Caucasus Barometer (CB)

Public Perceptions on Political, Social, and Economic issues in the

South Caucasus Countries

Some findings from the CRRC 2017 data

December 19, 2017
Yerevan

[email protected]
www.crrc.am
www.crrccenters.org
www.caucasusbarometer.org
 Methodology
• 4027 people in Armenia and Georgia (1648 in
Armenia and 2379 in Georgia);
• Representative of total adult (18+) population;
• Proportional representation of demographic and
geographic groups;
• Sampling frame: Lists of the voting precincts
• Multi-stage cluster sampling, sampling error is ± 2.3%;
• Household selection: Random walk method;
• Respondent selection: Kish table;
• Face-to-face interviews in local languages.
Note: Figures in all following charts are shown as percentage of total (%) if not stated
otherwise.
 Outline

• Description of the interviewees

• Trust, freedom of speech and democracy
• Perception of the internal affairs
• Economic palette: employment and income
• Perception of the external affairs
Description of the interviewees
 Demographic characteristics of respondents
By settlement type By gender

36
35 64

29

36

Capital Urban Rural Male Female

 By education level By age group

Primary education (either 23

3
complete or incomplete)

Incomplete secondary 19
8
education
17
Completed secondary 16
32 15
education

12
Secondary technical
26
education

Incomplete higher
4
education

Completed higher
education (BA, MA or 26
Specialist degree)

Post graduate degree 1

18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
 D8. How often do you use the Internet? (CB 2009-2017)

Every day At least once a week At least once a month

Less frequent Never I don't know what is internet
DK/RA

2017 47 11 1 5 35 1

2015 42 14 3 5 33 3

2013 32 12 2 5 48 1

2012 26 9 3 6 53 2

2011 22 8 2 5 60 2

2010 14 7 3 7 67 11

2009 6 4 3 6 71 8 2
 P19. Important for a good citizen to…
Important Not important DK/RA

to protect traditions 94 5 1

to support people who are worse off 93 6 1

to obey laws 89 8 3
Armenia

to vote in elections 88 10 2

to do volunteer work 82 14 4

to be critical towards the government 72 20 8

to support government on every occasion 70 23 7

to protect traditions 98 2

to support people who are worse off 98 11

to vote in elections
Georgia

95 32

to do volunteer work 95 32

to be critical towards the government 86 11 4

to support government on every occasion 80 17 3

 Q1. Which of these activities have you been involved in during
the past 6 months?
2017 2015

62
Helped a neighbor/friend with HH chores
63

39
Cleaned/helped to clean public space
41

28
Volunteered without compensation
34

Written online comment on Facebook or other media 18

platform about an important issue 6

13
Attended a public meeting
10

Signed a petition or a demand/request, including online 6

petitions 5
N7. Do you have a close relative currently living abroad?
Yes No

87

76

24

13

Armenia Georgia
D15. Would you leave Armenia forever to live somewhere else?

Yes No DK/RA

2017 33 65 2

2015 31 67 3

2013 28 70 2

2012 26 71 3

2011 23 73 3

2010 26 73 2

2009 21 76 2

2008 18 79 4
 D16. Would you leave Armenia a certain period of time to live
somewhere else? (CB 2008-2017)
Yes No DK/RA

2017 57 42 1

2015 58 41 1

2013 57 42 1

2012 54 45 1

2011 56 42 1

2010 59 40 1

2009 51 48 1

2008 50 48 2
Trust, freedom of speech and
democracy
N2. Would you say that most people in country can be trusted?

Armenia Georgia

25
24
22

17

13
12 12

9
8
7 7 7
6 6
5 5 5
4
2 2
1

You can 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Most DK/RA

not be people
too can be
careful trusted
 P4. How much do you trust /distrust following institutions?

Fullt trust Rather trust Neither trust not distrust Rather distrust Fully distrust DK/RA

Army 51 26 8 7 6 2
Religious institution 49 25 9 5 6 6
Educational system 12 36 22 14 12 4
Healthcare system 10 30 23 17 19 1
Local government 10 23 21 19 21 6
EU 9 18 26 13 13 21
Ombudsman 8 21 25 13 13 20
Police 7 22 21 18 27 5
UN 7 20 26 12 12 23
President 6 12 15 20 44 4
Central bank 6 20 28 13 14 19
Banks 6 25 25 17 16 9
NGO 5 18 31 14 15 18
Executive government 5 16 17 22 36 4
Courts 4 12 21 23 30 10
National Assembly 3 9 17 26 40 5
Media 3 19 36 21 17 4
Political parties 2 7 20 26 37 7
 P4. How much do you trust/distrust army
Fully trust Rather trust Neither trust not distrust Rather distrust Fully distrust Don't know

