Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 137

Dated: September 12-18, 2010

This week’s report consists of 24 surveys. 3 of these are multi-country surveys & 1 is a cyber survey. 7 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-1 National Poll & 1 Multi Country poll:
West Asia: Afghanistan

South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan

East Asia: China

South East Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia,

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

Central Africa: Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

EURO-AMERICAS zone-19 national polls & 1 Multi Country poll:

West Europe- UK, France, Germany, Italy,

Eastern Europe: Russia,

North America- USA, Canada
Latin America- Brazil,

CYBER WORLD: 1 poll

Commentary: 45 Million Internet Users in India

A LARGE NUMBER BUT SMALL PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION

Commentary: India had as on September 2008 45.3 million active internet users. This is according to the I-Cube [Internet in India] Study released today and conducted annually by IMRB International and Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI]. Active internet users are those who have used the internet at least once in the last one month – this is an internationally accepted benchmark for enumerating internet users.

Urban users continue to dominate internet use contributing to 42 million of the 45 million odd users. In September last 2007, the number of active internet users in urban India was 32 million showing a year on year growth of a little more than 30 %. Commenting on the study Dr Subho Ray, president, IAMAI, said, “the growth rate was alarming compared with the rest in past years as well as with some other countries notably v where the number of internet users are more than 250 million”

The study also found that the number of “claimed” internet users in September 2008 was 57 million compared with 46 million in September 2007, recording nearly 24 % growth. Claimed users are those who have used the internet sometime but not in the last one month.

The time series data since 2001 captures this definite slow down in the growth rate of internet users in India.

The proportion of internet users to the total population from the age of 12 and proportion of internet users to the total literate population is also not very encouraging as shown in the tables below.

The survey also interviewed the claimed users on the lack of internet user and found there are five main barriers to internet use in urban India. The main reason for lack of internet use was found to be lack of awareness of the use of the medium.

Commenting on the study Mr. Mohan Krishnan, Senior Vice President BIRD, a specialized unit of IMRB International said “Continuing niche growth of the Internet is forcing two major realizations that need to be acted upon. Firstly, with majority of urban literates challenged due to the barrier of English language, there needs to be a strong push in vernacular/local language provision over the Internet. In these markets, in addition to localized content, online applications that matter individuals in their daily lives are needed. At the same time, untouched vast rural markets need to be tapped. §

SOURCE: http://www.imrbint.com/media/45..pdf

---------------The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.

Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 136

Dated: September 05-11, 2010

This week’s report consists of 21 surveys. 2 of these are multi-country surveys & 1 is a cyber survey. 5 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-2 National Polls & 1 Multi Country poll:
Middle East & North Africa: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen

West Asia: Turkey, Cyprus, Afghanistan

Central Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,

East Asia: China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea,

South East Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Cameroon, Niger, Chad,

Central Africa: Congo (Kinshasa), Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda

South Africa: Zambia, Malawi, Comoros

East Africa: Djibouti, Somaliland,

EURO-AMERICAS zone-16 national polls & 2 Multi Country polls:

West Europe- UK, Denmark, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,

Eastern Europe: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine

North America- USA, Canada
Latin America- Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela

Australasia: Australia, New Zealand

CYBER WORLD: 1 poll

Commentary: Nine Years after 9/11, Few See Terrorism as Top U.S. Problem

One percent see it as the top problem today, down from 46% in 2001

by Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ -- Nine years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 1% of Americans mention terrorism as the most important problem facing the country, down from 46% just after the attacks.

Just before the attacks, in a Gallup poll conducted Sept. 7-10, 2001, less than one-half of 1% of Americans mentioned terrorism as the nation's most important problem. One month later, in October 2001, 46% named terrorism, the highest in Gallup's history.

From that point on, terrorism slowly faded as a response to this question. At the one-year anniversary of the attacks, in September 2002, 19% of Americans mentioned terrorism as the country's top problem, already eclipsed by the economy at the top of the list. By the five-year anniversary of the attacks in September 2006, 11% of Americans mentioned terrorism. Terrorism continued to drop from that point, albeit with an uptick to 8% mentions in January of this year, reflecting the widespread news coverage of the "Christmas Day bomber" who allegedly attempted to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane headed for Detroit.

As terrorism has faded, other concerns have risen in importance. Over the past nine years, Americans have most commonly mentioned the war in Iraq (from 2003 to early 2008) and the economy or jobs (from 2008 to the present) as the top problem facing the country.

