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.
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
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 770,514 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 157,912 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.159 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.166 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.093 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.159 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.042 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.103 (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.