Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia
Russia: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was -0.031 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia, 1991–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia is -0.031, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and up 95.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia peaked at 0.147 in 2017 and was at its lowest, -2.54, in 1999.
Russia ranks 65th of 131 countries on this measure, 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 Russia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -1.89 | — |
| 1992 | -2 | +6.3% |
| 1993 | -2.09 | +4.3% |
| 1994 | -2.32 | +10.8% |
| 1995 | -2.45 | +5.9% |
| 1996 | -2.48 | +1.2% |
| 1997 | -2.5 | +0.6% |
| 1998 | -2.52 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | -2.54 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | -2.33 | -8.2% |
| 2001 | -2.11 | -9.4% |
| 2002 | -1.89 | -10.4% |
| 2003 | -1.68 | -11.5% |
| 2004 | -1.45 | -13.3% |
| 2005 | -1.33 | -8.2% |
| 2006 | -1.21 | -9.4% |
| 2007 | -1.03 | -14.4% |
| 2008 | -0.8662 | -16.3% |
| 2009 | -0.803 | -7.3% |
| 2010 | -0.7346 | -8.5% |
| 2011 | -0.662 | -9.9% |
| 2012 | -0.5864 | -11.4% |
| 2013 | -0.452 | -22.9% |
| 2014 | -0.3157 | -30.2% |
| 2015 | -0.1824 | -42.2% |
| 2016 | -0.0477 | -73.8% |
| 2017 | 0.147 | -408.1% |
| 2018 | -0.0278 | -118.9% |
| 2019 | -0.0302 | +8.9% |
| 2020 | -0.031 | +2.5% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's -0.031 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.303. (47 countries reporting)
- Russia's -0.031 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is -0.0062, 5.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +408.1% | -0.0477 | 0.147 |
| 2018 | -118.9% | 0.147 | -0.0278 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -2.31 | -2.54 | -1.89 | 9 |
| 2000s | -1.47 | -2.33 | -0.803 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.2892 | -0.7346 | 0.147 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.031 | -0.031 | -0.031 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More social development data for Russia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 11,811 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 99,360 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0007 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 99,360 (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 Russia?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Russia was -0.031 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.147 in 2017.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.54 in 1999.
- How does Russia rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Russia ranks 65th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 95.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Russia 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 — 30 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.