Citizen support for democracy in United States
United States: Citizen support for democracy was 0.2049 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Citizen support for democracy in United States, 1995–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 0.2049 for citizen support for democracy in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and down 66.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in United States peaked at 1.19 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.1964, in 2019.
That places United States 47th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.19 | 1.19 | 1.19 | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.9199 | 0.5683 | 1.16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4201 | 0.1964 | 0.6125 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2049 | 0.2049 | 0.2049 | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 44 Japan 0.2249 compare
- 45 Azerbaijan 0.2181 compare
- 46 Trinidad and Tobago 0.2138 compare
- 48 Taiwan 0.1955 compare
- 49 Costa Rica 0.1553 compare
- 50 Venezuela 0.1397 compare
More social development data for United States
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.735 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.729 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.913 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.735 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.51 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.571 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in United States?
- Citizen support for democracy in United States was 0.2049 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 in 1999.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1964 in 2019.
- How does United States rank for citizen support for democracy?
- United States ranks 47th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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 — 26 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.