Democracy Fatigue Goes Global
Global dissatisfaction with democracy continues to hover at record highs. Political scandals and fading trust are driving the shift.
For the last nine years, Pew has tracked public satisfaction with democracy across 12 high-income countries. In 2017, a median of 49% of adults were dissatisfied with the way democracy was working in their country. By 2025, that share jumped to 64%. That’s a 15-point rise and tied for the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded.
This year, Pew also surveyed public opinion in 11 additional countries. The most satisfied nations are Sweden (75%), India (74%), and Indonesia (66%), while the most dissatisfied are Greece (81%), Japan (76%), and South Korea (71%). The US also falls on the discontented side: 62% of Americans express dissatisfaction, placing it 8th among the most disillusioned countries.
Still, public sentiment isn’t uniformly grim. Satisfaction has increased YoY in five countries: South Africa (+13), Canada (+9), the UK (+8), the US (+4), and Germany (+3). Four of these nations recently changed leadership, suggesting that a fresh political direction may temporarily boost public confidence.
By contrast, five countries saw notable declines: Japan (-11), South Korea (-10), Israel (-6), Kenya (-5), and Poland (-2). Each is grappling with scandal or political upheaval. Japan remains mired in a slush fund controversy, with right-wing parties surging in last month’s election. South Korea’s president was impeached in December. Israel remains divided over Gaza and Netanyahu. Kenya has been rocked by youth-led protests. And Poland just elected the populist Karol Nawrocki to the presidency in a rebuke of Donald Tusk’s centrist government.
None of this is unexpected. In 2024, the global Democracy Index fell to its lowest point since its inception in 2006. (See “Global Democracy Declines.”) Given the ongoing political volatility of 2025, we may soon see a new low. Democratic dissatisfaction is no longer a warning sign; it’s the new global norm.