Azernews.Az

President Ilham Aliyev has extremely high trust and approval rating among Azerbaijani citizens - 95 percent and 96 percent respectively, says a survey carried out by Populus Limited, one of Britain’s top opinion research companies.

Gerald Frost, director of Britain’s Caspian Information Centre (CIC), which ordered survey, told a press conference in Baku on Tuesday that public opinion polls conducted in Western countries have never revealed such a high level of trust for a leader. "Anyway, it would be hard to encounter such poll findings in European countries."

The poll found that the decision of the Azerbaijani president to spearhead his country’s anti-corruption drive and to put this at the center of his political program might have boosted his already high levels of popularity.

The government also enjoys a high level of popular support, according to the survey, with 71 percent of respondents saying that it is doing a good job and 75 percent saying they trust it.

Frost said that 79 percent of polled adults think that things in Azerbaijan "are generally going in the right direction", and 70 percent think that about the economy. But 40 percent of respondents believe the employment situation has worsened over the past decade.

Just over half of those polled - 54 percent - think that everyday life is improving, and 49 percent that their children will have more opportunities and a better lifestyle, against 30 percent who believe life is getting worse, and 14 percent who think their children’s prospects are gloomier.

23 percent of respondents cited the importance of political stability, while 15 percent cited economic growth.

82 percent think that Azerbaijan’s international standing has improved.

Frost said that people generally think that Azerbaijan is a secure, improving, stable and strong country.

During the survey, commissioned from September 10-30, 1,000 adults were asked questions about all aspects of life in Azerbaijan in one of the most comprehensive surveys of public opinion ever undertaken in the country. Topics included the economy, quality of life and the performance of the president and government.

Frost said the reason such a poll was conducted in Azerbaijan is the country’s rampant development in recent years.

"No other country has enjoyed such a high growth rate in past years. This being said, it was interesting for us to conduct a survey in Azerbaijan."

Frost added that CIC plans to conduct a poll on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh in the future.