Indians blame the political system, not their politicians: Pew survey data

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that a majority of Indians feel the need for major changes in their political systems. On the other hand, more than two-thirds of the Indians surveyed believe that their elected officials are honest, ethical, and well-qualified.

More than 50% of respondents in most of the 25 surveyed countries said their political system needs major changes or complete reform. More than 70% of the surveyed Indians said their political system needs major changes or complete reform, with 34% of people vouching for complete reform. The below chart shows the share (%) of respondents who say the political system in their country needs varying amounts of changes. Those who did not answer are not shown.

Respondents differed when asked about their confidence in such changes taking place. For instance, while a large majority of respondents from South Korea (87%) expressed a need for political reform, more than half of the people surveyed were not confident that those changes could be made. However, of those respondents who want political change, Indians make the largest share of those who are confident that these changes can be made. The share of respondents who were not confident that their systems could change was the lowest in India. The below chart shows the country-wise share (%) of those who are confident/not confident that their system can change.

While expressing a need for systemic change, a majority of Indians held positive views about their elected officials. The survey asked adults in 25 countries to rate select characteristics among the elected officials in their country. The below chart shows the country-wise share (%) of respondents who say few or none of the elected officials in their country show the given characteristics.

Only one in three respondents from India, Japan, and the Netherlands negatively rated their elected officials. It should be noted that smaller shares of respondents from Japan and the Netherlands believed that political reform was necessary, contrary to India.