2017 51 26 8 7 6 2

2015 49 27 10 6 6 2

2013 26 35 16 10 11 2

2012 34 33 13 7 10 3

2011 32 31 12 9 13 2

2010 48 29 13 5 4 1

2009 60 24 8 3 4 1

2008 61 23 7 3 5
 P4. How much do you trust/distrust you religious institution
Fully trust Rather trust Neither trust not distrust Rather distrust Fully distrust Don't know

2017 49 25 9 5 6 6

2015 46 32 11 5 4 1

2013 41 35 13 4 5 2

2012 41 34 12 4 5 4

2011 43 31 11 5 7 3

2010 35 25 18 6 10 6

2009 55 21 13 3 4 4

2008 57 24 10 4 5
 P21. Attitude towards democracy
Armenia Georgia

46
Democracy is preferable to any kind of government
50

10
In some circumstances a non-democratic government can
be preferable
15

32
For someone like me it doesn't matter
15

12
DK/RA
20
 P21. Attitude towards democracy (CB 2011-2017)
Democracy is preferable to any other kind of government
In some circumstances a non-democratic government can be preferable
For someone like me it doesn't matter
Don't know

2017 46 10 32 12

2015 35 14 35 15

2013 46 12 32 10

2012 52 12 20 16

2011 57 10 22 11
 P20. How much of a democracy is country today?
Armenia Georgia

3
A full democracy
5

14
A democracy but with minor problems
23

35
A democracy but with major issues
45

33
Not democracy
14

16
DK/RA
14
 P20. How much of a democracy is Armenia today?
(CB 2011-2017)
A full democracy Democracy with minor issues Democracy with major issues
Not a democracy at all DK/ RA

2017 3 13 35 33 16

2015 2 11 37 32 18

2013 3 13 35 33 16

2012 5 17 34 27 16

2011 5 16 35 29 14
P11. Do you think that people like yourself have the right
to openly say what they think?
Armenia Georgia

76
71

23
20

6 5

Yes No DK/RA
 P11. Do you think or not that people like yourself have the right
in Armenia to openly say what they think? (CB 2010-2017)
Yes No DK/RA

2017 71 23 6

2015 71 25 5

2013 69 27 4

2012 69 25 6

2011 62 32 5

2010 55 43 3
Perception of the internal affairs
 P5a. What do you think is the most important issue facing the
country at the moment?
Armenia Georgia

Unemployment 36
56
Poverty 17
14
Corruption 6
1
Lack of peace in the country 7
1
Low pensions 5
4
Unaffordability of healthcare 3
3
Political instability in the country 2
2
Unfairness of courts 1
0
Unfariness of elections 1
0
Violation of human rights 2
1
Low quality of education 1
2
Problematic relations with Russia 0
1
Rising prices, inflation 2
2
Unsolved territorial conflicts 5
7
Low wages 3
1
Emigration 6
1
Other 3
3
 P5a. What do you think is the most important issue facing Armenia at
the moment? (CB 2008-2017)
Unemployment Poverty Corruption Lack of peace in the country
Low pensions Unaffordability of healthcare Political instability in the country Unfairness of courts
Unfairness of elections Violation of human rights Violation of property rights Low quality of education
Problematic relations with Russia Rising prices / Inflation Unsolved territorial conflicts Low wages
Emigration Other Don't know

2017 36 17 6 7 5 3 2 1121 2 5 3 6 31

2015 40 17 6 5 4 2 2 121 2 6 4 5 11

2013 44 17 5 3 3 1111 2 4 3 4 7 3

2012 44 17 5 2 5 11121 6 3 5 5 2

2011 42 17 6 3 5 1 1111 1 7 3 5 4 1

2010 44 11 7 10 3 2 1 12 1 6 5 3 1

2009 29 13 18 7 5 6 2 3 1 212 4 2 3 2

2008 27 13 20 15 3 11 2 1 3 6 2 5 11
 P1. In which direction the country's domestic politics are
going?
Armenia Georgia

2
Politics is definitely going in the right direction
2

6
Politics is going mainly in the right direction
16

35
Politics does not change at all
33

21
Politics is going mainly in the wrong direction
25

21
Politics is definitely going in the wrong direction
8

15
Don't know
15
 P13. In your opinion “Government should be like a parent” or
“Government should be like an employee”?
Armenia Georgia

