Citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Citizen support for democracy was -1.43 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia, 2003–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia is -1.43, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia peaked at -1.19 in 2003 and was at its lowest, -1.44, in 2012.
That places Saudi Arabia 134th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -1.19 | — |
| 2004 | -1.22 | +2.6% |
| 2005 | -1.24 | +2.1% |
| 2006 | -1.28 | +2.7% |
| 2007 | -1.31 | +2.6% |
| 2008 | -1.33 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | -1.36 | +2.2% |
| 2010 | -1.39 | +2.2% |
| 2011 | -1.43 | +2.6% |
| 2012 | -1.44 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | -1.43 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | -1.43 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | -1.43 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | -1.42 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | -1.43 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | -1.43 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | -1.43 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | -1.43 | +0.1% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's -1.43 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.3338. (50 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's -1.43 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is -0.8121, 1.8× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -1.28 | -1.36 | -1.19 | 7 |
| 2010s | -1.43 | -1.44 | -1.39 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.43 | -1.43 | -1.43 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More social development data for Saudi Arabia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 448 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,368 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,368 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia?
- Citizen support for democracy in Saudi Arabia was -1.43 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was -1.19 in 2003.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.44 in 2012.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 134th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 18 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.