Citizen support for democracy in Ukraine
Ukraine: Citizen support for democracy was -1.17 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Citizen support for democracy in Ukraine, 1991–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen support for democracy in Ukraine is -1.17, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.5% on the previous year and down 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Ukraine peaked at -0.8008 in 2011 and was at its lowest, -1.51, in 1995.
That places Ukraine 123rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Citizen support for democracy in Ukraine, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -1.21 | — |
| 1992 | -1.15 | -4.9% |
| 1993 | -1.16 | +1.3% |
| 1994 | -1.34 | +15.1% |
| 1995 | -1.51 | +12.3% |
| 1996 | -1.49 | -0.8% |
| 1997 | -1.39 | -6.8% |
| 1998 | -1.29 | -7.5% |
| 1999 | -1.21 | -5.7% |
| 2000 | -1.18 | -2.7% |
| 2001 | -1.11 | -6.4% |
| 2002 | -1.03 | -7.2% |
| 2003 | -1.03 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | -1.03 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | -1.16 | +12.7% |
| 2006 | -1.3 | +11.8% |
| 2007 | -1.21 | -6.7% |
| 2008 | -1.26 | +4.7% |
| 2009 | -1.27 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | -1.04 | -18.2% |
| 2011 | -0.8008 | -23.1% |
| 2012 | -0.8218 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | -0.8186 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | -0.8155 | -0.4% |
| 2015 | -0.8112 | -0.5% |
| 2016 | -0.8795 | +8.4% |
| 2017 | -0.9502 | +8.0% |
| 2018 | -1.02 | +7.7% |
| 2019 | -1.09 | +7.0% |
| 2020 | -1.17 | +6.5% |
Ukraine compared with similar countries
- Ukraine's -1.17 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.9114, 1.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Ukraine's -1.17 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1715. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -1.31 | -1.51 | -1.15 | 9 |
| 2000s | -1.16 | -1.3 | -1.03 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.9056 | -1.09 | -0.8008 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.17 | -1.17 | -1.17 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ukraine
More social development data for Ukraine
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,370 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5.22 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.134 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5.22 million (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in Ukraine?
- Citizen support for democracy in Ukraine was -1.17 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Ukraine?
- The highest recorded value was -0.8008 in 2011.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Ukraine?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.51 in 1995.
- How does Ukraine rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Ukraine ranks 123rd out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Ukraine?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ukraine 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 — 30 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.