Citizen support for democracy in Switzerland
Switzerland: Citizen support for democracy was 1.94 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Citizen support for democracy in Switzerland, 1996–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Switzerland is 1.94, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Switzerland peaked at 1.94 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.5942, in 1996.
That places Switzerland 5th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.5942 | — |
| 1997 | 0.719 | +21.0% |
| 1998 | 0.8585 | +19.4% |
| 1999 | 0.9872 | +15.0% |
| 2000 | 1.11 | +12.2% |
| 2001 | 1.23 | +11.3% |
| 2002 | 1.36 | +10.1% |
| 2003 | 1.48 | +8.7% |
| 2004 | 1.56 | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 1.65 | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 1.74 | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 1.83 | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 1.76 | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 1.78 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 1.8 | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 1.82 | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 1.83 | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 1.85 | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 1.87 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 1.9 | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.92 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 1.94 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.94 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.94 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 1.94 | -0.1% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 1.94 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.3338, 5.8× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 1.94 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1715, 11.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7897 | 0.5942 | 0.9872 | 4 |
| 2000s | 1.55 | 1.11 | 1.83 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.88 | 1.8 | 1.94 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.94 | 1.94 | 1.94 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More social development data for Switzerland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 208,287 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0229 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 Switzerland?
- Citizen support for democracy in Switzerland was 1.94 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.94 in 2018.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5942 in 1996.
- How does Switzerland rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Switzerland ranks 5th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.