Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium
Belgium: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.5193 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium, 1973–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 0.5193 for citizen satisfaction with democracy in 2020.
That represents a change of down 33.2% on the previous year and down 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium peaked at 1.03 in 2017 and was at its lowest, -0.6875, in 1997.
Belgium ranks 35th of 131 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0.5639 | — |
| 1974 | 0.4587 | -18.7% |
| 1975 | 0.342 | -25.4% |
| 1976 | 0.2293 | -33.0% |
| 1977 | 0.1214 | -47.0% |
| 1978 | -0.047 | -138.7% |
| 1979 | -0.238 | +406.6% |
| 1980 | -0.4844 | +103.5% |
| 1981 | -0.4731 | -2.3% |
| 1982 | -0.2982 | -37.0% |
| 1983 | -0.1412 | -52.6% |
| 1984 | -0.0451 | -68.0% |
| 1985 | 0.0948 | -310.2% |
| 1986 | 0.0717 | -24.4% |
| 1987 | 0.1197 | +67.0% |
| 1988 | 0.2453 | +105.0% |
| 1989 | 0.4052 | +65.2% |
| 1990 | 0.4504 | +11.2% |
| 1991 | 0.3858 | -14.3% |
| 1992 | 0.2176 | -43.6% |
| 1993 | 0.1337 | -38.6% |
| 1994 | 0.1445 | +8.0% |
| 1995 | 0.0006 | -99.6% |
| 1996 | -0.343 | -57486.6% |
| 1997 | -0.6875 | +100.4% |
| 1998 | -0.5314 | -22.7% |
| 1999 | 0.0151 | -102.8% |
| 2000 | 0.3212 | +2026.9% |
| 2001 | 0.4434 | +38.1% |
| 2002 | 0.74 | +66.9% |
| 2003 | 0.7515 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 0.8056 | +7.2% |
| 2005 | 0.8489 | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 0.8971 | +5.7% |
| 2007 | 0.839 | -6.5% |
| 2008 | 0.7092 | -15.5% |
| 2009 | 0.6951 | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 0.6004 | -13.6% |
| 2011 | 0.7239 | +20.6% |
| 2012 | 0.903 | +24.8% |
| 2013 | 0.9282 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.8657 | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 0.9434 | +9.0% |
| 2016 | 0.9766 | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 1.03 | +6.0% |
| 2018 | 0.9494 | -8.2% |
| 2019 | 0.7769 | -18.2% |
| 2020 | 0.5193 | -33.2% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 0.5193 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 1.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 0.5193 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is -0.0062. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -57486.6% | 0.0006 | -0.343 |
| 2000 | +2026.9% | 0.0151 | 0.3212 |
| 1979 | -406.6% | -0.047 | -0.238 |
| 1985 | +310.2% | -0.0451 | 0.0948 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2043 | -0.238 | 0.5639 | 7 |
| 1980s | -0.0505 | -0.4844 | 0.4052 | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0214 | -0.6875 | 0.4504 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7051 | 0.3212 | 0.8971 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8702 | 0.6004 | 1.03 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5193 | 0.5193 | 0.5193 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More social development data for Belgium
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 186,393 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 113 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 113 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0156 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Belgium was 0.5193 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 1.03 in 2017.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.6875 in 1997.
- How does Belgium rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Belgium ranks 35th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen satisfaction with democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the average extent to which citizens are satisfied with democracy in their own country. It combines responses across more than one thousand nationally-representative surveys on how citizens' satisfaction with democracy.