Voice of the People End of Year Survey, 2011

This annual survey, fielded October 2011 to January 2012, was conducted in 59 countries to solicit public opinion on social and political issues. Respondents were asked whether they thought 2012 would be better or worse than 2011, whether the economy would be better in 2012 than in 2011, and whether they were happy or unhappy with their life. Respondents were also queried on whether they thought immigration was a good thing or bad thing for their country, whether they considered themselves to be a religious or non-religious person, whether they or their family had not had enough to eat in the last twelve months, whether they had done any voluntary work in the past year, and whether they thought the world would be more peaceful next year than in the past year. Finally, respondents were asked whether economy-related protests and industrial disputes in their country would increase or decrease in 2012, and to give their opinion on a number of different organizations such as the World Health Organization, United Nations, World Economic Forum, Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Additional questions included the respondent's assessment of their ability to read and understand a simple newspaper story and to write a simple letter in the English language. Demographic information includes age, gender, education, employment status, household income, and religious affiliation.