Great majority of Liberians say they have confidence in the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, according to an international independent public opinion poll.

Close to 60 percent of Liberians say they have confidence in the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, with just 13 percent saying they have no confidence in her and about 27 percent say they have some confidence in her leadership. According to the same poll, 70 percent of Liberians believe that the President upholds the laws of the country. The survey was conducted out by an international independent, non-partisan research instrument called AFROBAROMETER that measures the social, political and economic atmosphere in Africa.

AFROMBAROMETER conducts surveys on democracy, markets and civil society covering 20 African countries. The survey covered all 15 counties and every religious and ethnic group in the country. The group is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign affairs, the Swedish international Development Agency and the United States Agency for international development.

Asked whether they are now more hopeful about the future than before, the great majority of Liberians say they believe in a brighter future. When asked if they expect economic conditions to be better or worse in the next twelve months, 67 percent of Liberians expect things to get better.

Liberians in their majority are prepared to make sacrifices now in order to get things better in the future. Responding to the question stating "in order for the economy to get better, it is necessary for us to accept some hardship now," 69 percent of the people said "yes."

In the same survey, 53 percent of Liberians in urban communities and 50 percent of people in rural areas said they have never gone without clean water for the house in the past year. Regarding the freedom of the media, 77 percent of Liberians say that newspapers should be free to publish any story they see fit without fear of being shut down.

Regarding in their personal safety, 54 percent of Liberians said that over the past year, they never feared crime in their own home while 81 percent said they had never been exposed to violence.

Liberians who took the survey answered 100 questions, encompassing all aspects of their lives. The questions concerned personal safety, democratic process and even issues relating to the influence of donor countries on national politics.

Regarding Liberia's international partners, 66 percent of the interviewees say that Nigeria has been helping Liberia while 78 percent responded yes to the same question regarding the United States. In the same category, 69 percent of Liberians say China is helping while ECOWAS as a regional body get 71 percent approval and the United Nations 79 percent.

In their appreciation of political parties, Unity Party gets the highest mark at 26 percent, followed by the Congress for Democratic Change at 17 percent and Liberty Party 4 percent. The same study finds that 54 percent of Liberians do not feel close to any political party at all.

The study shows that 95 percent of Liberians own no motor vehicle, car or motor cycle and some 54 percent of those surveyed are looking for a job.

On the question of local governance, 80 percent of Liberians think that their local officials should be elected. While receiving 78 percent approval for the empowerment of women, the government fell short on providing a reliable source of electricity.

The study further shows that Liberians have fully embraced the democratic process and are willing to work longer to resolve old problems rather than resort to violence and 75 percent of them said they participated in the last national elections. The great majority of Liberians, 84 percent of them say they feel totally free. Liberians in their majority also feel that opposition political parties should work with government to find solutions to developmental problems.

Finally, asked "what are the most important problems facing this country that government should address, the majority of people interviewed list the economy (26 percent), followed by unemployment (23 percent), food shortage (10 percent), poverty (6 percent), corruption (4 percent), and farming and food production (3 percent) and so on. The much talked about corruption comes in with 4 percent.

Not all aspects of the study are positive for government. Among the interviewed, 75 percent of the people don't believe government is doing enough to create jobs. An almost equal number believe that government officials are engaged in corrupt practices (72 percent) as well as attempt to narrowing the gap between the poor and the rich give government a negative score.

These negative trends are however offset by the positive actions that have long lasting effect on people's welfare and overall social progress. For example, 51 percent of Liberians think that government is fighting crime. Another 66 percent say that government is addressing the educational needs of the country and 60 percent say government is working to improve basic health services. Finally, 73 percent think that government is empowering women.

The survey was conducted in Liberia from December 8 to December 21, 2008 and is just now being released.