Citizen support for democracy in Panama
Panama: Citizen support for democracy was -1.2 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Panama, 1996–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in Panama stood at -1.2. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 14.6% on the previous year and down 2,929.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Panama peaked at 0.6255 in 1996 and was at its lowest, -1.2, in 2020.
That places Panama 126th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4123 | 0.1183 | 0.6255 | 4 |
| 2000s | -0.3005 | -0.5277 | -0.0008 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.5293 | -1.04 | 0.0423 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.2 | -1.2 | -1.2 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More social development data for Panama
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 2,694 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 375 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.728 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.812 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.881 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.728 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.441 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.575 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in Panama?
- Citizen support for democracy in Panama was -1.2 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6255 in 1996.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.2 in 2020.
- How does Panama rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Panama ranks 126th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2,929.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Panama 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 — 25 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.