Citizen support for democracy in Kenya
Kenya: Citizen support for democracy was -0.2886 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Kenya, 2002–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in Kenya stood at -0.2886.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 189.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Kenya peaked at 0.8184 in 2002 and was at its lowest, -0.2889, in 2017.
Kenya ranks 74th of 144 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen support for democracy in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 0.8184 | — |
| 2003 | 0.6967 | -14.9% |
| 2004 | 0.5682 | -18.4% |
| 2005 | 0.443 | -22.0% |
| 2006 | 0.3932 | -11.2% |
| 2007 | 0.3387 | -13.9% |
| 2008 | 0.525 | +55.0% |
| 2009 | 0.4221 | -19.6% |
| 2010 | 0.3238 | -23.3% |
| 2011 | 0.223 | -31.1% |
| 2012 | 0.3072 | +37.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3914 | +27.4% |
| 2014 | 0.2641 | -32.5% |
| 2015 | 0.0504 | -80.9% |
| 2016 | -0.118 | -334.0% |
| 2017 | -0.2889 | +144.8% |
| 2018 | -0.2854 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | -0.2877 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | -0.2886 | +0.3% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's -0.2886 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.6191, 47% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Kenya's -0.2886 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.019. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen support for democracy in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | -334.0% | 0.0504 | -0.118 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.5257 | 0.3387 | 0.8184 | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.058 | -0.2889 | 0.3914 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.2886 | -0.2886 | -0.2886 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More social development data for Kenya
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 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 Kenya?
- Citizen support for democracy in Kenya was -0.2886 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8184 in 2002.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.2889 in 2017.
- How does Kenya rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Kenya ranks 74th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 189.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 19 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.