What do Asians think about their nations?
Pew Center survey reveals Asian attitudes about their own lives, their nations, the world, and the United States. New Asia Institute pages summarize findings on Asia.
About the Survey | General View | Economic Situation | "Very Big" Problems | Institutions
The information below has been extracted from "What the World Thinks in 2002," a publication of the The Pew Global Attitudes Project. The report may be downloaded by clicking here. The precise questions and the full data compilation is available here. Both are in .pdf format which requires Adobe Acrobat. To get a free copy of Acrobat, click here.
This survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in collaboration with a number of survey organizations around the world. 38,000 people in 44 nations were surveyed. Surveys of 11,820 people were conducted 9 Asian nations. In presenting their findings, the Pew team groups Pakistan with Middle East/Conflict Area nations rather than with other Asian nations. The surveys were conducted between July and October, 2002. In all but one of the Asian nations, the survey was conducted face to face with adults over age 18. In Japan the survey was conducted by telephone. The last section of the report offers details about the research process.
General View
Are you satisfied with how things are going in your country?
Dissatisfied |
Satisfied |
|
| Bangladesh | 78 |
20 |
| China | 33 |
48 |
| India | 83 |
9 |
| Indonesia | 92 |
7 |
| Japan | 86 |
12 |
| Pakistan | 39 |
49 |
| Philippines | 75 |
20 |
| South Korea | 81 |
14 |
| Vietnam | 25 |
69 |
Economic Situation
How do you see your nation's economic situation?
Bad |
Good |
|
| Bangladesh | 61 |
34 |
| China | 47 |
52 |
| India | 57 |
29 |
| Indonesia | 85 |
15 |
| Japan | 93 |
7 |
| Pakistan | 37 |
49 |
| Philippines | 59 |
39 |
| South Korea | 79 |
20 |
| Vietnam | 9 |
92 |
"Very Big" Problems
How do Asians view national problems -- percent citing these as "very big" problems in their countries. Note that in China and Vietnam it was not possible to include some questions in the survey. The only other country where this was an issue was Egypt.
| Crime | AIDS & Disease |
Corrupt Political Leaders |
Ter- rorism |
Ethnic Conflict |
Poor Drinking Water |
Moral Decline |
Poor Quality Schools |
Immig- ration |
Emig- ration |
|
| Bangladesh | 96 |
58 |
92 |
92 |
54 |
59 |
86 |
42 |
29 |
16 |
| China | 40 |
43 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
32 |
N/A |
37 |
9 |
4 |
| India | 86 |
72 |
80 |
90 |
71 |
59 |
44 |
46 |
32 |
39 |
| Indonesia | 74 |
55 |
84 |
46 |
69 |
32 |
68 |
45 |
11 |
15 |
| Japan | 85 |
54 |
85 |
68 |
20 |
47 |
66 |
40 |
21 |
12 |
| Pakistan | 84 |
62 |
58 |
78 |
59 |
55 |
55 |
61 |
26 |
34 |
| Philippines | 83 |
71 |
74 |
78 |
61 |
38 |
48 |
37 |
22 |
25 |
| South Korea | 35 |
30 |
75 |
15 |
28 |
38 |
38 |
28 |
10 |
11 |
| Vietnam | 66 |
69 |
N/A |
20 |
N/A |
26 |
N/A |
13 |
15 |
14 |
Crime: Among those nations surveyed, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan,
and the Philippines were among the 11 where people felt the greatest
concern. China and South Korea were among 4 countries where people
felt the least concern.
Political Corruption: Bangladesh ranked first; Japan fifth, and Indonesia
seventh.
Terrorism: Bangladesh, India, Philippines, and Pakistan were the top
4 countries where the most people ranked this a "very big"
problem. Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam were among the 4 countries
where the smallest percentage ranked this a "very big" problem.
Drinking Water: A majority of those surveyed in Bangladesh, India,
and Pakistan indicated that poor quality drinking water was a "very
big" problem, joining a majority of the people of seven African
nations in expressing such a concern.
Institutions
Rating institutions -- percent saying the institution exerts a "good influence" in their country. It was not possible to ask about the military, national government, or religious leaders in China and Vietnam.
Military |
National Government |
News Media |
Religious Leaders |
|
| Bangladesh | 61 |
66 |
78 |
55 |
| China | N/A |
N/A |
89 |
N/A |
| India | 85 |
64 |
80 |
47 |
| Indonesia | 73 |
52 |
89 |
89 |
| Japan | 69 |
22 |
48 |
13 |
| Pakistan | 84 |
72 |
62 |
50 |
| Philippines | 66 |
74 |
88 |
76 |
| South Korea | 66 |
41 |
64 |
58 |
| Vietnam | N/A |
N/A |
98 |
N/A |
Military: India and Pakistan ranked fifth and sixth among all nations
in this category.
National Government: Japan ranked near the bottom in this category.
74% indicated that government had a "bad influence" on the
way things were going. In the Philippines this ratio was reversed.
74% felt the government had a "good influence" and just
23% felt the influence was a bad one.
Religious Leaders: Japan ranked at the bottom in this category. 74%
of Japanese surveyed said they felt that religious leaders had a "bad
influence" on their nation.
For more information about the survey, contact the Pew Center:
The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press
1150 18th Street, NW
Suite 975
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 293-3126
Fax: (202) 293-2569
Web: www.people-press.org
Published: Friday, December 13, 2002
