As they eagerly await the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese people express extraordinary levels of satisfaction with the direction their country is heading and with their nation's economy, ranking first in both measures among 24 countries, according to a survey released Tuesday. The poll also finds almost universal optimism about the Olympics.

Eighty-six percent of the Chinese surveyed said they were content with the country's direction, up from 48 percent in 2002, 25 percentage points higher than the next highest country, Australia. And 82 percent of Chinese were satisfied with their national economy, up from 52 percent in 2002.

These findings are revealed in the 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center's Pew Global Attitudes Project. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 3,212 adults in China between March 28 and April 19, 2008.

The poll also finds the Chinese as upbeat about the Olympics as they are about their national economy. Fully 96% believe China's hosting of the games will be a success and 93% say the Olympics will help the country's image around the world.

Most Chinese not only see the Olympics as important for their country, they also feel a personal connection to the games. Roughly eight-in-ten (79%) say the Olympics are important to them personally, and 90% feel this way in the host city, Beijing.

The Chinese public is also confident that their country's athletes will shine - 75% say the Chinese team will win the most medals, while only 15% believe the U.S., which brought home the most medals from the 2004 Summer Olympics, will win the medal count.

The new Pew Global Attitudes survey also finds that most Chinese citizens polled rate many aspects of their own lives favorably, including their family life, their incomes and their jobs. However, levels of personal satisfaction are generally lower than the national measures.

The poll also reveals rising concerns among the Chinese about inflation, corruption, environmental degradation and the income gap. 96% describe rising prices as a big problem for the country. And nearly half (48%) of those polled say health care is difficult for their family to afford.

Complaints about corruption are also widely prevalent, with 78% citing corruption among officials and 61% citing corruption among business leaders. While corruption is seen as a problem, most Chinese (65%) believe the government is doing a good job on issues that are most important to them.

Additional Findings:

China's "one-child policy" is overwhelmingly accepted. Roughly three-in-four (76%) approve of the policy, which restricts most couples to a single child.

Most Chinese (77%) agree that "children need to learn English to succeed in the world today," but this is down substantially from 2002, when 92% agreed with this view.

More than one-in-three Chinese report using the internet (38%) and owning a computer (36%), and one-in-four send email at least occasionally. The use of information technology is more common among the young, educated, wealthy and urban.

Television continues to be the primary source for national and international news for most Chinese (96% say it is one of their top two sources). Newspapers are a distant second (56%), and as in much of the world, readership is on the decline.

A small but growing number of Chinese are going online for news (13% name it as one of their top two sources), especially people with a college education and those under age 30.

(CRI July 23, 2008)