Citizen support for democracy in Poland
Poland: Citizen support for democracy was 0.2986 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Poland, 1991–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Poland is 0.2986, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 238.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Poland peaked at 0.3008 in 2019 and was at its lowest, -0.8843, in 2004.
Poland ranks 41st 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 Poland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -0.5169 | — |
| 1992 | -0.4602 | -11.0% |
| 1993 | -0.2735 | -40.6% |
| 1994 | -0.1717 | -37.2% |
| 1995 | -0.0651 | -62.1% |
| 1996 | -0.0566 | -13.1% |
| 1997 | -0.049 | -13.4% |
| 1998 | 0.02 | -140.9% |
| 1999 | -0.1669 | -933.7% |
| 2000 | -0.3308 | +98.2% |
| 2001 | -0.4922 | +48.8% |
| 2002 | -0.6566 | +33.4% |
| 2003 | -0.7701 | +17.3% |
| 2004 | -0.8843 | +14.8% |
| 2005 | -0.629 | -28.9% |
| 2006 | -0.4974 | -20.9% |
| 2007 | -0.3604 | -27.5% |
| 2008 | -0.2218 | -38.5% |
| 2009 | -0.2513 | +13.3% |
| 2010 | -0.2154 | -14.3% |
| 2011 | -0.1928 | -10.5% |
| 2012 | -0.1651 | -14.4% |
| 2013 | -0.0798 | -51.6% |
| 2014 | 0.0095 | -111.9% |
| 2015 | 0.1017 | +968.9% |
| 2016 | 0.195 | +91.8% |
| 2017 | 0.2916 | +49.6% |
| 2018 | 0.2942 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.3008 | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 0.2986 | -0.7% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 0.2986 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.3338, 89% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Poland's 0.2986 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1715, 1.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen support for democracy in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +968.9% | 0.0095 | 0.1017 |
| 1999 | -933.7% | 0.02 | -0.1669 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.1933 | -0.5169 | 0.02 | 9 |
| 2000s | -0.5094 | -0.8843 | -0.2218 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.054 | -0.2154 | 0.3008 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2986 | 0.2986 | 0.2986 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More social development data for Poland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 990,469 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,368 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,368 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0272 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 Poland?
- Citizen support for democracy in Poland was 0.2986 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3008 in 2019.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.8843 in 2004.
- How does Poland rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Poland ranks 41st out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 238.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Poland 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 — 30 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.