Citizen support for democracy in Pakistan
Pakistan: Citizen support for democracy was -1.81 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in Pakistan, 1997–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Pakistan is -1.81, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Pakistan peaked at -0.2793 in 2001 and was at its lowest, -1.82, in 2018.
That places Pakistan 143rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | -0.7499 | — |
| 1998 | -0.6326 | -15.6% |
| 1999 | -0.5177 | -18.2% |
| 2000 | -0.3981 | -23.1% |
| 2001 | -0.2793 | -29.8% |
| 2002 | -0.6447 | +130.8% |
| 2003 | -1.01 | +56.0% |
| 2004 | -1.35 | +34.7% |
| 2005 | -1.72 | +26.7% |
| 2006 | -1.68 | -1.9% |
| 2007 | -1.66 | -1.5% |
| 2008 | -1.65 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | -1.64 | -0.7% |
| 2010 | -1.62 | -0.9% |
| 2011 | -1.57 | -3.2% |
| 2012 | -1.61 | +2.2% |
| 2013 | -1.49 | -7.2% |
| 2014 | -1.55 | +4.3% |
| 2015 | -1.62 | +3.9% |
| 2016 | -1.69 | +4.4% |
| 2017 | -1.75 | +3.8% |
| 2018 | -1.82 | +3.7% |
| 2019 | -1.81 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | -1.81 | -0.3% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's -1.81 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.6191, 2.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's -1.81 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is -0.8121, 2.2× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen support for democracy in Pakistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | -130.8% | -0.2793 | -0.6447 |
| 2003 | -56.0% | -0.6447 | -1.01 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.6334 | -0.7499 | -0.5177 | 3 |
| 2000s | -1.2 | -1.72 | -0.2793 | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.65 | -1.82 | -1.49 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.81 | -1.81 | -1.81 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More social development data for Pakistan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.16 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 90,497 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 90,497 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0045 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 Pakistan?
- Citizen support for democracy in Pakistan was -1.81 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was -0.2793 in 2001.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.82 in 2018.
- How does Pakistan rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Pakistan ranks 143rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan 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 — 24 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.