Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa
South Africa: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was -0.1883 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa, 2001–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa is -0.1883, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 129.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa peaked at 0.7096 in 2011 and was at its lowest, -0.1883, in 2020.
That places South Africa 72nd 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.4927 | 0.3126 | 0.664 | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.3099 | -0.1874 | 0.7096 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1883 | -0.1883 | -0.1883 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.857 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.633 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.87 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.837 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.47 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa was -0.1883 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7096 in 2011.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1883 in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- South Africa ranks 72nd out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 129.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from 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 — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).