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Democracies around the worldDemocracies around the world
About the author
Natasha Kassam
Natasha Kassam was Director of the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program from 2019 to 2022, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations.
Since 2013, the Lowy Institute Poll has revealed low levels of awareness in Australia about the system of government in Indonesia. Most Australians have consistently said Indonesia is not a democracy, even though it transitioned from an authoritarian regime in 1998. In 2020, the Lowy Institute polled Australians on systems of government around the world to compare the results with this longstanding sentiment towards Indonesia.
Australians seem more aware of other democracies, both in and outside Asia. Nine in ten Australians (90%) say the United Kingdom is a democracy, and eight in ten (81%) say the same about the United States. A similar number (79%) recognise Japan as a democracy. Although the relationship between Australia and India, the world’s largest democracy, is often seen as underdeveloped, more than half (57%) say India is a democracy. The majority also see Papua New Guinea (53%) as a democracy. Half the country (52%) agree Taiwan is a democracy, with presidential elections in Taiwan taking place shortly before fieldwork for this Poll took place.
In 2020, the number of Australians that agree Indonesia is a democracy has reached a high point of 39%, in a five-point increase from 2019. Only a third of Australians (37%) agree that Hong Kong is a democracy, after the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong made headlines throughout 2019. Although the Chinese government has described itself as a ‘socialist democracy’ or a ‘people’s democracy’, only 10% of Australians agree that China is a democracy.
