Voice of the People, 2005

This annual survey, fielded May to August 2005, was
conducted in 67 countries and the province of Kosovo to solicit public
opinion on social and political issues. Respondents were asked to
identify the most important problem facing the world, how often they
or their family had not had enough to eat in the past year, whether
they had heard of global institutions such as the United Nations and
the European Union, and whether their opinions of these institutions
were positive, negative, or neutral. A series of questions asked
respondents whether their country was governed by the will of the
people, whether its elections were free and fair, whether they trusted
their government, and whether democracy was the best system of
government. Additional topics addressed crime in the respondent's
community, threats to the environment, the gap between the rich and
the poor, and whether immigration was a good or a bad thing for their
country. Other questions asked whether respondents had done any
volunteer work in the past year, and whether they considered
themselves to be religious. Demographic variables include sex, age,
household income, education level, employment status, and religious
preference.