Economic and living conditions and Government economic performance what Sierra Leoneans say

Transcription

1 Economic and living conditions and Government economic performance what Sierra Leoneans say Findings from Afrobarometer Round 6 survey in Sierra Leone

2 At a glance Economic well-being of Sierra Leoneans: Eight in ten Sierra Leoneans (82%) consider their present economic and living condition to be very bad or fairly Bad. Government performance ratings: A large percentage of Sierra Leoneans rated government s performance in managing the economy, improving the living standards of the poor, creating jobs, keeping prices down and narrowing income gaps between the rich and the poor as very bad or fairly bad. Overall direction of the country: A large majority of Sierra Leoneans (80%) believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction.

3 What is Afrobarometer? An African-led, non-partisan survey research project that measures citizen attitudes on democracy and governance, the economy, civil society, and other topics. Started in 12 countries in 1999, expanded to 35 African countries in Round 5 ( ). Goal: To give the public a voice in policymaking by providing high-quality public opinion data to policymakers, policy advocates, civil society organizations, academics, news media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans. National Partners in each country conduct the survey. In Sierra Leone, Afrobarometer Round 6 survey fieldwork was conducted by ITASCAP, and CGG and Lena Thompson are responsible for dissemination.

4 Where Afrobarometer works

5 Methodology Nationally representative sample of adult citizens All respondents are randomly selected. Sample is distributed across districts/provinces and urban/rural areas in proportion to their share in the national population. Every adult citizen has an equal chance of being selected. Face-to-face interviews In the language of the respondent s choice. Standard questionnaire allows comparisons across countries and over time. Sample size in Sierra Leone of 1,200 adult citizens yields a margin of error of +/-3% with a 95% confidence level. Fieldwork for Round 6 in Sierra Leone was conducted between 22 May and 10 June

6 Survey demographics Gender Location Male 50 Female 50 Urban 37 Rural 63 Region East 25 North 33 South 22 West 20 Education No formal education 45 Primary 13 Secondary 28 Post-secondary 14 Religion Christian 22 Muslim 73 Other 4 %

7 Results

8 Economic well-being of Sierra Leoneans

9 Key findings Eight in ten Sierra Leoneans (82%)consider the country s current economic condition as very bad or fairly Bad. A sizeable majority (66%) consider their own present living condition to be very bad or fairly bad. A sizeable percentage of Sierra Leoneans (45%)consider their present living conditions to be very bad or fairly bad than their compatriots. A little over half of Sierra Leoneans consider their present living conditions to be very bad or fairly bad than it was 12 months ago. About four in ten Sierra Leoneans (43%) consider economic and living conditions to be better or much better in a year s time and are optimistic about economic and living conditions in a year s time.

10 Country s present economic conditions Respondents were asked: In general, how would you describe: the present economic condition of this country?

11 Citizens present living conditions Respondents were asked: In general, how would you describe your own living conditions?

12 Present living conditions compared to others Respondents were asked: In general, how do you rate your living conditions compared to those of other Sierra Leoneans?

13 Retrospective assessment of national living conditions Respondents were asked: looking back, how do you rate economic conditions in this country compared to 12 months ago?

14 Prospective assessment of national living conditions Respondents were asked: Looking ahead, do you expect economic conditions in this country to be better or worse in 12 months time?

15 Government performance ratings

16 Key finding A large percentage of Sierra Leoneans rated government s performance in managing the economy, improving the living standards of the poor, creating jobs, keeping prices down and narrowing income gaps between the rich and the poor as very bad or "bad.

17 Government s efforts at managing the economy Respondents were asked: How well or badly would you say the current government is handling the following matters, or haven t you heard enough to say: Managing the economy?

18 Government s efforts at improving living standards of the poor Respondents were asked: How well or badly would you say the current government is handling the following matters, or haven t you heard enough to say: Improving the living standards of the poor?

19 Government s efforts are creating jobs Respondents were asked: how well or badly would you say the current government is handling the following matters, or haven t you heard enough to say: Creating jobs?

20 Government s efforts at keeping prices down Respondents were asked: How well or badly would you say the current government is handling the following matters, or haven t you heard enough to say: Keeping prices down?

21 Government s efforts at narrowing income gaps Respondents were asked: how well or badly would you say the current government is handling the following matters, or haven t you heard enough to say: Narrowing gaps between rich and poor

22 Overall direction of the country

23 Key finding A large majority of Sierra Leoneans (80%) believe that the country is not heading in the right direction; while a small minority (16%) expressed contrasting views.

24 Overall direction of the country Respondents were asked: Would you say that the country is going in the wrong direction or going in the right direction?

25 Conclusion

26 Conclusion A majority of sierra Leoneans (74%)consider their present living conditions has deteriorated since A large percentage of sierra Leoneans rated government s performance in managing the economy as very bad or fairly bad. A large majority of sierra Leoneans (80%) believe that the country is not heading in the right direction.

27 Thank you