Citizen support for democracy in Rwanda
Rwanda: Citizen support for democracy was -0.177 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Rwanda, 2007–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in Rwanda stood at -0.177.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and down 206.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Rwanda peaked at 0.1327 in 2007 and was at its lowest, -0.1961, in 2012.
Rwanda ranks 68th 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 Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.1327 | — |
| 2008 | 0.0693 | -47.8% |
| 2009 | 0.0071 | -89.7% |
| 2010 | -0.0578 | -909.8% |
| 2011 | -0.1261 | +118.2% |
| 2012 | -0.1961 | +55.4% |
| 2013 | -0.1906 | -2.8% |
| 2014 | -0.1911 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | -0.1908 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | -0.1823 | -4.4% |
| 2017 | -0.1793 | -1.7% |
| 2018 | -0.1773 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | -0.1773 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | -0.177 | -0.2% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's -0.177 is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.2471, 72% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's -0.177 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 Rwanda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | -909.8% | 0.0071 | -0.0578 |
| 2011 | -118.2% | -0.0578 | -0.1261 |
| 2009 | -89.7% | 0.0693 | 0.0071 |
| 2012 | -55.4% | -0.1261 | -0.1961 |
| 2008 | -47.8% | 0.1327 | 0.0693 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0697 | 0.0071 | 0.1327 | 3 |
| 2010s | -0.1669 | -0.1961 | -0.0578 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.177 | -0.177 | -0.177 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More social development data for Rwanda
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 115,794 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 244,415 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0168 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 244,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0079 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 Rwanda?
- Citizen support for democracy in Rwanda was -0.177 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1327 in 2007.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1961 in 2012.
- How does Rwanda rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Rwanda ranks 68th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 206.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Rwanda 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 — 14 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.