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GLOBAL RELEASE OF ROUND 4 RESULTS
 
In conjunction with Africa Day on May 25, the Afrobarometer is pleased to announce the release of results from our fourth round of surveys, conducted in 19 countries during 2008. The release also marks the 10th anniversary of the launching of the Afrobarometer. Our first respondent was interviewed in Ghana in July 1999, and we have now completed over 105,000 interviews in 20 countries.

This wealth of data allows us to explore critical trends on the continent with respect to democracy and regime consolidation, poverty reduction, globalization and cosmopolitanism, and the emergence of democratic citizens. The Briefing Papers linked below highlight each of these themes in turn. The Compendium of Round 4 Results presents additional data on many of the core items included in the Round 4 survey on topics such as local and central government performance, leadership evaluations, perceptions and experience of corruption, institutional trust, and a host of other topics.

Key findings include:

 

ON DEMOCRACY...
The 20 African countries included in the Afrobarometer include many of the most politically liberal countries on the continent, including 7 countries ranked by Freedom House in 2008 as "Free." However, when we assess the quality of these regimes based on popular attitudes and perceptions, we do not find any consolidated democracies among them (although Botswana comes close). In fact, we find some consolidating as autocracies, but most countries are best understood as unconsolidated, hybrid regimes. They exhibit some key elements of democracy, such as regular elections and protection of core individual freedoms. But either the popular demand for democracy, or the perceived supply of democracy, or, in most cases, both, fall short of the standards of full democracy. But the trajectories of individual countries are extremely diverse, with some exhibiting sharp declines away from democratic consolidation, while others are steadily advancing.

Briefing Paper No.67 "Neither Consolidating Nor Fully Democratic: The Evolution of African Political Regimes, 1999-2008" (288 kb) Download

   
ON POVERTY...
Even with the significant growth that sub-Saharan Africa has experienced over the past decade, as of 2008 lived poverty (or the extent to which people regularly go without basic necessities) is still extensive. It has declined in nine of the Afrobarometer countries for which we have over-time data during this period, but it has increased in another six. Cross-national differences in economic growth help explain differing country trajectories in lived poverty. But a more complete picture must also take political freedom into consideration. Lived poverty is strongly related to country-level measures of political freedom, and changes in poverty are related to changes in freedom. This finding supports Sen's (1999) argument about the crucial importance of freedom for development. Using our alternative measures of both development and democracy, we corroborate the findings of others that there is a "democracy advantage" for well being and prosperity.
Briefing Paper No.68 "Poverty Reduction, Economic Growth and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa" (282 kb) Download.
 
ON GLOBALIZATION AND COSMOPOLITANISM…  
Briefing Paper No. 69 "Citizens of the World? Africans, Media and Telecommunications" (75.6kb) Download  
   
ON DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP...  
Briefing Paper No.70 "Are Democratic Citizens Emerging in Africa" (213 kb) Download.  
   
AS WELL AS MANY OTHER FINDINGS…  

Working Paper No.108 "The Quality of Democracy and Governance in Africa: New Results from Afrobarometer Round 4" (877kb) Download.

 
   
SELECTED PRESS COVERAGE
 
 
 
AFROBAROMETER'S MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS  
WORKING PAPERS
No.120 Harding, Robin. "Urban-Rural Differences in Support for Incumbents Across Africa ". 2010. Abstract (658kb) Download
No.119 Bratton, Michael. "Citizen Perceptions of Local Government Responsiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa". 2010. Abstract (654kb) Download
No.118 Keefer, Philip." The Ethnicity Distraction? Political Credibility and Partisan Preferences in Africa". 2010. Abstract (639kb) Download
No.117 Gadzala, Aleksandra and Marek Hanusch. " African Perspectives on China-Africa: Gauging Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants". 2010. Abstract (465kb) Download
No.116 Chang, Eric and Nicholas Kerr. “Do Voters Have Different Attitudes toward Corruption? The Sources and Implications of Popular Perceptions and Tolerance of Political Corruption.” 2009. (707kb) Download
No.115 Young, Daniel. “Support You Can Count On? Ethnicity, Partisanship, and Retrospective Voting in Africa.” 2009. (795kb) Download
No.114 Kramon, Eric. “Vote-Buying and Political Behavior: Estimating and Explaining Vote-Buying's Effect on Turnout in Kenya.” 2009. (873kb) Download
No.113 McCauley, John F., E. Gyimah-Boadi. "Religious Faith and Democracy: Evidence from the Afrobarometer Surveys" 2009. (873kb) Download
No.112 Robinson, Amanda Lea. "National versus Ethnic Identity in Africa:State, Group, and Individual Level Correlates of National Identification" 2009. (790kb) Download
No.111 Kirwin, Mathew and Wonbin Cho. "Weak States and Political Violence in sub-Saharan Africa." 2009. Download
BRIEFING PAPERS
No.91 Kenyans and the Coalition Government: Disappointment in spite of Relative Peace. (927 kb) Download.
No.90 Integration in East Africa: Uninformed Kenyans Oppose Political Federation. (560 kb) Download.
No.89 Local Government in Kenya: Negative Citizen Perception and Minimal Engagement in Local Government Affairs. (799 kb) Download.
No.88 Namibia Political Party Prospects Leading to the 2009 Elections. (815 kb) Download.
No.87 Economic Conditions, Living Conditions and Poverty in Mozambique. (123 kb) Download.
No.86 Observance of the Rule of Law in Mozambique. (113 kb) Download.
No.85 The Public Mood on Zimbabwe’s Inclusive Government. (259 kb) Download.
No.84 Green Shoots of Hope: Changing Economic Conditions in Zimbabwe. (637 kb) Download.
No.83 Zimbabwe: People's Development Agenda in 2009. (235 kb) Download.
No.82 Tolerance in South Africa: Exploring Popular Attitudes Toward Foreigners. (290 kb) Download.
No.81 Citizen Perceptions of the Economic and Living Conditions in Zambia. (142 kb) Download.
PRESS RELEASES
Coming soon.

