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.
Citizen support for democracy in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.4834 | — |
| 1997 | -0.5209 | +7.8% |
| 1998 | -0.5724 | +9.9% |
| 1999 | -0.6153 | +7.5% |
| 2000 | -0.6699 | +8.9% |
| 2001 | -0.4351 | -35.1% |
| 2002 | -0.5829 | +34.0% |
| 2003 | -0.6088 | +4.5% |
| 2004 | -0.6237 | +2.4% |
| 2005 | -0.6469 | +3.7% |
| 2006 | -0.6601 | +2.0% |
| 2007 | -0.7303 | +10.6% |
| 2008 | -0.8038 | +10.1% |
| 2009 | -0.7698 | -4.2% |
| 2010 | -0.7302 | -5.1% |
| 2011 | -0.697 | -4.5% |
| 2012 | -0.881 | +26.4% |
| 2013 | -1.07 | +21.0% |
| 2014 | -0.8717 | -18.2% |
| 2015 | -0.6811 | -21.9% |
| 2016 | -0.8573 | +25.9% |
| 2017 | -1.03 | +20.5% |
| 2018 | -1.09 | +5.3% |
| 2019 | -1.08 | -0.6% |
| 2020 | -1.08 | -0.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's -1.08 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.9114, 1.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- South Africa's -1.08 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.019. (34 countries reporting)
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
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (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 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 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 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.