Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea
South Korea: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.363 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea, 2000–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea stood at 0.363.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 186.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea peaked at 0.365 in 2018 and was at its lowest, -1.05, in 2004.
That places South Korea 41st out of 131 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -0.5693 | — |
| 2001 | -0.64 | +12.4% |
| 2002 | -0.7509 | +17.3% |
| 2003 | -0.8565 | +14.1% |
| 2004 | -1.05 | +22.7% |
| 2005 | -0.8513 | -19.0% |
| 2006 | -0.6496 | -23.7% |
| 2007 | -0.5898 | -9.2% |
| 2008 | -0.5302 | -10.1% |
| 2009 | -0.4743 | -10.5% |
| 2010 | -0.4183 | -11.8% |
| 2011 | -0.3626 | -13.3% |
| 2012 | -0.2761 | -23.9% |
| 2013 | -0.2597 | -5.9% |
| 2014 | -0.2377 | -8.4% |
| 2015 | -0.2184 | -8.1% |
| 2016 | -0.1853 | -15.2% |
| 2017 | -0.1526 | -17.6% |
| 2018 | 0.365 | -339.2% |
| 2019 | 0.3634 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.363 | -0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.363 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.363 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7476, 49% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +339.2% | -0.1526 | 0.365 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -0.6963 | -1.05 | -0.4743 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.1382 | -0.4183 | 0.365 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.363 | 0.363 | 0.363 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More social development data for South Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 117 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 South Korea?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Korea was 0.363 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.365 in 2018.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.05 in 2004.
- How does South Korea rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- South Korea ranks 41st out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 186.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea 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 — 21 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.