Available Now: Online Data Analysis of Global Barometer Surveys

The Globalbarometer Surveys (GBS) is the first comprehensive effort to measure, at a mass level, the current social, political, and economic atmosphere around the world. It provides an independent, non-partisan, multidisciplinary view of public opinion on a range of policy-relevant issues. Users are invited to analyse data for 55 countries (including 18 African countries) across the Global South without need for a statistical software package.

Access On-line Data Analysis Now!

Release of Round 4 Data

Round 4 data sets are released approximately one year after the completion of fieldwork in each country. So far, we have released the following:

Ghana
Download Round 4 Data Now!

Nigeria
Download Round 4 Data Now!

Completion of Round 4 Surveys

Round 4 surveys began in March 2008 and were completed in 19 countries by December 2008. Watch the website for release of results and bulletins (results by country), and data. A Round 4 survey may be conducted in Zimbabwe early 2009 based on the prevailing conditions. The following includes selected coverage of the release of results in various countries.

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: New Survey Shows Tsvangirai More Trusted Than MugabeOpposition September 26, 2009. (108 kb) Download

Uganda
10 Failures of Opposition: Why a limping Museveni remains solid against toothless opposition, The Independent, May 26, 2009. (184 kb) Download

Africa
AFRICA: Keen on Democracy, Despite Mixed Results - Azhar, Inter Press Service News Agency November 20, 2008. (100kb) Download

Burkina Faso
Qualité de la démocratie et de la gouvernance au Burkina: Afrobaromètre a mené l’enquêt - Faso Presso, mardi 20 janvier 2009. (104kb) Download

Cape Verde
Cape Verde increasingly believe in the consolidation of democracy - Panapress, October 9, 2008. (99kb) Download

Madagascar
Popularité Ravalomanana perd la cote chez les diplômés - Tribune Madagascar.com, lundi 3 novembre 2008. (55kb) Download

Uganda
Poverty worries Ugandans - The New Vision, March 11, 2009. (70kb). Download

Online Data Analysis Launch

You can now analyze AB results interactively without having to download data or acquire statistical software. Try the new AB Online Data Analysis facility. This tool will allow you to select a sample or samples, browse the question index, analyze marginals and cross-tabulations, and produce graphics.

The Micro-Foundations of Mass Politics in Africa Conference 12-13 May, 2007

To date, scholars of African politics have concentrated principally on the deeds, and misdeeds, of political elites. Studies of mass participation have been largely limited to local cases and have been hampered by the lack of systematic data on public values, attitudes and behavior. The advent of the Afrobarometer, now comprising three rounds of national probability sample surveys in up to 18 African countries, 1999-2006, offers unique opportunities to delve into the micro-foundations of mass politics on the sub-Saharan sub-continent.

Accordingly, on behalf of the Afrobarometer Network, Michigan State University is pleased to have hosted a conference on this subject in East Lansing, Michigan on May 12-13, 2007. Conference information

AWARDS

The Afrobarometer won the 2004 Data Set Award of the American Political Science Association's Comparative Politics Section

E-MAIL LIST

Add your name to the Afrobarometer E-Mailing List to receive notification about new publications.

 

 
 
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