Citizen support for democracy in Ecuador
Ecuador: Citizen support for democracy was -1.43 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Ecuador, 1996–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Ecuador recorded -1.43 for citizen support for democracy in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 38.7% on the previous year and down 727.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Ecuador peaked at -0.0579 in 2015 and was at its lowest, -1.43, in 2020.
Ecuador ranks 133rd of 144 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen support for democracy in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.8506 | — |
| 1997 | -0.9298 | +9.3% |
| 1998 | -0.8048 | -13.4% |
| 1999 | -0.8494 | +5.5% |
| 2000 | -0.8842 | +4.1% |
| 2001 | -1.05 | +19.1% |
| 2002 | -1.06 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | -1.14 | +7.5% |
| 2004 | -1.01 | -10.8% |
| 2005 | -0.9518 | -6.2% |
| 2006 | -0.6329 | -33.5% |
| 2007 | -0.4233 | -33.1% |
| 2008 | -0.5438 | +28.5% |
| 2009 | -0.5693 | +4.7% |
| 2010 | -0.1733 | -69.6% |
| 2011 | -0.1431 | -17.4% |
| 2012 | -0.3377 | +136.0% |
| 2013 | -0.2135 | -36.8% |
| 2014 | -0.1982 | -7.1% |
| 2015 | -0.0579 | -70.8% |
| 2016 | -0.1111 | +92.0% |
| 2017 | -0.2636 | +137.3% |
| 2018 | -0.7031 | +166.7% |
| 2019 | -1.03 | +47.0% |
| 2020 | -1.43 | +38.7% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's -1.43 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.9114, 1.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's -1.43 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is -0.7907, 1.8× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.8587 | -0.9298 | -0.8048 | 4 |
| 2000s | -0.8268 | -1.14 | -0.4233 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.3235 | -1.03 | -0.0579 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.43 | -1.43 | -1.43 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More social development data for Ecuador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 26,428 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5,723 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0003 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5,723 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0014 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 Ecuador?
- Citizen support for democracy in Ecuador was -1.43 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was -0.0579 in 2015.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.43 in 2020.
- How does Ecuador rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Ecuador ranks 133rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 727.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ecuador 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 — 25 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.