Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands
Netherlands: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 1.66 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands, 1973–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands is 1.66, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands peaked at 1.66 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0624, in 1982.
That places Netherlands 9th out of 131 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0.0838 | — |
| 1974 | 0.2144 | +155.8% |
| 1975 | 0.3393 | +58.2% |
| 1976 | 0.4694 | +38.3% |
| 1977 | 0.4625 | -1.5% |
| 1978 | 0.3894 | -15.8% |
| 1979 | 0.3016 | -22.6% |
| 1980 | 0.1015 | -66.3% |
| 1981 | 0.1395 | +37.3% |
| 1982 | 0.0624 | -55.2% |
| 1983 | 0.0756 | +21.1% |
| 1984 | 0.1245 | +64.7% |
| 1985 | 0.1735 | +39.3% |
| 1986 | 0.2702 | +55.7% |
| 1987 | 0.3402 | +25.9% |
| 1988 | 0.4792 | +40.9% |
| 1989 | 0.716 | +49.4% |
| 1990 | 0.7663 | +7.0% |
| 1991 | 0.7593 | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 0.771 | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.7605 | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 0.7754 | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 0.8634 | +11.3% |
| 1996 | 0.989 | +14.6% |
| 1997 | 1.12 | +13.4% |
| 1998 | 1.25 | +11.4% |
| 1999 | 1.32 | +5.2% |
| 2000 | 1.08 | -18.1% |
| 2001 | 0.8062 | -25.1% |
| 2002 | 0.566 | -29.8% |
| 2003 | 0.622 | +9.9% |
| 2004 | 0.7328 | +17.8% |
| 2005 | 0.9515 | +29.8% |
| 2006 | 1.19 | +25.5% |
| 2007 | 1.26 | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 1.18 | -6.1% |
| 2009 | 1.23 | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 1.29 | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 1.26 | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 1.28 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 1.19 | -7.0% |
| 2014 | 1.21 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 1.28 | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 1.39 | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 1.46 | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 1.41 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 1.6 | +12.9% |
| 2020 | 1.66 | +3.9% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 1.66 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 5.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 1.66 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 Netherlands 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 | +155.8% | 0.0838 | 0.2144 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.3229 | 0.0838 | 0.4694 | 7 |
| 1980s | 0.2483 | 0.0624 | 0.716 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9371 | 0.7593 | 1.32 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9628 | 0.566 | 1.26 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.34 | 1.19 | 1.6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.66 | 1.66 | 1.66 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More social development data for Netherlands
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 283,935 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 159 (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 159 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0157 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 Netherlands?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Netherlands was 1.66 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 1.66 in 2020.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0624 in 1982.
- How does Netherlands rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Netherlands ranks 9th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.