48
Agree very strongly: People are like children
31

24
Agree: Government should be like parent
24

9
Agree: Government is like an employee
17

10
Agree very strongly: Government is like an employee
22

3
Agree with neither
3

6
DK/RA
4
 P13. In your opinion “Government should be like a parent” or
“Government should be like an employee”? (CB 2010-2017)

Agree very strongly:Government should be like a parent

Agree:Government should be like a parent
Agree:Government should be like an employee
Agree very strongly: Government should be like an employee
Agree with neither
Don't know

2017 48 24 9 10 3 6

2015 51 22 9 10 4 4

2013 38 33 13 9 3 4

2012 39 30 13 9 4 5

2011 42 31 11 8 4 4

2010 39 31 14 13 21

2009 32 40 11 11 2 4

2008 46 25 17 8 2 3
 P18. The most recent national elections were conducted…
Completely fair To some extent fair Not at all fair DK/ RA

Armenia 10 33 41 16

Georgia 26 37 15 23
P18a. How does the new Constitution influence your everyday
life?
75

12
6
4
1 2

Very positively Positively No influence Negatively Very negatively DK/RA

 P18b. How does the new Constitution influence the future
political development of Armenia
46

29

12
10

3
1

Very positively Positively No influence Negatively Very negatively DK/RA

 P15. What do you agree with. people should or should not participate in
protest actions against the government? (CB 2010-2017)
Agree very strongly: People should participate in protests
Agree: People should participate in protests
Agree: People should not participate in protests
Agree very strongly: People should not participate in protes
Agree with neither
Don't know

2017 41 27 10 8 4 10

2015 46 25 9 7 5 8

2013 34 35 15 6 3 7

2012 31 35 15 5 3 10

2011 26 29 20 10 5 10

2010 34 30 19 8 3 6

2009 27 26 25 10 4 9

2008 32 24 22 14 2 5
 P2a_ARM. Do you condemn or support Sasna Tsrer’s action?

Fully support 19

Rather support 17

Neutral, neither condemn nor support 28

Rather condemn 10

Strongly condemn 6

Don’t know 14

Have not heard about this 6

Economic palette: employment and
income
 J1. Primary activity or situation (CB 2011-2017)
Working either part-time or full time
Self-employed
Unemployed
Retired and not working
Student and not working
Housewife and not working

2017 30 8 10 27 3 20 1

2015 29 6 16 24 3 20 2

2013 26 10 16 22 3 22 1

2012 28 11 16 22 3 17 21

2011 27 9 16 25 3 18 1
 J10. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your job? (CB 2010-2017)
(only for employed)
Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Average satisfaction Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

2017 6 17 37 27 12

2015 13 25 37 17 8

2013 11 21 41 14 13

2012 12 20 31 20 16

2011 12 22 37 16 13

2010 13 22 34 15 16
J3. Are you currently interested in a job?
(nor working respondents, 62% in total)
74

26

Yes No
 J16. The most important factor for getting a good job

Connections 30

Education 21

Age 10

Doing favors for the 'right' people 8

Professional abilities, work experience 8

Hard work 7

Luck 6

Appearance 5

DK/RA 3

Talent 1

Other 1
 P32a. The war in Syria led to a large inflow of Syrian-Armenians
into Armenia. In your opinion, does it…
Yes No DK

contribute to the economic development of Armenia 52 27 21

contribute to population growth in Armenia 50 34 17

contribute to the invigoriation of the cultural life of

50 28 23
Armenia

deepen Armenia's social and ecnomic problems 31 47 22

make it more difficult for the local population to find jobs 28 52 20

 C6. To which of the following groups C13. What is the minimal
does your household income monthly income that would enable your
belong? (USD) household live a normal life? (USD)
Armenia Georgia Armenia Georgia

34
34

30
30
27

22 21
19
18
17
16
14
14 15 13
12

10
8
8 7 7
5
4 4 3
2 2
1 1

More USD 801- USD 401 USD 251- USD 101 USD 51 - DK/RA
More USD 801- USD 401- USD 251- USD 101 USD 51- Up to 50 DK/RA than USD 1200 -800 400 - 250 100
than USD 1200 800 400 - 250 100 USD 1200
1200
Perception of the external
affairs
P28. To what extent would you support country’s membership in
the EEU?
Armenia Georgia

25 25 25
24 24

19
17

14
13

7
5
4

Fully support Rather support Partially support, Rather not support Do not support at DK/RA
partially do not all
 P28_ARM. To what extent would you support Armenia's
membership in the EEU?
Fully support Rather support
Partially support and partially don't support Rather not support
Don't support at all DK/RA