Despite the drop in top-of-mind mentions of terrorism, Americans still say it is an important issue when they are reminded of it. Gallup recently asked Americans to rate the importance of a number of issues to their vote in this year's midterm elections, and 75% rated terrorism as an extremely or very important issue. Still, Americans rated economic issues such as the economy, jobs, and federal spending, as well as corruption in government and healthcare, even higher. They rated terrorism as more important than immigration, Afghanistan, and the environment.

The Sept. 11 attacks took place during the Republican Bush administration, which soon thereafter launched a "war on terrorism." Republicans have consistently been given more credit than Democrats for handling terrorism over the years since; in an August USA Today/Gallup poll, 55% of Americans say the Republicans in Congress are better able to handle the issue of terrorism, while 31% choose the Democrats.

Bottom Line

The low top-of-mind salience of terrorism as the top problem facing the nation no doubt reflects the absence of major terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the nine years since 2001, although there have been occasional news reports of thwarted attacks. It may also reflect the degree to which economic concerns are crowding out most other issues at this point in the nation's history.

The dramatic jump in perceptions of terrorism as the most important problem between September and October 2001, however, serves as a reminder of the potential for terrorism to reclaim its prominence as a concern should there be new terrorist incidents in the future.

SOURCE: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142961/nine-years-few-terrorism-top-problem.aspx

---------------The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.

Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 135

Dated August 29 – September 04, 2010

This week’s report consists of 20 surveys. 2 of these are multi-country surveys & 2 are cyber surveys. 8 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-1 National poll & 1 Multi Country poll:
Middle East & North Africa: Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Palestine

West Asia: Afghanistan,

South Asia: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal,

East Asia: Japan, Hong Kong,

South East Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam,

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Mauritania,

Central Africa: Congo (Kinshasa), Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda,

East Africa: Somaliland, Djibouti

South Africa: Zambia, Malawi, Comoros

EURO-AMERICAS zone-15 national & 2 Multi Country polls:

East Europe: Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Belarus, Russia, Estonia

West Europe- UK, France, Sweden, Denmark

North America- USA, Canada
Australasia: Australia

CYBER WORLD: 2 polls

Commentary: Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations

United States is among the rich countries that buck the trend

by Steve Crabtree

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup surveys in 114 countries in 2009 show that religion continues to play an important role in many people's lives worldwide. The global median proportion of adults who say religion is an important part of their daily lives is 84%, unchanged from what Gallup has found in other years. In 10 countries and areas, at least 98% say religion is important in their daily lives.

Each of the most religious countries is relatively poor, with a per-capita GDP below $5,000. This reflects the strong relationship between a country's socioeconomic status and the religiosity of its residents. In the world's poorest countries -- those with average per-capita incomes of $2,000 or lower -- the median proportion who say religion is important in their daily lives is 95%. In contrast, the median for the richest countries -- those with average per-capita incomes higher than $25,000 -- is 47%.

The United States is one of the rich countries that bucks the trend. About two-thirds of Americans -- 65% -- say religion is important in their daily lives. Among high-income countries, only Italians, Greeks, Singaporeans, and residents of the oil-rich Persian Gulf states are more likely to say religion is important.

Most high-income countries are further down the religiosity spectrum. In 10 countries, no more than 34% of residents say religion is an important part of their daily lives. Six of those are developed countries in Europe and Asia with per-capita incomes greater than $25,000.

In three of the four lower income countries on the list -- Estonia, Russia, and Belarus -- the Soviet government restricted religious expression for decades until the U.S.S.R.'s collapse in 1991. The final country is Vietnam, where the government also has a history of limiting religious practice.

Implications

Social scientists have put forth numerous possible explanations for the relationship between the religiosity of a population and its average income level. One theory is that religion plays a more functional role in the world's poorest countries, helping many residents cope with a daily struggle to provide for themselves and their families. A previous Gallup analysis supports this idea, revealing that the relationship between religiosity and emotional wellbeing is stronger among poor countries than among those in the developed world.

SOURCE: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorest-nations.aspx

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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.

Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 134

Dated 22^nd- 28^th August, 2010

This week’s report consists of 32 surveys. 4 of these are multi-country surveys & 2 are cyber surveys. 7 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-2 National Polls:
Middle East & North Africa: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt

West Asia: Turkey

South Asia: Pakistan

South East Asia: Indonesia,

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Níger, Chad,

Central Africa: Congo (Kinshasa), Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

South Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi

EURO-AMERICAS zone-24 national polls & 3 Multi Country polls:

West Europe- UK,

North America- USA, Canada
Latin America- Brazil, Peru, Argentina

CYBER WORLD: 2 polls

Commentary: Turkey’s Trust in military fades amid coup debates, anti-terror weakness

TURKEY- Today’s Zaman: A recently conducted opinion poll has shown that the General Staff is suffering from a significant loss of confidence in the eyes of the public, which observers believe is directly linked to the military’s unappreciated aspiration to intervene in politics rather than focus on its fight against terror.

