Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Iceland
Iceland: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.3441 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Iceland, 1999–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Iceland stood at 0.3441.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 43.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Iceland peaked at 1.27 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.1219, in 2009.
Iceland ranks 43rd 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 Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1.27 | — |
| 2000 | 1.17 | -7.6% |
| 2001 | 1.08 | -8.5% |
| 2002 | 0.9787 | -9.0% |
| 2003 | 0.8838 | -9.7% |
| 2004 | 0.7842 | -11.3% |
| 2005 | 0.7464 | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 0.7086 | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 0.6617 | -6.6% |
| 2008 | 0.3901 | -41.0% |
| 2009 | 0.1219 | -68.8% |
| 2010 | 0.2398 | +96.7% |
| 2011 | 0.3632 | +51.5% |
| 2012 | 0.4858 | +33.7% |
| 2013 | 0.5534 | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 0.5407 | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 0.5242 | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 0.5142 | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 0.3395 | -34.0% |
| 2018 | 0.3426 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.3428 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 0.3441 | +0.4% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 0.3441 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 0.3441 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 Iceland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +96.7% | 0.1219 | 0.2398 |
| 2009 | -68.8% | 0.3901 | 0.1219 |
| 2011 | +51.5% | 0.2398 | 0.3632 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.7525 | 0.1219 | 1.17 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4246 | 0.2398 | 0.5534 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3441 | 0.3441 | 0.3441 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More social development data for Iceland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (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 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0216 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 Iceland?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Iceland was 0.3441 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.27 in 1999.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1219 in 2009.
- How does Iceland rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Iceland ranks 43rd out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iceland 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 — 22 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.