December 13 (SeeNews) - The percentage of Macedonians who think that certain democratic institutions exist in the country is lower than elsewhere in Southeast Europe and the transition region as a whole, a survey conducted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) showed on Tuesday.
Only 35% of Macedonian respondents believe that their country has free elections and only 38% think that peace and stability are guaranteed in Mmacedonia, the EBRD said in the 2016 edition of its Life in Transition Survey. By comparison, in the transition region these percentages are 41% and 46%, respectively.
The survey covers 34 countries, mainly in transition, in central and eastern Europe, Asia, as well as Turkey. The survey also covers Cyprus and Greece for the first time. For the sake of comparison with more prosperous western neighbours, the survey was also carried out in Germany and Italy.
Just about a fifth of Macedonian citizens think there is fair justice system or political opposition in the country, the results of the survey showed. Only about 35% of the respondents believe Macedonia has freedom of speech and independent press.
Fewer people, 19% and 14% of the respondents, believe that the economic and political situation in Macedonia was better in 2016 than four years ago, which is in line with the findings for the SEE region (both at 17%), but is well below the figures for the transition region (24% and 28%, respectively). About 20% think that corruption levels have decreased during that period.
About 27% of Macedonian citizens say that their household was better off in 2016 as compared to the four years prior to the survey, and 30% are satisfied with their personal financial situation. Both percentages are in line with the averages for SEE.
Among Macedonian respondents, 27% would prefer extra government funding to be spent on helping the poor, a figure more than double the
average for the transition countries (13%) and one of the highest figures in the transition region and also well above the corresponding ones for Germany (5%) and Italy (16%).
Around two-fifths of Macedonian citizens said they were optimistic about the future of the young people, compared to around 50% of the respondents four years ago.
When asked what they thought were the most important factors for success in life in their country, almost half of the respondents (46%) chose the "political connections" option, EBRD said in its survey, calling the percentage striking. About 34% believe that "effort and hard work" are determining for success, whereas only 15% mentioned "intelligence and skills" as the main factors for success in life.