Citizen support for democracy in Iran
Iran: Citizen support for democracy was -1.12 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Citizen support for democracy in Iran, 2000–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Iran is -1.12, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Iran peaked at -1.12 in 2020 and was at its lowest, -2.43, in 2000.
That places Iran 121st out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -2.43 | — |
| 2001 | -2.18 | -10.0% |
| 2002 | -1.93 | -11.7% |
| 2003 | -1.69 | -12.6% |
| 2004 | -1.44 | -14.9% |
| 2005 | -1.2 | -16.4% |
| 2006 | -1.2 | -0.2% |
| 2007 | -1.19 | -0.5% |
| 2008 | -1.19 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | -1.18 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | -1.17 | -0.7% |
| 2011 | -1.17 | -0.8% |
| 2012 | -1.16 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | -1.16 | -0.8% |
| 2014 | -1.15 | -0.6% |
| 2015 | -1.14 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | -1.14 | -0.3% |
| 2017 | -1.14 | -0.3% |
| 2018 | -1.12 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | -1.13 | +0.3% |
| 2020 | -1.12 | -0.3% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's -1.12 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.9114, 1.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Iran's -1.12 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is -0.8121, 1.4× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -1.56 | -2.43 | -1.18 | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.15 | -1.17 | -1.12 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.12 | -1.12 | -1.12 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More social development data for Iran
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 770,514 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0083 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 Iran?
- Citizen support for democracy in Iran was -1.12 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was -1.12 in 2020.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.43 in 2000.
- How does Iran rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Iran ranks 121st out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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 — 21 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.