July 10, 2025—An increasing number of people in Western democracies are expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of their representation in government, according to an annual survey by Pew Research. The survey shows that a median of 64 percent of adults is dissatisfied with the way democracies are working today, up from 49 percent in 2017.
Pew’s research suggests that people still prefer the idea of representative government but are “frustrated with political elites or feel their views are not truly represented in government.”
Survey countries included Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The results varied widely with the highest dissatisfaction rates coming from the United States (62 percent), France (66 percent), Italy (67 percent), South Korea (71 percent), Israel (62 percent), Japan (76 percent), Greece (81 percent), and South Africa (63 percent).
Meanwhile, survey respondents in India, Sweden, Indonesia, and Australia expressed satisfaction. Pew says it sees a correlation between the quality of the economy and democracy.
