Commissioned by Democracy Without Borders and covering 101 countries representing 90% of the world’s population, the survey finds that 40% of people globally support creating a World Parliament to address global issues. Only 27% are opposed, while a significant 33% remain neutral.
For the first time at this scale, we see clear evidence that a relative global majority supports the idea of a citizen-elected World Parliament – not as an abstract utopia, but likely as a response to real and shared challenges: climate breakdown, wars, pandemics, inequality, and the democratic deficit at the global level. Even more striking is that opposition globally remains a minority, while a large share of citizens remain open, undecided, and ready for dialogue.
People are ahead of their governments when it comes to re-imagining democracy and international politics.
What stands out most powerfully is who supports this idea. Support is strongest among young people, among those with fewer economic and political privileges, among ethnic minorities, and among citizens living in regions that have historically been marginalized in global decision-making. In other words, those who experience exclusion most directly are calling most clearly for democratic inclusion – not less democracy, but more.
Equally revealing is where skepticism is strongest: in wealthy, stable democracies that have long held disproportionate influence over global institutions. This is not to be seen a rejection of democracy. It is a reminder that privilege may breed complacency, and that those who benefit from existing arrangements may underestimate how urgently democratic change is needed.
One third of respondents worldwide chose a neutral position. This is not apathy. It is a democratic opening. It signals unfamiliarity, not hostility, of- a public that has not yet been invited into a serious conversation about how global decisions are made, and who gets to shape them.
But whatever the case, the data from this survey highlights a common desire: to either gain or to maintain empowered voices. That is a democratic demand.
These findings matter deeply at a time when authoritarianism is advancing and multilateral institutions such as the UN are under strain. It disputes the view that citizens somehow are in search of an authoritarian saviour.
Democracy remains humanity’s most powerful shared aspiration.
It reminds us that democracy remains humanity’s most powerful shared aspiration – including at the global level.
People living under restricted freedoms see global democratic representation not as a threat to sovereignty, but as a potential extension of their rights and dignity. That alone should challenge many assumptions held in established capitals.
A World Parliament is not a finished blueprint. It is a democratic challenge. A challenge to think in new and innovative ways about how democracy can serve us at the global scale. Democracy is alive when we ask the right questions and do so together. The survey demonstrates readiness for debate, for imagination, and for institutional courage.
The challenge is clear. We can continue to govern a deeply interconnected world with structures designed for another century, leading to catastrophe – or we can listen to the voices captured in this survey and begin the hard, hopeful work of democratizing globalization itself.
The future of democracy will not be saved by nostalgia for national institutions alone. It will be secured by extending democratic principles and culture wherever power is exercised – including globally.
This survey shows that the world’s citizens are ready to have that conversation.
Now it is time for leaders to catch up.
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George Papandreou is a Member of the Greek Parliament and former Greek Prime Minister. He is General Rapporteur for Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.