First Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey: Satisfaction with how democracy works at 78%; 60% always prefer democracy to any other kind of government

by Social Weather Stations | Jun 12, 2018 05:56:16 AM

SWS Special Report (printer-friendly version here)

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The First Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, done on March 23-27, 2018, found 78% of adult Filipinos satisfied with the way democracy works in the country.

This is 2 points below the 80% in June 2017, and similar to the 79% in June 2016.

Satisfaction with the way democracy works has been above 60% since June 2010, ranging from 64% to 86%. In contrast, it exceeded 50% in only 2 out of 31 surveys from October 1999 to June 2009 [Chart 1, Table 1].

The question on "satisfaction in the way democracy works" originated in the Eurobarometer surveys, and is also in standard use in Latin American and Asian barometer projects.

The March 2018 survey also found 60% saying "democracy is always preferable to any other kind of government," compared to 19% saying "under some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one" and 21% saying "for people like me, it does not matter whether we have a democratic or a non-democratic regime".

People's preference between democracy and authoritarianism is a different issue from the degree of satisfaction with how democracy works, and is probed by a separate question.

Peaks during 1992, 1998, 2010, 2013, and 2016 national elections

Satisfaction with the way democracy works had peaks of 70% in September 1992, 70% in July 1998, 68% in June 2010, and the record-high 86% in September 2016, related to the successful presidential elections of 1992, 1998, 2010 and 2016, respectively.

The previous record of 80% in June 2013 was achieved after the May 2013 senatorial elections.

In contrast, satisfaction with the way democracy works was a disappointing 44% in June 2004, after the presidential election of that year.

60% say democracy is always preferable to any other form of government

The proportion of adult Filipinos saying "democracy is always preferable to any other kind of government" hardly moved from 61% in June 2017 to 60% in March 2018. It has been above 50% since February 2009, reaching a record-high 65% in June 2013 [Table 2].

The proportion of those saying "under some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one" has been steady at 19% from September 2016 to March 2018. It has been below 20% for five consecutive quarters since December 2015.

The proportion of those saying "for people like me, it does not matter whether we have a democratic or a non-democratic regime" barely changed from 20% in June 2017 to 21% in March 2018. It has been 20% and above in 6 out of 7 surveys since September 2013.

Euro and LatAm comparisons

In the November 2017 Eurobarometer survey of 28 European Union Member States, an average of 57% of Europeans are satisfied with the way democracy works in their country [Chart 2, Table 3].

It has been 50% and above since mid-2014, similar to 2006 to early 2012 when it ranged from 50% to 58%. It ranged from 40% to 49% in 1995-2005, and from 46% to 49% in late 2012 and 2013.

In the June 2016 LatinobarÃ³metro survey of 18 Latin American countries, an average 34% of Latin Americans are satisfied with the way democracy works in their country.

It has been below 40% since 2011, after the record-high 44% in 2009 and 2010. It ranged from 25% to 41% from 1996 to 2008.

Survey Background

The March 2018 Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 23-27, 2018 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of Â±3% for national percentages, and Â±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

The area estimates were weighted by Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2018 to obtain the national estimates.

The Social Weather Surveys on satisfaction with democracy, and preference for democracy, are not commissioned. They are done on SWS's own initiative and released as a public service.

The survey question on satisfaction with democracy is as follows: "Sa pangkalahatan, kayo po ba ay ... (LUBOS NA NASISIYAHAN; MEDYO NASISIYAHAN; HINDI NASISIYAHAN; LUBOS NA HINDI NASISIYAHAN) sa takbo ng demokrasya sa Pilipinas?" ["On the whole, are you ... (Very satisfied; Fairly satisfied; Not very satisfied; Not at all satisfied) with the way democracy works in the Philippines?"].

On preference for democracy: "Alin sa mga sumusunod na pangungusap ang pinakamalapit sa inyong opinyon? (ANG DEMOKRASYA AY PALAGING MAS KANAIS-NAIS KAYSA SA IBANG KLASE NG PAMAHALAAN; SA MGA ILANG SITUWASYON, ANG PAMAHALAANG DIKTATURYA AY MAS KANAIS-NAIS KAYSA SA ISANG DEMOKRATIKO; PARA SA MGA TAONG KATULAD KO, WALANG KABULUHAN SA AKIN KUNG ANG ATING PAMAHALAAN AY DEMOKRATIKO O HINDI DEMOKRATIKO)." ["Which of the following statements comes closest to your own opinion? (Democracy is always preferable to any other kind of government; Under some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one; For people like me, it does not matter whether we have a democratic or a non-democratic regime)"].

SWS employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data-processing, and analysis, and does not outsource any of its survey operations.

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