Don’t worry, be happy – state of democracy in the Nordic countries

The challenges faced by democracy and the decline in political involvement pervade the current debate.  But what is the situation really like in the Nordic Region? The Nordic Council of Ministers has compared surveys of 7,000 residents of the Nordic countries between 2002 and 2016. The objective of the report Don’t worry, be happy – state of democracy in the Nordic countries has been to take a closer look at the development of Nordic people’s interest and involvement in politics. In addition, the report looks at how much those living in the Nordic Region trust their politicians and parliaments.

“The study suggests that both interest in politics and trust in politicians and democratic institutions remain high in the Nordic Region. This stability is particularly interesting when compared to the increasing distrust of the political sphere that we’re seeing in other parts of the world,” explains the author of the report, Christoffer Waldemarsson.

The report finds that, on the whole, developments were positive in the Nordic countries from 2002 to 2016. The interest in politics of those living in the Nordic countries rose from 55.1 per cent to 62.6 per cent. Nordic people are generally more interested in politics than people in the rest of Europe are, and although election turnout has fallen in both the Nordic Region and the rest of Europe, election turnout in the Nordic countries remains high at 80 per cent compared with 68 per cent in Europe.

Although there has been a slight average decline in trust in the political sphere, the Nordic countries still fare well in an international perspective. The fact is that the negative trend we’re seeing in the rest of Europe does not apply in the Nordic Region. Norwegians stand out in terms of the high level of trust that they have in their national parliament, while Icelanders have the lowest level of trust in the political sphere.

“In a time of political upheaval and increasing global distrust of political institutions, it’s interesting to look at how things are in the Nordic Region. Although we should be happy about the fact that the trend in the Nordic Region is largely positive when compared with the rest of Europe, we must remember that democracy is created each and every day. We can’t rest on our laurels,” says Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Paula Lehtomäki.

Compared with Europe, those living in the Nordic Region have substantially more trust in the European parliament than do other Europeans. In Europe, 30 per cent of respondents stated that they have a high level of trust in the European parliament, compared with 43 per cent of people in the Nordic Region. This is an increase of 26 per cent since 2002.