Citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.228 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom, 1973–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom is 0.228, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of up 92.1% on the previous year and up 29.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom peaked at 0.459 in 2016 and was at its lowest, -0.3934, in 1973.
United Kingdom ranks 50th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | -0.1486 | -0.3934 | 0.0326 | 7 |
| 1980s | 0.0574 | -0.1137 | 0.1951 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.069 | -0.1784 | 0.3802 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2411 | 0.0507 | 0.3421 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3107 | 0.1187 | 0.459 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.228 | 0.228 | 0.228 | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More social development data for United Kingdom
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 581,072 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 517 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.772 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.833 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.859 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.772 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.533 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.689 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in United Kingdom was 0.228 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.459 in 2016.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.3934 in 1973.
- How does United Kingdom rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- United Kingdom ranks 50th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 48 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.