Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Germany
Germany: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 1.15 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Germany, 1973–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Germany recorded 1.15 for citizen satisfaction with democracy in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.0% on the previous year and up 151.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Germany peaked at 1.32 in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.0367, in 1973.
Germany ranks 15th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Germany, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0.0367 | — |
| 1974 | 0.4073 | +1009.4% |
| 1975 | 0.7782 | +91.1% |
| 1976 | 1.15 | +48.3% |
| 1977 | 1.29 | +11.9% |
| 1978 | 1.31 | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.32 | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 1.19 | -9.3% |
| 1981 | 1.11 | -7.3% |
| 1982 | 1.02 | -8.0% |
| 1983 | 1.06 | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 1.11 | +4.8% |
| 1985 | 1.15 | +4.1% |
| 1986 | 1.23 | +6.6% |
| 1987 | 1.24 | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 1.29 | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 1.19 | -7.9% |
| 1990 | 0.977 | -17.8% |
| 1991 | 0.6057 | -38.0% |
| 1992 | 0.3109 | -48.7% |
| 1993 | 0.1742 | -44.0% |
| 1994 | 0.2331 | +33.8% |
| 1995 | 0.3316 | +42.3% |
| 1996 | 0.2636 | -20.5% |
| 1997 | 0.1934 | -26.6% |
| 1998 | 0.3971 | +105.3% |
| 1999 | 0.5431 | +36.8% |
| 2000 | 0.3375 | -37.8% |
| 2001 | 0.1872 | -44.5% |
| 2002 | 0.1869 | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 0.1583 | -15.3% |
| 2004 | 0.1296 | -18.2% |
| 2005 | 0.122 | -5.8% |
| 2006 | 0.2015 | +65.2% |
| 2007 | 0.3819 | +89.5% |
| 2008 | 0.3505 | -8.2% |
| 2009 | 0.3448 | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.4564 | +32.4% |
| 2011 | 0.7138 | +56.4% |
| 2012 | 0.8894 | +24.6% |
| 2013 | 0.8899 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9358 | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 0.9113 | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 0.9626 | +5.6% |
| 2017 | 0.9702 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.8497 | -12.4% |
| 2019 | 0.9719 | +14.4% |
| 2020 | 1.15 | +18.0% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 1.15 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 3.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Germany's 1.15 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 Germany 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +1009.4% | 0.0367 | 0.4073 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8998 | 0.0367 | 1.32 | 7 |
| 1980s | 1.16 | 1.02 | 1.29 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.403 | 0.1742 | 0.977 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.24 | 0.122 | 0.3819 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8551 | 0.4564 | 0.9719 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More social development data for Germany
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.66 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 327 (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 327 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0318 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 Germany?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Germany was 1.15 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 1.32 in 1979.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0367 in 1973.
- How does Germany rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Germany ranks 15th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 151.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Germany 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.