Public Opinion in Egypt

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On Domestic Egyptian Issues

Right now, internal political and economic reform is more important in our country than any foreign policy issue. So we should stay out of any wars outside our borders. (Fikra Forum, May-June 2020)

	2018	2019	2020
Strongly agree	34%	30%	31%
Somewhat agree	50%	54%	54%
Somewhat disagree	11%	10%	9%
Strongly disagree	4%	4%	4%
Don't know/no answer	2%	3%	3%

It's a good thing we aren't having big street demonstrations here now, the way they do in some other Arab countries. (Fikra Forum, May-June 2020)

	2020
Strongly agree	14%
Somewhat agree	29%
Somewhat disagree	35%
Strongly disagree	19%
Don't know/no answer	4%

Whether the government is paying enough attention to public opinion about its policies. (Fikra Forum, May-June 2020)

	2020
Too little	68%
Too much	6%
About the right amount	22%
Don't know/no answer	7%

How much of a role do you think Islam plays in the political life of our country - a very large role, a fairly large role, a fairly small role, or a very small role? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Very large role	12%	20%
Fairly large role	35%	46%
Fairly small role	30%	29%
Very small role	18%	6%
Don't know/refused	5%	0%

If your answer to the question above was "large role," in your opinion, is this good or bad for our country? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Good	95%	61%
Bad	2%	30%
Neither (volunteered)	3%	7%
Don't know/refused	0%	1%

If your answer to the question above was "small role," in your opinion, is this good or bad for our country? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Good	3%	14%
Bad	77%	69%
Neither (volunteered)	13%	15%
Don't know/refused	6%	3%

If you had to choose between a good democracy or a strong economy, which would you say is more important? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2011	2012
A good democracy	42%	47%	48%
A strong economy	53%	49%	49%
Don't know/refused	5%	4%	4%

On a different subject, do you think women should have equal rights with men, or shouldn't they? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Should	60%	58%
Should not	32%	36%
Don't know/refused	8%	6%

Of those who think women should have equal rights: which of these two statements comes closer to your own views - even if neither is exactly right? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Egypt has made most of the changes needed to give women equal rights with men	36%	38%
Egypt needs to continue making changes to give women equal rights with men	59%	61%
Don't know/refused	5%	1%

Do you agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree with the following statement: Women should be able to work outside the home. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Completely agree	23%	25%
Mostly agree	38%	36%
Mostly disagree	25%	26%
Completely disagree	13%	11%
Don't know/refused	0%	2%

Do you agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree with the following statement: When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2012
Completely agree	43%	45%
Mostly agree	32%	34%
Mostly disagree	11%	10%
Completely disagree	9%	7%
Don't know/refused	5%	4%

Which of the following statements comes closest to your opinion: Men generally make better political leaders than women OR Women generally make better political leaders than men OR In general, women and men make equally good political leaders. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2012
Men generally make better political leaders than men	38%	42%
Women generally make better political leaders than men	15%	16%
In general, women and men make equally good political leaders	43%	39%
Don't know/refused	5%	3%

Some feel that we should rely on a democratic form of government to solve our country's problems. Others feel that we should rely on a leader with a strong hand to solve our country's problems. Which comes closer to your opinion? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2011	2012
Democratic form of government	50%	64%	61%
Strong leader	47%	34%	33%
Don't know/refused	4%	2%	6%

Which of the following three statements comes closest to your view? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2011	2012
Laws should strictly follow the teachings of the Quran	62%	60%
Laws should follow the values and principles of Islam but not strictly follow the teachings of the Quran	27%	32%
Laws should not be influenced by the teachings of the Quran	5%	6%
Don't know/refused	5%	3%

How concerned, if at all, are you about Islamic extremism in our country these days? Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned or not at all concerned about Islamic extremism in our country these days? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2006	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Very concerned	29%	31%	30%	20%	32%	33%
Somewhat concerned	39%	41%	32%	41%	33%	36%
Not too concerned	19%	20%	26%	32%	19%	15%
Not at all concerned	11%	9%	11%	6%	15%	13%
Don't know/refused	2%	0%	0%	1%	1%	3%

*In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the wording for this question was "the rise of Islamic extremism."

And which of these three statements is closest to your own opinion? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2011	2012
Democracy is preferable to any other kind of government	60%	71%	67%
In some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable	22%	17%	19%
For somewhat like me, it doesn't matter what kind of government we have	16%	10%	13%
Don't know/refused	2%	3%	1%

Now thinking about our economic situation, how would you describe the current economic situation in Egypt - is it very good, somewhat good, somewhat bad or very bad? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Improve a lot	1%	3%	3%	22%	19%
Improve a little	14%	23%	22%	34%	31%
Remain the same	35%	32%	35%	26%	28%
Worsen a little	31%	32%	22%	13%	16%
Worsen a lot	19%	9%	16%	4%	4%
Don't know/refused	2%	1%	4%	2%	2%