2017 17 25 25 4 5 24

2015 18 34 24 7 5 12

2013 21 21 19 6 13 20
P25. To what extent would you support country’s membership in
the EU?
Armenia Georgia

30
29
27 27

19

15
15

9 9
8
6 6

Fully support Rather support Partially support, Rather not support Do not support at DK/RA
partially do not all
 P25. To what extent would you support Armenia's membership in
the EU?
Fully support Rather support
Partially support, partially don't support Rather not support
Don't support at all DK/RA

2017 9 19 27 6 8 30

2015 8 29 27 11 10 14

2013 15 26 24 10 12 12

2012 25 27 22 5 7 14

2011 30 31 18 4 4 12
 RAND3. In your opinion, what would be the best choice for the
country's future economic and political development?

Armenia Georgia

25
Remain in the Eurasian Economic Union, led by Russia
11

Join the European Union, led by Western European 5

countries 27

54
Have equally close relations with both Unions
36

3
Not join any Union
7

13
DK/RA
18
 P22. To what extent would you support country’s membership
in the NATO?
Armenia Georgia

37

27
24 24

16
14 14
12
11
8
7 6

Fully support Rather support Partially support, Rather not support Do not support at DK/RA
partially do not all
 RAND 4. In your opinion, what would be the best choice for the
country to ensure its security?
Armenia Georgia

50

34

27 27

20

14
11
8
5
3

Remain in Collective Join NATO, led by the Have equally close Not join any DK/RA
Security Treaty Western European relations with both organization
Organization, led by countries and the US organizations
Russia
 P32b_ARM. April war showed that…
Completely agree Somewhat agree Neither agree nor disagree
Somewhat disagree Conmpletely disagree DK/RA

when there is a threat to national security, Armenian

70 17 5 323
society unites

when there is a threat to national security, Armenia,

71 17 4 31 4
Artsakh and the Diaspora unite

to resolve Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be resolved

56 21 8 6 5 4
through negotiations and not through force

to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenia should

42 21 8 14 8 6
rely solely on itself

the Artsakh army was not ready for this kind of attack 23 16 12 15 27 7
 P31. Which country is currently main friend of Armenia?

Russia 64

France 17

Georgia 4

Iran 3

None 3

USA 2

Other 2

DK/RA 5
 P31. Which country is currently main friend of Armenia?
(CB 2011-2017)
Russia France Georgia Iran None USA Other DK/RA

2017 64 17 4 3 3 22 5

2015 74 11 5 2 202 4

2013 84 3 4 1 2 11 4

2012 79 3 8 12 2 5

2011 80 1 7 1 4 12 4
P32. Which country is currently the main enemy of Armenia?

74

20

2 2 2

Azerbaijan Turkey Russia None DK/RA

 P32. Which country is currently the main enemy of Armenia?
(CB 2011-2017)
Azerbaijan Turkey Russia USA Armenia Georgia None DK/RA

2017 74 20 222

2015 75 19 11 2 2

2013 66 29 11 2

2012 61 34 11 2

2011 59 34 111 4
 N5. Approval of doing business with…
Approve Disapprove DK/RA

Armenians 94 6

Russians 88 10 2

Americans 76 17 7

Italians 72 21 7

Georgians 71 25 5

Ukranians 70 25 5

Molokans 62 29 9

Kurds, Yezidis 61 34 5

Iranians 59 35 5

Jews 56 35 9

Arabs 53 40 8

Turks 25 72 3

Azerbaijanis 15 83 2
 N6. Approval of women marrying with…
Approve Disapprove DK/RA

Armenians 98 2

Russians 51 48 2

Americans 44 53 2

Italians 44 54 2

Ukranians 40 58 2

Georgians 37 61 2

Molokans 24 72 4

Jews 23 74 3

Kurds, Yezidis 15 83 2

Arabs 14 84 2

Iranians 14 84 2

Turks 6 93 1

Azerbaijanis 5 94 1
 N1. How happy would you say you are?
Armenia Georgia

Average: 6.8 points Average: 7 points

for Armenia for Georgia
25

21 21

16
15 15
14
13

8 8 8
7 7

4 4 4
3
2 2
1 1

Not at all 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very Don't

happy happy know
 N15. Personal trust of the results of public opinion polls conducted in
our country

Armenia Georgia

41
Trust/Rather trust
46

27
Neither trust nor distrust
25

22
Distrust/Rather distrust
17

10
I don't know anything about these polls
1

4
DK
4
Thank You!