Uma pesquisa realizada em 38 países de seis continentes, incluindo o Brasil, mostrou que metade dos pouco mais de três mil entrevistados consideraram a liberdade de expressão como a condição mais importante para o exercício da cidadania plena. O estudo foi realizado pelo Pew Research Center,dos Estados Unidos, e mostrou algumas diferenças entre os países pesquisados como mostram os quadros abaixo:
O quadro mostra dados sobre as seguintes questões:
a) As pessoas podem dizer o que querem;
b) A imprensa tem liberdade para publicar o que desejar;
c) As pessoas podem usar a internet livremente.
A pesquisa do Pew Research Center também mostrou opiniões sobre liberdade religiosa, direitos das mulheres e eleições , como mostra o quadro abaixo:
Seguem-se dois parágrafos (em inglês) do resumo executivo da pesquisa:
Still, ideas about free expression vary widely across regions and nations. The United States stands out for its especially strong opposition to government censorship, as do countries in Latin America and Europe – particularly Argentina, Germany, Spain and Chile. Majorities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East also tend to oppose censorship, albeit with much less intensity. Indonesians, Palestinians, Burkinabe and Vietnamese are among the least likely to say free expression is very important.
While free expression is popular around the globe, other democratic rights are even more widely embraced. In Western and non-Western nations, throughout the global North and South, majorities want freedom of religion, gender equality, and honest, competitive elections. Yet the strength of commitment to individual liberties also varies. Americans are among the strongest supporters of these freedoms. Meanwhile, Europeans are especially likely to want gender equality and competitive elections, but somewhat less likely than others to prioritize religious freedom. The right to worship freely is most popular in sub-Saharan Africa. Across all regions, people who say religion is very important in their lives are more likely to value religious freedom.
O texto completo pode ser acessado em “Global Support for Principle of Free Expression, but Opposition to Some Forms of Speech”