When asked to name one country or territory that comes closest to their ideal form of government, people most frequently mention Australia (24%). The next most named country is New Zealand (9%), followed by the United States (7%). Many Australians appear to idealise the governance systems of Nordic countries, with Sweden (5%), Norway (4%), Denmark and Finland (both 3%) all appearing in the top ten. Singapore (4%) and Japan (3%) were the only two Asian countries in the top ten.

Democracy appears to be a common feature among these countries, with eight of the top ten most frequently named countries also rated as ‘full democracies’ in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Democracy Index, while the United States and Singapore were rated as ‘flawed democracies’.

Respondents who selected ‘in some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable’ in the previous question, most frequently name Singapore (12%) as closest to their ideal.

Ideal form of government