Citizen support for democracy in South Africa
South Africa: Citizen support for democracy was -1.08 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in South Africa, 1996–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in South Africa stood at -1.08.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 47.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in South Africa peaked at -0.4351 in 2001 and was at its lowest, -1.09, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 119th of 144 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.548 | -0.6153 | -0.4834 | 4 |
| 2000s | -0.6531 | -0.8038 | -0.4351 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.8987 | -1.09 | -0.6811 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.08 | -1.08 | -1.08 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.837 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.87 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.743 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.47 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.633 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in South Africa?
- Citizen support for democracy in South Africa was -1.08 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was -0.4351 in 2001.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.09 in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for citizen support for democracy?
- South Africa ranks 119th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.