Performance Indexes

The Gallup World Poll is organized into Performance Indexes that track critical economic, social, and political issues. These indexes serve as indicators of correlations to other classical and behavioral economic data.

This index is an evaluation of national leadership as defined by the confidence people have in key institutions. Questions in this index measure approval of national governments and confidence in elections, judicial systems, and the military.

This index represents the security level that citizens observe for themselves and their families. Questions in this index measure confidence in local police, perceptions of safety, and specific problems such as money or property being stolen.

This index is derived from a series of questions designed to assess the capabilities people have to meet their everyday, basic needs. Questions in this index measure issues from having enough money for food and clothing to having running water and electricity in the home.

Items in this index focus on the degree of personal engagement at work -- whether it is paid labor or a part of day-to-day family subsistence. Questions in this index measure citizens' work and job classifications, their job satisfaction, and their ability to do what they do best every day.

The key issues included in this index focus on people's evaluations and outlook for their standard of living and the national economic situation. Questions in this index measure satisfaction with and improvements in standards of living, as well as national economic conditions.

This index measures personal perceptions of physical and emotional health. Questions in this index gauge satisfaction with personal health and citizens' self-reported levels of health, rest, worry, sadness, and pain.

Developed in collaboration with the world's foremost behavioral economists, the Well-Being Index items are used to rate citizens' current and past quality of life. Questions in this index measure overall life quality now and five years from now, as well as citizens' reported incidences of laughter, learning, and being treated with respect.

Items in the Engaged Citizens Index focus on respondents' satisfaction with their communities, and their inclination to volunteer their time, money, or assistance to others. Questions in this index gauge satisfaction with community, personal freedoms, generosity, and respect for minorities and other social groups.

The purpose of the Environment Index is to measure satisfaction with efforts to deal with environmental issues. Questions in this index gauge satisfaction with air quality, water quality, and the overall environmental system.

The Youth Development Index includes general measures of "development of youth" and "respect for youth," along with satisfaction with the educational system. Questions in this index gauge child treatment, learning opportunities for children, and satisfaction with schools and education.

The Community Quality of Life Index is a combination of many subindexes covering all aspects of community life from the perspective of the people who live there. Questions in this index measure overall satisfaction with community as well as satisfaction with community jobs, healthcare, transportation,appearance, education, leadership, housing, and environmental quality.

The Religiosity Index is a measure of the importance of religion and attendance of religious services. Questions in this index measure citizens' self-reported importance of religion and religious service attendance.

The items comprising the Entrepreneurship Index accomplish two objectives: They measure the intent of citizens to be in business for themselves, and they assess the supportive nature of the community for entrepreneurial business initiatives. Questions in this index measure citizens' opinions about planning their own business and other entrepreneurial issues.

The Corruption Index assesses the degree to which respondents perceive corruption within public and private institutions. Questions in this index measure corruption in businesses and government, among other areas.

The Tolerance Index measures overall perceived openness to diversity in respondents' communities. Questions in this index gauge citizens' opinions about helping strangers and whether their communities are good places for racial and ethnic minorities, gay and lesbian people, and immigrants to live.

The intent of the Communications Index is to evaluate the availability and penetration of communications technology. Questions in this index measure whether citizens have televisions, computers, and access to the Internet in their homes.

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