Citizen satisfaction with democracy in China
China: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.1464 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in China, 2001–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in China is 0.1464, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 26.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in China peaked at 0.6689 in 2001 and was at its lowest, -0.2268, in 2006.
China ranks 55th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1231 | -0.2268 | 0.6689 | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.1442 | 0.1159 | 0.1508 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1464 | 0.1464 | 0.1464 | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More social development data for China
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 153,962 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.072 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.045 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.03 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.072 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.036 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.039 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in China?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in China was 0.1464 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6689 in 2001.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.2268 in 2006.
- How does China rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- China ranks 55th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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 — 20 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.