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Afghanistan Survey Data
About
Since 2009, Democracy International (DI) has worked to support the strengthening of Afghanistan’s electoral processes, both through international election observation missions as well as by supporting domestic advocacy for electoral reform. Currently, DI implements USAID’s Afghanistan Electoral Reform and Civic Advocacy program (AERCA). AERCA’s two primary components are to support Afghan-led advocacy efforts for electoral and democratic reform and to conduct research that can inform and encourage the debate on reform. To contribute to the achievement of these objectives, DI has conducted some of the most comprehensive public opinion research on Afghan democracy to date.
DI conducted this survey on the heels of the formation of the National Unity Government in order to understand the Afghan public’s attitudes about democracy and the elections, the impact and reach of civic education efforts, and confidence in political institutions, among other things. In its presentation of the findings from this survey, DI uses its previous nationwide survey data from 2012 and 2013 as points for comparison, where possible. The findings from this survey can help inform the Afghan and international community on future engagement on issues related to democracy, elections, and civic education.
Methodology
According to the Central Statistic Organization of Afghanistan (Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2013-14), 48.28 percent of the population is 18 years of age or older. With a sample size of 4,020 out of an adult population of approximately 12,565,785 the survey has a margin of error of ±1.55% at a 95% confidence level with an estimate of 50 percent response distribution. To minimize the margin of error at the provincial level, DI created a random sampling plan which was stratified by province, urban-rural divide, and gender using the 2013–14 population data from Afghanistan’s Central Statistics Organization as a reference. A total of 402 sampling points were distributed with 10 interviews per each sample point.
Soft Power Solutions (SPS), an Afghan research firm DI sub-contracted to conduct the fieldwork for this survey, recruited and deployed 143 enumerators (72 male and 71 female). DI dispatched 36 quality-control officers to verify the fieldwork conducted through direct observation, verification, and review through a standard back-check form. At least one quality-control officer was deployed in each province. DI pilot-tested the 82-question instrument in rural and urban areas before beginning fieldwork to ensure the clarity of individual questions and to identify issues that might affect the survey quality. The data collection commenced on October 31, 2014 and was completed by November 28, 2014.
Geography
DI clustered Afghanistan's 34 provinces into eight regions for the purposes of designing a statistically-sound stratified sample and analyzing survey data.
General Issues
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Political Climate
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Democracy & Institutions
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Electoral Issues
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Voter Participation
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Latest Survey
General Issues
Successes in Past Ten Years
Problems at National Level
Problems at Community Level
Direction of the Country
Direction of the Country by Region
Why Going in Right Direction
Why Going in Wrong Direction
Living Conditions
Security Situation
Political Climate
Support for Reconciliation with Taliban
Support for Withdrawal of International Forces
Support for National Unity Government
Likelihood of National Unity Government Success
Support for Seven-Point Political Agreement
Democracy & Institutions
Satisfaction with Democracy
Satisfaction with Elections
Satisfaction with IEC & IECC
Confidence in Institutions & Authorities
Political System
Importance of Ethnicity in Politics
Electoral Issues
Legitimacy of 2009 & 2014 Elections
Legitimacy of 2014 Elections
Legitimacy of 2014 Elections by Voters
Integrity of 2014 Results
Audit & Confidence in Results
Biggest Election Successes
Biggest Election Problems
Need for Electoral Reform
Important Electoral Reforms
Women & Elections
Voter Participation
Voted in 2014 Elections
Reasons Voted for a Candidate
Plan to Vote in Parliamentary Elections
Reasons to Vote for Parliamentary Candidate
Challenges to Voter Participation
Challenges to Women's Participation