Around the world, Gen Z and millennials hold the least faith in democracy of any age group, a report from the Open Society Foundations (OSF) finds.

Based on a survey of more than 36,000 respondents in a representative group of 30 countries, the report, Open Society Barometer: Can Democracy Deliver? (48 pages, PDF), found that while 86 percent of respondents overall indicated that they would prefer to live in a democratic state, only 57 percent of respondents in the 18–35 age group think democracy is preferable to any other form of government (compared with 71 percent of older respondents). A large minority of respondents in the 18–35 cohort indicated that military rule is a good way of running a country (42 percent), and 35 percent indicated that having a strong leader who does not bother with elections or consulting legislatures is a good way of running a country (compared with 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, in the 56 and above age bracket).

The report also found that among the issues that most directly impact people personally, the highest include poverty and inequality (20 percent), climate change (20 percent), and corruption (18 percent). Nearly half of respondents (49 percent) indicated they have struggled to feed themselves at least once in the last year, 70 percent expressed anxiety that climate change will personally affect respondents and their livelihoods in the next year, and majorities in 21 of the countries polled fear that political unrest could lead to violence in the next year. Nearly twice as many respondents believe China’s growing influence will have a positive impact (45 percent) on their country as a negative one (25 percent).

At the same time, 72 percent of respondents said they believed that human rights have been a “force for good” in the world, and 71 percent agreed that “human rights reflect values that I believe in.” In addition, the report revealed that 84 percent of respondents think lenders should help countries struggling with debt by cancelling, reducing, or renegotiating repayment conditions; 75 percent wanted high-income countries to increase overseas aid; and 71 percent believed they should compensate low-income countries for economic losses due to climate change.

“Our findings are both sobering and alarming,” said OSF president Mark Malloch-Brown. “People around the world still want to believe in democracy. But generation by generation, that faith is fading as doubts grow about its ability to deliver concrete improvements to their lives. That has to change.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/FG Trade)