Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal
Portugal: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.9762 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal, 1985–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal is 0.9762, measured in 2020.
The figure is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 194.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal peaked at 1.12 in 1991 and was at its lowest, -1.15, in 2013.
Portugal ranks 20th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | -0.0269 | — |
| 1986 | 0.3595 | -1435.3% |
| 1987 | 0.6109 | +69.9% |
| 1988 | 0.6329 | +3.6% |
| 1989 | 0.7931 | +25.3% |
| 1990 | 1.03 | +30.3% |
| 1991 | 1.12 | +8.1% |
| 1992 | 0.928 | -16.9% |
| 1993 | 0.559 | -39.8% |
| 1994 | 0.3089 | -44.7% |
| 1995 | 0.0821 | -73.4% |
| 1996 | 0.0343 | -58.2% |
| 1997 | -0.009 | -126.3% |
| 1998 | -0.0146 | +61.7% |
| 1999 | 0.3248 | -2325.2% |
| 2000 | 0.1024 | -68.5% |
| 2001 | -0.1432 | -239.8% |
| 2002 | -0.3309 | +131.0% |
| 2003 | -0.4867 | +47.1% |
| 2004 | -0.6242 | +28.2% |
| 2005 | -0.5103 | -18.2% |
| 2006 | -0.6452 | +26.4% |
| 2007 | -0.6833 | +5.9% |
| 2008 | -0.8624 | +26.2% |
| 2009 | -0.9493 | +10.1% |
| 2010 | -1.04 | +9.1% |
| 2011 | -0.9758 | -5.7% |
| 2012 | -0.97 | -0.6% |
| 2013 | -1.15 | +18.4% |
| 2014 | -0.8673 | -24.5% |
| 2015 | -0.4966 | -42.7% |
| 2016 | 0.2136 | -143.0% |
| 2017 | 0.7837 | +266.8% |
| 2018 | 0.9532 | +21.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9449 | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 0.9762 | +3.3% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 0.9762 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.303, 3.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 0.9762 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 Portugal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +2325.2% | -0.0146 | 0.3248 |
| 1986 | +1435.3% | -0.0269 | 0.3595 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.4739 | -0.0269 | 0.7931 | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.4363 | -0.0146 | 1.12 | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5133 | -0.9493 | 0.1024 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.2598 | -1.15 | 0.9532 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9762 | 0.9762 | 0.9762 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More social development data for Portugal
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 70,349 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 109 (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 109 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0065 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 Portugal?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Portugal was 0.9762 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 1.12 in 1991.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.15 in 2013.
- How does Portugal rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Portugal ranks 20th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 194.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Portugal 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 — 36 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.