And over the next 12 months, do you expect the economic situation in our country to improve a lot, improve a little, remain the same, worsen a little or worsen a lot? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Very good	13%	10%	3%	2%	6%	4%
Somewhat good	40%	34%	24%	18%	28%	23%
Somewhat bad	23%	29%	29%	47%	36%	40%
Very bad	23%	25%	44%	33%	28%	31%
Don't know/refused	2%	2%	0%	0%	2%	2%

What is the most important issue or challenge that the government of Egypt should address? (open-ended) (Gallup, April 15, 2012)

	Unemployment/Job creation	Economic situation/ Increase wages	Security
General public	39%	23%	20%
Freedom and Justice Party	41%	24%	18%
Nour Party	36%	23%	22%
Free Egyptians Party	37%	21%	21%

What is the SECOND most important issue or challenge that the government of Egypt should address? (open-ended) (Gallup, April 15, 2012)

	Unemployment/Job creation	Economic situation/ Increase wages	Security
General public	25%	31%	20%
Freedom and Justice Party	22%	31%	20%
Nour Party	23%	31%	22%
Free Egyptians Party	27%	31%	16%

Thinking about the job situation in the city of area where you live today, would you say that it is now a good time or a bad time to find a job? (Gallup, April 15, 2012)

Good time	10%
Bad time	88%

*asked of Egyptian adults

Have food prices increased significantly over the past 12 months, or not? (Gallup, April 15, 2012)

Yes	95%
No	3%

*asked of Egyptian adults

Which of the following statements comes closest to your own view on a democratic government in Egypt? (Pew, April 2011)

	April 2010	April 2011
Democracy is preferable to any other kind of government	60%	71%
In some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable	22%	17%
For someone like me, it does not matter what kind of government Egypt has	16%	10%
Don't know	2%	3%

Which of the following statements comes closest to your own view? (Pew, April 2011)

Laws should strictly follow the teachings of the Quran	62%
Laws should follow the values and principles of Islam but should not strictly follow the teachings of the Quran	27%
Laws should not be influenced by the teachings of the Quran	5%
Don't know	5%

Do you believe the military will or will not hand over power to a civilian government after the presidential election? (Gallup, December 23, 2011)

will hand over power	82%
will not hand over power	8%

Do you think the military remaining involved in politics after the presidential election is a good thing or a bad thing for the country (asked of Egyptian adults)? (Gallup, December 23, 2011)

good thing	27%
bad thing	63%

Do you think delaying the presidential election is a good thing or a bad thing for the country? (Gallup, December 23, 2011)

good thing	9%
bad thing	87%

What is your opinion of Hosni Mubarak's decision to concede to protesters' demands and step down as president? (Pew, April 2011)

It was a good thing for Mubarak to resign	77%
It was a bad thing for Mubarak to resign	13%
Neither	9%
Don't know	1%

About the United States

What do you think is the most useful thing the U.S. could do in our region right now?. (Fikra Forum, May-June 2020)

	2020
Working to contain Iran's influence and activities	19%
Finding a diplomatic settlement for the wars in Yemen and Libya	24%
Protecting the Syrian people against any attacks	15%
Pushing for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict	35%
Don't know/no answer	7%

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the United States? (Pew)

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Favorable	30%	21%	22%	27%	17%	20%	19%
Unfavorable	69%	78%	75%	70%	82%	79%	79%

Egypt's relationship with the U.S. should be ... (Pew, May 8, 2012)

	2011	2012
About as close as it is now	40%	35%
Less close	43%	38%
Closer	15%	20%
Don't know	--	7%

How do you characterize the influence of the U.S. on the political situation in Egypt? (Pew, May 8, 2012)

Neither good nor bad	62%
Negative	21%
Positive	15%

Is American financial assistance to Egypt primarily economic or military? (Pew, May 8, 2012)

to help Egypt develop economically	34%
mostly military	23%
equally divided between economic and military assistance	28%
no opinion	14%

Do you favor or oppose ... (Gallup, February 6, 2012)

	Favor	Oppose
U.S. economic aid to Egypt?	26%	71%
the U.S. sending aid to Egyptian civil society groups?	20%	74%

Do you approve or disapprove of how President Obama is dealing with calls for political change in the Middle East? (Pew, April 2011)

Approve	45%
Disapprove	52%

Do you worry that the United States could become a military threat to your country someday? (Pew)

	2007	2009	2010	2011
Very/Somewhat worried	64%	51%	56%	54%

How much confidence do you have in U.S. President Barack Obama? (Pew, May 2011)

Not too much/No confidence	64%
A lot/Some confidence	35%

Do approve or disapprove of U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of each of the following issues? (Pew, May 2011)

	Approve	Disapprove
Calls for political change in the Middle East	45%	52%
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict	15%	82%
Iran	27%	68%

On Israel

People who want to have business or sports contacts with Israelis should be allowed to do so. (Fikra Forum, May-June 2020)

	2020
Strongly agree	1%
Somewhat agree	5%
Somewhat disagree	41%
Strongly disagree	49%
Don't know/no answer	4%

Should Egypt maintain or annul its 1979 peace treaty with Israel? (Pew, April 2011; Pew, May 8, 2012)

