Research
Asia Foundation Releases Survey of the Afghan People
Dec. 6, 2013
Tysons Corner, Virginia, December 6, 2013 – The Asia Foundation has released the results of the ninth annual Survey of the Afghan People conducted by D3 Systems’ subsidiary, ACSOR-Surveys. The Asia Foundation presented the findings in Kabul and Canberra on December 5, 2013 and will present in Washington, D.C. on December 11th at the United States Institute of Peace. The full results from the Survey of the Afghan People have been reported by several outlets including NBC News and the BBC. Full results are available on The Asia Foundation’s website.
The Survey of the Afghan People covered a range of topics including governance, security, elections, the economy, and human rights. The breadth of topics reflects the complexity of issues and challenges facing Afghans today. While a narrow majority of Afghans (57%) feel the country is going in the right direction, Afghans list serious concerns about safety, unemployment, provision of public services and corruption. Approval of the national government is high (75%), but drops with each sub-national level (provincial, district, and municipal authority).
Concerns about security and the legitimacy of elected leaders are especially relevant as the 2014 presidential election approaches. A majority of Afghans (61%) believe that elections in the country are generally free and fair, but confidence in government organizations is in decline and 77% of respondents say corruption is a major problem in the country. Security conditions will have a significant effect on turnout with 59% of Afghans saying they would experience some fear when voting in a national or provincial election, and for 81% security conditions will affect their decision whether or not to go to the polls.
Fieldwork for the nationally representative survey, consisting of 9,260 face-to-face interviews conducted by 962 interviewers, took place in July 2013. Respondents were men and women (86% rural, 14% urban) aged 18 and over.