Living in a democratically governed country important for 91pc Bangladeshis

An overwhelming 91 percent Bangladeshis say it is important for them to live in a democratically governed country while 63 percent believe the rise of China will have a positive impact on the country's economy, according to a survey by Open Society Foundations.

The US-based platform released the survey tilted "Open Society Barometer: Can Democracy Deliver?" on Monday.

Between May and July, Open Society Foundations team and partners surveyed over 36,000 respondents in a representative group of 30 countries, including Bangladesh, around the world and these countries have a combined population of over 5.5 billion people.

The Open Society Barometer is "one of the largest studies of global public opinion on human rights and democracy ever conducted", and it serves as a global reality check, painting a picture of the attitudes, concerns, and hopes of people across 30 countries, the foundation said.

According to the study findings, younger people hold the least faith in democracy of any age group, presenting a grave threat to its future. Eighty-six percent of respondents say they want to live in a democracy and only 20 percent believe that authoritarian countries can deliver "what citizens want".

Seventy-two percent of the respondents across the globe believe that human rights have been a "force for good" in the world, and 71 percent agree that "human rights reflect values that I believe in".

In Bangladesh, 88 percent of people believe human rights have been a force for good in the world, the survey finds. Besides, authoritarianism appeals to some, especially the young, the study revealed.

Just 57 percent of 18-35-year-olds think democracy is preferable to any other form of government, compared to 71 percent of older respondents.

The study found equity and justice made little progress across the countries surveyed. The ability of leaders to deliver outcomes at the national level raises questions at a time when one in two respondents (49 percent) have expressed worries about putting food on the table.

In Bangladesh, 18 percent of the respondents said they struggled every day to feed themselves and their families in the past year while 15 percent experienced so every week and 11 percent every monthly. Forty-six percent of the respondents said they faced no struggle to eat in the past year, according to the study.

The survey said 58 percent -- and majorities in 22 out of the 30 countries polled -- are worried that political unrest in their countries could lead to violence in the next year. In Bangladesh, that figure rises to 70 percent.

Fourteen percent Bangladeshis believe the rise of China will impact negatively on the country's economy.

Eighty-four percent respondents from the countries surveyed think lending countries should help those struggling with debt by cancelling, reducing, or renegotiating repayment conditions. Seventy-five percent want high-income countries to increase overseas aid and 71 percent believe they should compensate low-income countries for economic loss due to climate change.

In Bangladesh, 88 percent of respondents agree that high-income countries should take the lead on compensating low-income ones for economic losses caused by climate change, the survey found.

It also said respondents consider climate change as a major concern, and it has increasingly been seen as a personal issue. Seventy percent are anxious that climate change will affect their lives next year and it ranks as the most important issue facing the world today, alongside poverty and inequality.

Corruption is seen as the biggest national problem across the world as trust in national and local politicians was low in most of the countries covered. In Bangladesh, 62 percent of the respondents said they trust national politicians to work in their best interests.

According to the study, migration is highly visible but of low concern as two-thirds of the total respondents want to see more safe and legal routes for migrants.

Eighty-three percent of respondents in Bangladesh, the second largest refugee-hosting country in the world, believe countries should open up more safe and legal routes for refugees, and that figure falls to 58 percent in the US, 55 percent in the UK and 39 percent in Germany.

The study said respondents in most high-income countries believe their governments should increase assistance, but they are less enthusiastic about giving low-income countries a greater say in decision-making.

Eighty-five percent of respondents in Bangladesh agree lower-income countries should have more of a say in global decision-making, but the figure drops gradually to 68 percent in India, 50 percent in China, 49 percent each in the US and the UK, 45 percent in Germany, 33 percent in Japan and 29 percent in Russia.

Respondents gravitated to established regional powers when asked about expanding the UN Security Council. They prefer to get financial support from international institutions. Only 10 percent would want their government to borrow from China, the study says.