Citizen support for democracy in Guatemala
Guatemala: Citizen support for democracy was -1.18 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in Guatemala, 1996–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Guatemala is -1.18, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and down 58.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Guatemala peaked at -0.2071 in 1996 and was at its lowest, -1.2, in 2003.
That places Guatemala 124th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.2071 | — |
| 1997 | -0.2398 | +15.8% |
| 1998 | -0.2523 | +5.2% |
| 1999 | -0.401 | +58.9% |
| 2000 | -0.5586 | +39.3% |
| 2001 | -0.7678 | +37.5% |
| 2002 | -0.8149 | +6.1% |
| 2003 | -1.2 | +47.3% |
| 2004 | -1.11 | -7.7% |
| 2005 | -0.8751 | -21.0% |
| 2006 | -0.7708 | -11.9% |
| 2007 | -0.9731 | +26.3% |
| 2008 | -0.9161 | -5.9% |
| 2009 | -0.686 | -25.1% |
| 2010 | -0.7446 | +8.5% |
| 2011 | -0.925 | +24.2% |
| 2012 | -0.8234 | -11.0% |
| 2013 | -0.53 | -35.6% |
| 2014 | -0.4483 | -15.4% |
| 2015 | -0.7123 | +58.9% |
| 2016 | -0.8873 | +24.6% |
| 2017 | -1.02 | +14.9% |
| 2018 | -1.17 | +14.9% |
| 2019 | -1.19 | +2.0% |
| 2020 | -1.18 | -1.5% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's -1.18 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.9114, 1.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's -1.18 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is -0.7907, 1.5× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.275 | -0.401 | -0.2071 | 4 |
| 2000s | -0.8671 | -1.2 | -0.5586 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.8456 | -1.19 | -0.4483 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.18 | -1.18 | -1.18 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More social development data for Guatemala
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,586 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0019 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 Guatemala?
- Citizen support for democracy in Guatemala was -1.18 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was -0.2071 in 1996.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.2 in 2003.
- How does Guatemala rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Guatemala ranks 124th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is down 58.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guatemala 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.
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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.