	2011	2012
Maintain	36%	32%
Annul	54%	61%
Don't know	10%	--

Arab/Muslim World

As you may know, Egypt has recently resumed diplomatic relations with Iran after more than 30 years. Do you approve or disapprove of resuming relations with Iran? (The Israel Project, October 25, 2012)

	Total Population	University Educated
Approve	65%	64%
Strongly Approve	19%	14%
Disapprove	30%	27%
Strongly Disapprove	12%	7%

Do you support or oppose Iran's developing nuclear weapons? (The Israel Project, October 25, 2012)

	August 2009	September 2012
Support	41%	61%
Strongly Support	22%	13%
Oppose	34%	30%
Strongly Oppose	20%	8%

If Iran develops nuclear weapons, how serious a threat would it be to Egypt - would it be a very serious threat, somewhat serious, just a little serious, or not a serious threat at all? (The Israel Project, October 25, 2012)

	August 2009	September 2012
Very Serious Threat	23%	30%
Somewhat Serious Threat	24%	52%
A Little Serious	15%	8%
Not serious at all	15%	1%

Please tell me whether you think the following action would be a good thing or a bad thing to have happen. (The Israel Project, October 25, 2012)

	Good	Bad
Egypt puts resources into developing nuclear energy	83%	12%
Egypt puts resources into developing nuclear weapons	87%	10%

In general, do you think the following governments favor or oppose democracy in the Middle East? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	Turkish government	Saudi Arabian government	U.S. government	Israeli government
Favors	78%	67%	37%	6%
Opposes	13%	21%	52%	88%
Both/neither (volunteered)	8%	10%	8%	3%
Don't know/refused	2%	2%	3%	3%

In general, do you think the popular uprisings of 2011 will lead to more democracy in the Middle East, or not? (Pew, July 10, 2012)

Yes, will lead to more democracy	76%
No, will not lead to more democracy	23%
Don't know/refused	2%

Now I'd like to ask your views about some additional political leaders. Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of the following leaders. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	Saudi King Abdullah	Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan	Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Very favorable	4%	40%	30%	5%
Somewhat favorable	19%	44%	41%	6%
Somewhat unfavorable	37%	10%	18%	36%
Very unfavorable	36%	4%	11%	48%
Don't know/refused	5%	1%	1%	5%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of the Taliban. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

Very favorable	3%
Somewhat favorable	16%
Somewhat unfavorable	40%
Very unfavorable	36%
Don't know/refused	6%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of the League of Arab States. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

Very favorable	23%
Somewhat favorable	36%
Somewhat unfavorable	23%
Very unfavorable	14%
Don't know/refused	5%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Turkey. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2011	2012
Very favorable	23%	26%
Somewhat favorable	39%	42%
Somewhat unfavorable	25%	23%
Very unfavorable	10%	8%
Don't know/refused	2%	1%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Saudi Arabia. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2008	2012
Very favorable	58%	61%	42%
Somewhat favorable	33%	23%	39%
Somewhat unfavorable	6%	9%	12%
Very unfavorable	2%	4%	5%
Don't know/refused	1%	3%	3%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Al-Qaeda. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2010	2011	2012
Very favorable	7%	2%	3%
Somewhat favorable	12%	19%	16%
Somewhat unfavorable	29%	32%	36%
Very unfavorable	43%	41%	37%
Don't know/refused	8%	5%	8%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Hezbollah. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Very favorable	20%	23%	20%	8%	3%	3%
Somewhat favorable	36%	31%	23%	21%	21%	17%
Somewhat unfavorable	32%	28%	27%	34%	40%	48%
Very unfavorable	9%	12%	30%	32%	34%	37%
Don't know/refused	3%	6%	1%	4%	3%	6%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Hamas. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Very favorable	20%	18%	26%	19%	12%	11%
Somewhat favorable	29%	24%	26%	28%	33%	28%
Somewhat unfavorable	31%	30%	24%	31%	32%	34%
Very unfavorable	18%	20%	20%	19%	19%	22%
Don't know/refused	2%	7%	4%	3%	4%	5%

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Iran. (Pew, July 10, 2012)

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Very favorable	13%	6%	9%	7%	5%	3%	4%
Somewhat favorable	46%	42%	37%	28%	28%	19%	18%
Somewhat unfavorable	30%	39%	34%	25%	34%	38%	42%
Very unfavorable	9%	11%	20%	37%	32%	37%	34%
Don't know/refused	1%	1%	1%	4%	1%	2%	1%

Do you favor or oppose aid to Egypt from international institutions? (Gallup, February 6, 2012)

Favor	50%
Oppose	42%

Do you favor or oppose aid to Egypt from Arab governments? (Gallup, February 6, 2012)

Favor	68%
Oppose	28%

Arab/Muslim Public Opinion Polls: Public Opinion in Egypt

(2006 - 2020)

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On Domestic Egyptian Issues

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Arab/Muslim World