{"id":10868,"date":"2019-04-04T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/indonesians-optimistic-about-their-countrys-democracy-and-economy-as-elections-near\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:12:45","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:12:45","slug":"indonesians-optimistic-about-their-countrys-democracy-and-economy-as-elections-near","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/04\/04\/indonesians-optimistic-about-their-countrys-democracy-and-economy-as-elections-near\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesians optimistic about their country\u2019s democracy and economy as elections near"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Indonesia plans to hold its presidential elections on April 17. Above, a voter at a polling station during last year’s regional elections in West Java. (Aditya Irawan\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n\n

Indonesia\u2019s presidential and parliamentary elections<\/a> this month come at a time when a majority of Indonesians are optimistic about the state of their country\u2019s democracy and economy, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in summer 2018.<\/p>\n\n

Indonesia is the world\u2019s largest predominantly Muslim country<\/a> and the third largest democracy. And while the survey found positive feelings about its political system among Indonesians, the 2019 election is being held against a backdrop of political and economic tension. In 2017, the capital city\u2019s former governor was jailed for blasphemy<\/a>, and the religiosity of President Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi) has been questioned<\/a>\u00a0by his more conservative critics. The country\u2019s relationship with China has also taken center stage this election cycle, as accusations of foreign hacking<\/a> and disapproval of bilateral trade policies<\/a> have surfaced. The survey found that views of China and the United States had worsened among Indonesians since the country\u2019s last general election in 2014.<\/p>\n\n

Most Indonesian adults report voting in elections: 20% of Indonesians have voted in the past year and 71% say they have voted in the more distant past.<\/p>\n\n

Here are five facts on public opinion leading up to the April 17 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"Majority<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Many Indonesians are satisfied with the state of their democracy. About two-thirds (65%) of Indonesian adults said in the 2018 survey they were satisfied with the way democracy is working in their country. This positive sentiment is similar to attitudes in 2017, when 69% of Indonesians rated the way their democracy worked positively.<\/p>\n\n

However, there is a partisan split in satisfaction with democracy. Among those who hold a favorable view of the incumbent\u2019s party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), 72% said they were satisfied with the way democracy is working in Indonesia, which is 16 percentage points higher than those who hold an unfavorable view of the PDI-P.<\/p>\n\n

At least half of Indonesians hold favorable views toward all political parties surveyed. Nearly six-in-ten hold favorable views toward PDI-P, but a similar share says the same about opposing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto\u2019s political party, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"Positive<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

An increasing share of Indonesians describe the country\u2019s current and future economic situation as good. Before Jokowi was elected, about six-in-ten (62%) said the economy was doing poorly, but by 2014, more people rated the economic situation positively than negatively. As of last summer, about two-thirds said Indonesia\u2019s economy was doing well.<\/p>\n\n

The share of Indonesians who say their current economic situation is good increased to almost two-thirds (65%) in 2018. This positive sentiment stands in contrast with the state of the country\u2019s currency, the rupiah, in 2018 \u2013 whose value depreciated to near record-low levels<\/a>, edging close to values seen during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.<\/p>\n\n

This optimism about the economy is also present in respondents\u2019 views of their children\u2019s future: Three-in-four say that they will be financially better off than their parents, while only 17% say they will be worse off.<\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"Many<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Six-in-ten or more Indonesians say they are likely to take political action on a range of issues, but most say they have never actually participated in civic activities. About two-thirds (66%) said they would take action such as contacting an election official or participating in demonstrations when it comes to poor quality schools or health care. Roughly as many (65%) said they would do so if the issue was poverty, and 62% said they would engage in political activity in support of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n\n

While majorities said they were likely to get politically involved on some issues, large shares of Indonesians said they hadn\u2019t done so in the past. Roughly seven-in-ten (71%) said they have not and would never participate in an organized protest or post their thoughts on political or social issues online. More than half (54%) also said they would never attend a political campaign event or speech. The exception to this is voting: In 2018, a large majority (91%) said they have voted in the past year or in the more distant past. A similar share (89%) said the same when the question was asked in 2014.<\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"Favorability<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

The share of Indonesians who hold favorable views of China has declined over time amid concerns over increasing economic dependence<\/a> on Beijing. In 2018, 53% had a favorable view of China, down from 66% in 2014, the year of the last Indonesian election.<\/p>\n\n

Confidence in the Chinese president to do the right thing regarding world affairs has remained relatively stable over time, with only 36% of Indonesian adults expressing confidence in the current leader, Xi Jinping, and a similar share expressing confidence in President Hu Jintao in 2011. However, in both 2011 and 2018, roughly three-in-ten (31% in both years) offered no response.<\/p>\n\n

More than four-in-ten Indonesians said China\u2019s power and influence is a major threat to their country in the 2018 survey, versus only 27% who said this in 2013.<\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"In<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Favorable views of the U.S. in Indonesia have fallen sharply over the past three years. In 2018, 42% of Indonesians said they had favorable views of the U.S., down 6 percentage points from the previous year and 20 points from 2015, when Barack Obama was still president.<\/p>\n\n

Roughly three-in-ten Indonesians (28%) in 2018 said they were confident in Donald Trump\u2019s ability to do the right thing regarding world affairs, down from the 64% who had confidence in Obama in 2015. And 52% of Indonesians in 2018 saw U.S. power and influence a major threat.<\/p>\n\n

Despite the falling favorability of the U.S. among Indonesians, only 22% of Indonesians believe it would be better for the world if China was the world\u2019s leading power. Meanwhile, 43% said it would be better if the U.S. occupied that role, nearly twice the share who would prefer China\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n

Note: See full topline results <\/a><\/em>and methodology <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many Indonesians are satisfied with the state of their democracy, and more describe the country\u2019s current and future economic situation as good. 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