The General Staff ranked third last among all other state institutions, according to the poll conducted by the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center between Aug. 5 and 11. The General Staff was preceded by the police force, the Presidency, Parliament, the Prime Ministry and the government. Pollsters said the General Staff recorded the lowest in the surveys of the past three years.

“The decline in public confidence in the General Staff has two main reasons: the military’s attempts to intervene in politics and the coup plots it is said to have prepared to this end, and its failure in the fight against terror,” stated Mehmet Metiner, a Star daily columnist. For the columnist, the General Staff loses more prestige in the eyes of the public the more it strives to become an actor in politics.

The General Staff is often associated with the military in Turkey. In other words, people usually think of the military itself when the case is related to the General Staff.

“The attempts by the military to stage coups d’état against democratically elected governments, and the right it sees itself as having to take necessary action to unseat the governments [it considers dangerous to its existence] has significantly changed people’s perception of the military. Such factors have created social unease,” Metiner noted.

The Turkish military, which played a role in the establishment of the Turkish Republic, has long seen itself as the protector of the regime and the secular order in the country. It has ousted four governments thus far, and is believed to be engaged in plans to “get rid of” the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which it considers a threat to “secular Turkey.”

Civilian prosecutors have exposed many plans, believed to have been drafted by members of the military, to overthrow the AK Party government. The General Staff, however, denies their authenticity. It argues that the plans were fabricated by “enemies of the military” to discredit the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). However, separate examinations by the İstanbul Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), the İstanbul Police Crime Laboratory and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) vouched for the authenticity of the plots.

According to Metiner, the General Staff’s attempts to influence the judiciary over the course of the Ergenekon case has also led to a decline in people’s confidence in the General Staff. Ergenekon is a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government. Dozens of its suspected members, including those from the military, academia and the business world, are currently in jail on coup charges.

On various occasions, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ defied the law and stood by military members on trial. Observers believe the self-positioning of the general against the law is a covert message for the judiciary to stop future indictments of military officers on coup charges.

“There is also the impact of the military’s failure to achieve success in its fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] terror in the recent decline in public confidence in the General Staff. People have started to question why the war against the PKK has not ended in 26 years. The General Staff is, however, silent on many issues,” Metiner added.

The terrorist PKK was set up in 1984 as a result of Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish question. The organization has sought to establish an autonomous Kurdish state in eastern Turkey since then. More than 40,000 civilians and security forces have been killed in clashes thus far. The General Staff is frequently the target of harsh criticism due to its inability to end the PKK terror.

Gülay Göktürk, a columnist for the Bugün daily, agreed with Metiner on the point of a loss of public confidence in the General Staff because of the Turkish military’s failure to end PKK terror. She also said the General Staff’s refusal to communicate with the public on military failures in counter-terrorism efforts has shaken people’s trust in the General Staff.

According to the columnist, the General Staff made a critical mistake by not responding to the public’s questions on allegations that the military failed to act against PKK terrorists at the Hantepe outpost last month despite intelligence provided by Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“There is still no military explanation on the Heron allegations. … The damn silence persists. And as the silence persists, suspicions in the hearts of millions of people leave a place for disappointment and frustration,” Göktürk wrote in her column last week.

Turkey was shaken by claims that surfaced in early August suggesting that the military failed to act against terrorists in Hantepe despite intelligence provided by Herons to 30 security units during every second of a terrorist attack on an outpost in the area in mid-July. The attack resulted in the deaths of seven soldiers. According to the claims, security units, including the General Staff, watched the attack live through intelligence provided by the Herons but did not send any additional firepower to the scene of the assault to save the wounded soldiers.

Although nearly one month has passed since these claims were first voiced, the General Staff has not issued a single statement on the matter.

SOURCE: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-219711-trust-in-military-fades-amid-coup-debates-anti-terror-weakness.html

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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.

Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 133

Dated 15^th-21^st August, 2010

This week’s report consists of 26 surveys. 2 of these are multi-country surveys & 1 is a cyber survey. 9 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-2 Multi Country Polls:
Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Israel,

East Asia: Japan, China

South East Asia: Singapore, Malaysia,

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Sierra Leon, Liberia,

East & the Horn of Africa: Somaliland, Ethiopia,

South Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Comoros

EURO-AMERICAS zone-23 national polls & 2 Multi Country polls:

East Europe- Greece, Bulgaria,

West Europe- UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark,

North America- USA, Canada
Latin America- Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Haiti, El Salvador,

Australasia: Australia, New Zealand

CYBER WORLD: 1 poll

Commentary: Migration Could Triple Populations in Some Wealthy Nations

Some poor nations could see adult populations reduced by half

by Neli Esipova and Julie Ray

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index finds Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, and Kuwait atop the list of countries that could see the highest net adult population growth from international migration. If all adults worldwide who desire to migrate permanently to other countries actually moved where they wanted today, each country would see their adult populations double or even triple.

A Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) score is the estimated number of adults who would like to move permanently out of a country if the opportunity arose, subtracted from the estimated number who would like to move into it, as a proportion of the total adult population. The latest results include 148 countries or areas surveyed through early 2010 and a total of about 350,000 interviews.

The higher the resulting positive PNMI value, the larger the potential net adult population gain. For example, in Switzerland, subtracting the estimated 800,000 Swiss adults who would like to move to another country if they had the opportunity from the 10 million adults who would like to move to Switzerland and dividing that number by the total Swiss adult population (6 million) results in a PNMI value -- or a net adult population gain -- of +150%.

Except for Switzerland and Kuwait, which are new to the index, the list of countries with the highest positive index scores remains relatively unchanged from the first release. The United States, the top desired destination among all potential migrants, continues to place farther down the list, after Canada and several other developed nations. It's important to keep in mind, though, that a country's population size affects how high or low its index score is and its ranking.

There are also few changes among countries with the highest negative PNMI values -- the ones that could potentially lose as much as half of their adult populations to migration. New additions Comoros and Somaliland join Liberia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Sierra Leone at the bottom of the list.

While Gallup's findings reflect people's wishes rather than their intentions, the implications of what could happen if these desires become reality are serious considerations for leaders as they plan for the future.

SOURCE: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142364/migration-triple-populations-wealthy-nations.aspx

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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.

Gallopedia Highlights- Week # 132

Dated 8^th- 14^th August, 2010

This week’s report consists of 33 surveys. 2 of these are multi-country surveys & 1 is a cyber survey. 13 polling organizations have been represented.

ASIA zone-5 National Polls & 1 Multi Country Poll:
GCC: UAE

Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan

West Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey

AFRICA zone- 1 Multi Country poll:

West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal,

Central Africa: Uganda

East & the Horn of Africa: Kenya

South Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe

EURO-AMERICAS zone-25 national polls & 1 Multi Country poll:

East Europe- Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, Poland

West Europe- UK, Italy

North America- USA, Canada
Latin America- Brazil, Chile

Australasia: Australia

CYBER WORLD: 1 poll

Commentary: Smoking continues to decline, but quitters in regional Australia lag behind

NOTE: While Australian Elections make big news, in this week’s topic of the week we are focusing on a less glamorous but consequential subject of Health with particular reference to Smoking. Are attitudes changing, and is the Incidence of smoking on the decline? A recent poll reveals the declining trend of Australian Smokers:

9/08/2010

According to the latest Roy Morgan Research Health Monitor, the four years to March 2010, have shown a 3% point reduction in the incidence of smoking (estimated as 260,000 fewer smokers aged 18 plus)down to a level of 17% of the overall population (an estimated 2,860,000 smokers).

Smokers living in capital cities have led the trend to quit with a 3% drop in incidence over the period. This equates to an estimated 218,000 fewer smokers in city areas, whereas amongst Australian country dwellers, smoking showed a solid decrease until 2008, but that decrease has stopped and smoking appears to be on the increase again in country areas.

Whilst all state capitals except Brisbane show lower smoking incidence than the national figure of 17%, regional Australia shows a higher than average incidence in every state except for the Northern Territory.

Nick Williams, Healthcare Consumer Consultant, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Overall incidence of smoking amongst Australians has declined from 20% to 17% over the past 4 years. However, smoking in regional Australia remains higher than for the capital cities and the rate at which regional smokers are quitting is also slower. This indicates scope for stronger targeted regional implementation of the National Quit campaign and represents an opportunity for improved target marketing from the pharmaceutical marketers of medications that treat nicotine dependence.”

SOURCE: http://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/News/1144---Smoking-continues-to-decline,-but-quitters-.aspx

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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani's Gallopedia website.