Less dissatisfaction with democracy in countries where people believe the government protects freedom of speech % who say they are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their country 100 % North America Mexico
The view that a country protects freedom of speech informs how people feel democracy is working in their country. Perceptions of whether a country protects free speech are crucial in explaining dissatisfaction with democracy: People who say freedom of expression is protected in their country are less dissatisfied with democracy. However, there’s no relationship between dissatisfaction with democracy or the perception that freedom of speech is protected and measures of whether a country protects civil liberties, such as those compiled by Freedom House. Take Spain: The country receives a top score for protections of these rights, but only around half of Spanish adults (48%) believe their country protects their rights to free speech.
Less dissatisfaction with democracy in countries where people believe the  | government protects freedom of speech  | % who say they are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their country  | 100 %  | North America  | Europe  | Mexico  | Russia  | Greece  | Brazil  | Spain  | Asia Pacific  | 80  | Middle East  | Sub-Saharan Africa  | Tunisia  | Italy  | Latin America  | South Africa  | Argentina  | 60  | Nigeria  | Japan  | U.S  | UK  | Hungary  | France  | Russia  | Kenya  | Germany  | Israel  | Poland  | 40  | Australia  | Canada Netherlands  | Canada Netherlands  | South Korea  | India  | Indonesia  | Sweden@  | Philippines  | Correlation = -0.71  | 20  | 20  | 40  | 60  | 80  | 100 %  | % who public say "the protected" rights of people to express their their views in  | public say are protected" rights of describes their country well  | Source: Spring 2018 Global Attitudes Survey. Q4 & Q34f  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 