By Janakee Chavda

Copyright pewresearch

We asked adults in 25 countries to rate how common five characteristics are among the elected officials in their country. In general, people give their elected officials fairly negative ratings on these measures.

Just under half of adults across the 25 countries (47% median) say few or none of their elected officials are honest. A similar share (46%) believe few or none of them understand the needs of ordinary people.

Medians of roughly four-in-ten think few or none of their elected officials are ethical or focus on their country’s most important problems. A 37% median see few or none as well-qualified for their positions.

Relatively small shares take the more positive stance. Medians ranging from 14% to 18% say all or most of the elected officials in their country have each of these qualities.

Greeks stand out for their especially negative opinions of politicians. Majorities say the positive qualities we asked about describe few or none of their elected officials. For example, roughly three-quarters of Greeks believe few or none of their elected officials are honest or understand the needs of ordinary people.

Additionally, people in Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.S., as well as the sub-Saharan African and Latin American countries polled, tend to give elected officials poor marks on these characteristics.

In India, Japan and the Netherlands, around a third of adults or fewer say their elected officials generally lack these qualities.

Swedes have much more positive views overall, with relatively large shares saying all or most of their elected officials have these qualities. About four-in-ten think all or most elected officials in Sweden understand the needs of ordinary people (38%), are well-qualified for their jobs (40%) and focus on the most important problems (41%). Almost half of Swedes (47%) think the majority of politicians in their country are ethical, and 36% say they are honest.

There are a few differences in views of elected officials by age.

In 11 of the 25 countries surveyed, younger adults are more likely to believe that few or none of their elected officials are honest. One of the largest age gaps is in France, where 33% of adults ages 50 and older say this, compared with 58% of those ages 18 to 34 and 55% of those ages 35 to 49.

In fact, younger adults in France have much more negative views than older adults on each of the five qualities we asked about. The same pattern exists in the U.S.

Rating elected officials: Are they honest?

A 47% median of adults across 25 countries say few or none of their elected officials are honest. Roughly a third (36%) say some are honest. Only 14% believe this describes all or most officials in their country.

Perceptions of elected officials are especially negative in Greece and most of the African and Latin American countries surveyed. Roughly three-quarters of Greeks say few or none of their elected officials are honest. Majorities also take this stance in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Kenya, Mexico and Nigeria. In fact, shares in these countries ranging from 15% to 31% of adults say none of their elected officials are honest.

In the U.S., 53% of adults think few or none of their officials are honest. Roughly half in Israel, Poland, South Africa, Spain and Turkey say the same.

A third or fewer in Canada, India, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden believe few or none of their elected officials are honest.

Rating elected officials: Do they understand the needs of ordinary people?

A 46% median across 25 countries surveyed say that few or none of their elected officials understand the needs of ordinary people. About a third (35%) say some elected officials understand their needs. Only 16% say this about all or most elected officials.

Six-in-ten adults or more in Brazil, Greece, Italy and Kenya think few or none of their elected officials understand the needs of ordinary people. This includes about a quarter in Greece (27%) and Italy (24%) who say none of their politicians understand these needs.

On the other hand, a quarter of adults or more in Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Sweden think all or most of their politicians do understand ordinary people’s needs.

Rating elected officials: Do they focus on their country’s most important problems?

A 41% median across 25 countries surveyed say that few or none of their elected officials focus on the country’s most important issues. Another 36% say some politicians focus on the right problems, while 16% say this about all or most of their politicians.

About half of adults or more in eleven countries say that few or none of their elected officials focus on the most important problems.

The most positive assessments are again seen in Sweden: 41% of Swedes say all or most of their elected officials focus on the right issues. In Indonesia, 37% hold this view, as do roughly three-in-ten in Canada, Germany, India and the Netherlands.

Rating elected officials: Are they ethical?

A 40% median across 25 countries say that few or none of their elected officials are ethical. A similar share (37%) believes some are ethical, and 17% think all or most officials are ethical.

Views are particularly negative in Greece, Italy, Kenya and the three Latin American countries surveyed: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. About two-thirds of Greeks and Brazilians say few or none of their politicians are ethical.

Roughly half of adults in Nigeria, Turkey and the U.S. say the same.

But 47% of adults in Sweden and 45% in Indonesia say all or most of their elected officials are ethical. And roughly a third or more in Canada, Germany, India and the Netherlands agree.

Japan and South Korea have relatively tepid views of their elected officials on this measure, with about half in each country saying some are ethical.

Rating elected officials: Are they well-qualified?

Across the countries surveyed, a 37% median say few or none of their elected officials are well-qualified for their position. A 39% median say this about some of their officials, and 18% say this describes all or most of them.

Greeks are the most likely to believe that few or no officials in their country are qualified. More than half say the same in Brazil, Italy and Kenya.

In 10 countries, however, a third of adults or fewer say few or none of their elected officials are qualified.

As with the other questions we asked, Swedes have some of the most positive views: 40% say all or most of their elected officials are well-qualified. About a third or more agree in Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia and the Netherlands.