Citizen support for democracy in India
India: Citizen support for democracy was -1.79 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in India, 1995–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded -1.79 for citizen support for democracy in 2020.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 53.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in India peaked at -0.8826 in 2003 and was at its lowest, -1.8, in 2017.
That places India 142nd out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | -1.1 | — |
| 1996 | -1.07 | -2.3% |
| 1997 | -1.05 | -2.5% |
| 1998 | -1.02 | -2.4% |
| 1999 | -0.994 | -2.6% |
| 2000 | -0.9733 | -2.1% |
| 2001 | -0.9441 | -3.0% |
| 2002 | -0.9157 | -3.0% |
| 2003 | -0.8826 | -3.6% |
| 2004 | -0.9339 | +5.8% |
| 2005 | -0.9908 | +6.1% |
| 2006 | -1.15 | +16.2% |
| 2007 | -1.15 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | -1.16 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | -1.17 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | -1.16 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | -1.16 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | -1.18 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | -1.27 | +8.1% |
| 2014 | -1.4 | +10.4% |
| 2015 | -1.53 | +9.2% |
| 2016 | -1.67 | +8.5% |
| 2017 | -1.8 | +8.1% |
| 2018 | -1.8 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | -1.8 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | -1.79 | -0.7% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's -1.79 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.6191, 2.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -1.05 | -1.1 | -0.994 | 5 |
| 2000s | -1.03 | -1.17 | -0.8826 | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.48 | -1.8 | -1.16 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.79 | -1.79 | -1.79 | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
- 139 Mozambique -1.71 compare
- 140 Kyrgyzstan -1.72 compare
- 141 Thailand -1.74 compare
- 143 Pakistan -1.81 compare
- 144 Vietnam -1.85 compare
More social development data for India
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 238,643 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 42,610 (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 42,610 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 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 India?
- Citizen support for democracy in India was -1.79 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was -0.8826 in 2003.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.8 in 2017.
- How does India rank for citizen support for democracy?
- India ranks 142nd out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.