Washington (CNN) -- Americans overwhelmingly believe that the government is broken, according to a national poll released Sunday.
But the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.
Eighty-six percent of people questioned say that the system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no.
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Of the 86 percent, 81 percent say that the government can be fixed, but 5 percent say it's beyond repair.
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The percentage of Americans who believe the government is broken has increased by eight points since 2006.
"That increase is highest among higher-income Americans and people who live in rural areas," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, but those are the groups that make up the bulk of the Tea Party activists today."
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The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted February 12-15, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
