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: Claassen (2022) – processed by 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.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.4194 | — |
| 2002 | 0.3661 | -12.7% |
| 2003 | 0.3126 | -14.6% |
| 2004 | 0.4899 | +56.7% |
| 2005 | 0.664 | +35.6% |
| 2006 | 0.6026 | -9.2% |
| 2007 | 0.5388 | -10.6% |
| 2008 | 0.4797 | -11.0% |
| 2009 | 0.5612 | +17.0% |
| 2010 | 0.6329 | +12.8% |
| 2011 | 0.7096 | +12.1% |
| 2012 | 0.7017 | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.6973 | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 0.4628 | -33.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2241 | -51.6% |
| 2016 | 0.0882 | -60.6% |
| 2017 | -0.0433 | -149.1% |
| 2018 | -0.1874 | +332.8% |
| 2019 | -0.1869 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | -0.1883 | +0.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's -0.1883 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.364, 52% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Africa's -0.1883 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.1972, 95% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | -332.8% | -0.0433 | -0.1874 |
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 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (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 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 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 South Africa?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in South Africa was -0.1883 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by 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 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 — 20 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.