Belief in Democracy
Support for a democratic political system versus other systems, such as rule by experts, armies, or authoritarian leaders who ignore elected legislative leaders.
Why did we include this measure?
A prerequisite for a strong democracy is that citizens believe that democracy is the best system for making decisions that affect everyone. A declining belief in democracy could also signal a weakening of democratic norms and practices.
How does the US rank globally?
- Specific Measure: (Same as above.)
(Source: Same as above).
- Percentage of countries the US outperforms: 33% (out of 30 countries)
- International Rank Trend: Improving
National Trend Worsening
What do the data show?
Support for democracy has been on the decline, while support for other forms of government has been on the rise. While the percentage supporting democracy has declined slowly, the percentage supporting other forms of government has risen faster.
Almost two-thirds of high-income countries have more support for democracy than the United States, with Thailand, Brazil, and Malaysia being just ahead of us. (We also rank below China and Iran on this measure, though above Russia.) However, it appears that support for democracy is declining even faster in other countries, so our relative position is improving.
What might explain these patterns?
The weakening belief in democracy has come alongside disenchantment with the federal government.
For more information about data sources and treatments, download the Data Notes.