Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Poland
Poland: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.303 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Poland, 1990–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in Poland is 0.303, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 23.9% on the previous year and up 58.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Poland peaked at 0.398 in 2019 and was at its lowest, -0.9988, in 2004.
That places Poland 47th 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 Poland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | -0.7021 | — |
| 1991 | -0.8527 | +21.4% |
| 1992 | -0.7878 | -7.6% |
| 1993 | -0.6925 | -12.1% |
| 1994 | -0.7255 | +4.8% |
| 1995 | -0.3095 | -57.3% |
| 1996 | -0.1938 | -37.4% |
| 1997 | 0.0274 | -114.1% |
| 1998 | -0.1252 | -557.5% |
| 1999 | -0.2806 | +124.1% |
| 2000 | -0.4922 | +75.4% |
| 2001 | -0.6999 | +42.2% |
| 2002 | -0.8229 | +17.6% |
| 2003 | -0.9102 | +10.6% |
| 2004 | -0.9988 | +9.7% |
| 2005 | -0.9099 | -8.9% |
| 2006 | -0.5675 | -37.6% |
| 2007 | -0.1466 | -74.2% |
| 2008 | 0.0945 | -164.5% |
| 2009 | 0.2142 | +126.7% |
| 2010 | 0.1913 | -10.7% |
| 2011 | 0.1449 | -24.3% |
| 2012 | 0.042 | -71.0% |
| 2013 | 0.0179 | -57.5% |
| 2014 | 0.0337 | +88.5% |
| 2015 | 0.167 | +395.9% |
| 2016 | 0.1654 | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 0.2125 | +28.4% |
| 2018 | 0.359 | +69.0% |
| 2019 | 0.398 | +10.9% |
| 2020 | 0.303 | -23.9% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 0.303 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Poland's 0.303 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 Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | -557.5% | 0.0274 | -0.1252 |
| 2015 | +395.9% | 0.0337 | 0.167 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.4642 | -0.8527 | 0.0274 | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5239 | -0.9988 | 0.2142 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1732 | 0.0179 | 0.398 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.303 | 0.303 | 0.303 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More social development data for Poland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 990,469 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,368 (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 1,368 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0272 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 Poland?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Poland was 0.303 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.398 in 2019.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.9988 in 2004.
- How does Poland rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Poland ranks 47th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 58.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Poland 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 — 31 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.