You can see at the bottom that the source is the Gallup World Poll. Obviously there are a lot more dots below the line than above it, which led me to wonder how the poll was weighted. I thought perhaps it was population, as maybe big countries in terms of population counted more but only represented one dot. China doubtless expresses massive confidence in government, because otherwise you lose social credit and can't get loans or a job, so that would undermine the idea that the poll is fair.
Here are the top countries expressing high confidence in government:
1) Tanzania (!)
2) Uzbekistan (!!!)
3) Singapore
4) Bangladesh (!)
5) Mail (!)
The one they chose to label was "Finland," but the top five are -- with the exception of Singapore -- dysfunctional hellholes. In the next ten you get real governments like Switzerland and Luxembourg, but also Kazakhstan and Mozambique (most famous cultural contribution: the 'Mozambique drill,' a triple-tap shooting pattern that involves putting one in the head and two in the chest "to be sure").
So maybe the fact that Americans express distrust in their government should ironically be confidence-boosting: at least we're still free to say that the government stinks on ice. It does, and more so every day. At least we're still free to talk about it.
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The one they chose to label was "Finland," but the top five are -- with the exception of Singapore -- dysfunctional hellholes.
Bangladesh is a highly densely populated flood plain. As such, it will most likely always be poor. Nonetheless, compared to neighboring India and Pakistan- especially compared with fellow Muslim country Pakistan- it hasn't done all that badly. Would I rather be a Bangladeshi than an American? No. But I'd rather be a Bangladeshi than a Pakistani, or from Mali etc.
GNI per capita, PPP (constant 2017 international $) 1995 2021
Pakistan 3,224 5,374
India 2,082 6,951
Bangladesh 2,028 6,511
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 1995 2021
Pakistan 59.9 66.1
India 60.6 67.2
Bangladesh 59.5 72.4
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 1995 2021
Pakistan 5.89 3.47
India 3.65 2.03
Bangladesh 3.61 1.98
Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 1995 2021
Pakistan 96.3 52.8
India 78 25.5
Bangladesh 81.3 22.9
Data from the World Bank Development Indicators
Here are the same stats comparing the four hellholes: Bangladesh, Mali, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan.These are for 1995 and 2021. Bangladesh performs relatively better than the others for Fertility rate and per capita income. The World Bank doesn't have this per capita incomestat for Uzbekistan- like Venezuela post 2014. Which makes one think that, like Venezuela, Uzbekistan has a dysfunctional economy.
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)
Bangladesh 3.61 1.98
Mali 6.99 5.96
Tanzania 5.87 4.73
Uzbekistan 3.60 3.17
Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)
Bangladesh 81.3 22.9
Mali 112.1 61.6
Tanzania 93.9 34.1
Uzbekistan 57.3 12.6
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Bangladesh 59.5 72.4
Mali 47.8 58.9
Tanzania 50.8 66.2
Uzbekistan 64.6 70.9
GNI per capita, PPP (constant 2017 international $)
Bangladesh 2,028 6,221
Mali 1,387 2,020
Tanzania 1,229 2,538
Uzbekistan
I'll be happy to grant that Bangladesh compares favorably to Mali or Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are both wildly corrupt, with former Soviet fourth-tier hangers-on promoted at the collapse of the USSR into national prominence.
Pakistan is harder for me to weigh against Bangladesh. I suppose Bangladesh has done a better job with Islamism.
I suppose Bangladesh has done a better job with Islamism.
In addition, the military has run Pakistan during most of its existence. Which, in addition to foreign policy insanity & Islamism implicit in foreign policy aims, results in kleptocracy. Keep the pre-independence plutocrats rich, in exchange for $$ for the military.
In most instances- Pinochet's Chile was the exception- the military doesn't do a good job of running a country's economy. The "freedom" implicit in "free market" doesn't sit well with generals who are accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed.
Here is an update on Pakistan. As there is a long-standing(eternal?) civilian-military conflict over who should control the government in Pakistan, it is a country that will not stand high on a "satisfaction with our government" poll.Strategy Page: India-Pakistan: India-Pakistan Debts and Rebels
I am so glad our government cut off aid to Pakistan.
I looked at the poll again because I couldn't find Pakistan or China on the graph. What I realized when I dug into the crosstabs is that the poll is historical rather than current: all the numbers are from 2005-6. That was a tough period in the Iraq War, from the US perspective; but for every country on earth, it's water under the bridge.
I still think there's a useful general point that the highest confidence in government is often expressed in the worst places -- because no one dares express anything else. I wouldn't put too much weight on it otherwise.
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