A global poll, which surveyed people in 30 countries, has found that younger people are more sceptical of democracy than older people.
The poll conducted by the Open Society Foundation (OSF) found that overall, nearly 90% of people would prefer to live in a democracy.
However, there was something of a generational gap, with 57% of people aged between 18 and 35 saying that democracy was their preferred form of government. For those aged 56 and older, nearly three quarters said democracy was the most preferable form of government.
South Africa was one of the countries surveyed, with 83% of respondents in this country saying that democracy was important, slightly below the global average.
While globally some 30% of respondents said they trusted national politicians to work in the best interests of citizens, only 16% in South Africa supported this view.
The head of the OSF, Mark Malloch Brown (whose father was South African), said of the results: ‘Our findings are both sobering and alarming. People around the world still want to believe in democracy, but generation by generation that faith is fading as doubts grow about its ability to deliver concrete changes to their lives.’
Image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay