Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi
Malawi: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was -0.2553 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi, 2003–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi stood at -0.2553.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 176.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi peaked at 0.347 in 2012 and was at its lowest, -0.3824, in 2005.
That places Malawi 78th 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -0.0648 | — |
| 2004 | -0.2227 | +243.8% |
| 2005 | -0.3824 | +71.7% |
| 2006 | -0.1442 | -62.3% |
| 2007 | 0.0927 | -164.3% |
| 2008 | 0.326 | +251.7% |
| 2009 | 0.332 | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.3357 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 0.3425 | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 0.347 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 0.2613 | -24.7% |
| 2014 | 0.1717 | -34.3% |
| 2015 | 0.0277 | -83.9% |
| 2016 | -0.1148 | -514.4% |
| 2017 | -0.258 | +124.8% |
| 2018 | -0.2577 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | -0.2573 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | -0.2553 | -0.8% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's -0.2553 is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.2553, 1.0× the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Malawi's -0.2553 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.1972, 1.3× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | -514.4% | 0.0277 | -0.1148 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -0.0091 | -0.3824 | 0.332 | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.0598 | -0.258 | 0.347 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.2553 | -0.2553 | -0.2553 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More social development data for Malawi
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate -33.33 % 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 551 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 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 Malawi?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Malawi was -0.2553 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.347 in 2012.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.3824 in 2005.
- How does Malawi rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Malawi ranks 78th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 176.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi 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 — 18 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.