Citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Citizen support for democracy was 0.9021 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom, 1988–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom stood at 0.9021. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 229.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom peaked at 0.9021 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.1882, in 2008.
United Kingdom ranks 17th of 144 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.5572 | 0.5558 | 0.5586 | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.4216 | 0.203 | 0.5358 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2035 | 0.1882 | 0.2134 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.597 | 0.2737 | 0.8977 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9021 | 0.9021 | 0.9021 | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More social development data for United Kingdom
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 581,072 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 517 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.772 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.833 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.859 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.772 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.533 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.689 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom?
- Citizen support for democracy in United Kingdom was 0.9021 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9021 in 2020.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1882 in 2008.
- How does United Kingdom rank for citizen support for democracy?
- United Kingdom ranks 17th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 229.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 33 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.