Citizen support for democracy in Denmark
Denmark: Citizen support for democracy was 2.35 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Citizen support for democracy in Denmark, 1988–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in Denmark stood at 2.35.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Denmark peaked at 2.65 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 2.15, in 1988.
That places Denmark 3rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Denmark, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 2.15 | — |
| 1989 | 2.2 | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 2.25 | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 2.29 | +1.9% |
| 1992 | 2.34 | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 2.35 | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 2.36 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 2.37 | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 2.38 | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 2.39 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 2.4 | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 2.4 | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 2.44 | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 2.47 | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 2.49 | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 2.52 | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 2.55 | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 2.58 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 2.6 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 2.62 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 2.65 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 2.62 | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 2.58 | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 2.54 | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 2.51 | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 2.49 | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 2.45 | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 2.42 | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 2.38 | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 2.35 | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 2.34 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 2.34 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 2.35 | +0.1% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 2.35 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.3338, 7.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 2.35 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1715, 13.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.17 | 2.15 | 2.2 | 2 |
| 1990s | 2.35 | 2.25 | 2.4 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.56 | 2.44 | 2.65 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.44 | 2.34 | 2.58 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.35 | 2.35 | 2.35 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More social development data for Denmark
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 95,007 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 21 (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 21 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0158 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 support for democracy in Denmark?
- Citizen support for democracy in Denmark was 2.35 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 2.65 in 2008.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.15 in 1988.
- How does Denmark rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Denmark ranks 3rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen support for democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 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 support a democratic political system and reject autocratic alternatives. It combines responses across more than one thousand nationally-representative surveys on how desirable citizens find democracy, how they evaluate undemocratic alternatives (such as a strong unelected leader, the army, or religious authorities), and how they assess democratic and autocratic political systems relative to another.