Sierra Leone Poll Shows High Levels of Trust in Most National Institutions; Concern Over Economy and Education
Freetown, Sierra Leone— A pre-election nationwide poll of Sierra Leone by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research reveals high levels of trust in national institutions tempered by concerns over job creation and education.
“The faith placed in Sierra Leone’s core institutions is indicative of the confidence of citizens in their democracy,” said IRI Regional Director for Africa John Tomaszewski. “This goodwill provides the new government with a solid foundation to address the issues of greatest concern also identified in this research, such as job creation and education.”
Seventy-six percent trust the military “a great deal,” followed by the National Election Commission at 67 percent and the media at 66 percent. Respondents were less optimistic about the economy, rating the economic situation as either “very bad” (48 percent) or “somewhat bad” (23 percent). A combined 69 percent believe that job creation under the pre-election government has been “very bad” (44 percent) or “somewhat bad” (25 percent).
When asked to name the three “biggest problems facing Sierra Leone today,” 60 percent of respondents cited education followed by poverty (37 percent) and the economy (35 percent). A combined 68 percent said the previous government was doing a “very bad” (45 percent) or “somewhat bad” (23 percent) job of providing education.
Methodology
The survey was conducted by Pan African Field Services on behalf of the Center for Insights in Survey Research. Data was collected throughout Sierra Leone between February 12 and 26, 2018 from a sample of 1,526 adults in Sierra Leone aged 18 and older. The response rate was 79 percent. The margin of error for the full sample does not exceed ± 1.95 percent. The survey was funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
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