billion people.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
As "one of the largest studies of global public opinion on human rights and democracy ever conducted", it is a global reality check, revealing a panorama of the shifting attitudes, concerns and hopes across a vast swathe of humanity, the survey report states.
The study finds that the younger generation has begun to lose the most faith in democracy compared to other age groups, thus presenting a grim future for democracy as the prevailing government across the world. While an average of 86% of respondents say they want to continue living in a democracy, 20% believe that authoritarian countries can deliver "what citizens want."
The belief that human rights have been a force for good across the globe received a positive response from 72% of respondents, and 71% agree that "human rights reflect values I believe in."
In Bangladesh, 88% of those surveyed agreed that human rights have been a force of good.
Authoritarianism however, has its own appeal. Only 57% of 18 to 35 year olds believe that democracy is preferable over any other government type, compared to the 71% of older respondents who felt the same.
The report has also found that equity and justice appears to have made little progress across the surveyed countries, with the abilities of leaders to deliver national level outcomes in doubt when 49% of respondents reported that keeping food on the table was a serious concern.
Bangladesh falls on the wrong side of this line, with acquiring food being a daily concern for 18%, a weekly concern for 15%, and a monthly concern for 11% of respondents. Only 46% stated that food had not been a concern in the past year.
The survey also reveals that "political violence is a palpable fear", with 21 of the polled countries revealing concerns that unrest would lead to violence.
70% of the surveyed Bangladeshis have expressed such concerns, compared to a global average of 58%.
Of all the people polled, 84% believe countries struggling with debt should be helped by cancelation, reduction or the renegotiation of conditions of international debts. Of the respondents, 75% believe that high-income countries should increase overseas aid, and 71% believe that low-income countries should be compensated for economic losses resulting from climate change.
Bangladesh is once again above the average, with 88% believing that high-income countries should be compensating low-income countries for over losses resulting from climate change, the survey found.
In regards to China and its continuing rise as a global superpower, 17% of Bangladeshis believe that China will have more global influence by 2030, while 27% believe that the USA will retain its supremacy. This lies in contrast to the 63% of respondents who believe that China's rise will have a positive impact on the Bangladesh economy, with only 14% believing the impact will be negative.
