0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Country | V-Dem LDI Score 2024↓ | V-Dem EDI Score 2024 | V-Dem LCI Score 2024 | V-Dem ECI Score 2024 | V-Dem PCI Score 2024 | V-Dem DCI Score 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denmark | 0.88 | 0.92 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.71 | 0.96 | |
Switzerland | 0.85 | 0.89 | 0.96 | 0.94 | 0.88 | 0.98 | |
Estonia | 0.85 | 0.9 | 0.96 | 0.9 | 0.63 | 0.87 | |
Sweden | 0.84 | 0.88 | 0.98 | 0.91 | 0.65 | 0.91 | |
Norway | 0.84 | 0.88 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.66 | 0.99 | |
Ireland | 0.83 | 0.9 | 0.93 | 0.87 | 0.63 | 0.9 | |
Czech Republic | 0.82 | 0.87 | 0.95 | 0.91 | 0.59 | 0.87 | |
Australia | 0.81 | 0.86 | 0.96 | 0.84 | 0.7 | 0.93 | |
New Zealand | 0.81 | 0.86 | 0.95 | 0.85 | 0.65 | 0.8 | |
France | 0.8 | 0.87 | 0.93 | 0.82 | 0.64 | 0.94 | |
Belgium | 0.8 | 0.89 | 0.91 | 0.93 | 0.64 | 0.89 | |
Finland | 0.8 | 0.85 | 0.97 | 0.86 | 0.64 | 0.92 | |
Costa Rica | 0.8 | 0.86 | 0.95 | 0.88 | 0.64 | 0.93 | |
Germany | 0.79 | 0.84 | 0.96 | 0.93 | 0.65 | 0.98 | |
Chile | 0.79 | 0.84 | 0.95 | 0.72 | 0.64 | 0.94 | |
Luxembourg | 0.78 | 0.87 | 0.9 | 0.94 | 0.57 | 0.97 | |
Uruguay | 0.77 | 0.85 | 0.91 | 0.78 | 0.81 | 0.84 | |
Netherlands | 0.76 | 0.82 | 0.94 | 0.89 | 0.62 | 0.89 | |
Austria | 0.76 | 0.84 | 0.92 | 0.86 | 0.62 | 0.85 | |
Latvia | 0.76 | 0.84 | 0.92 | 0.87 | 0.66 | 0.82 | |
Iceland | 0.76 | 0.84 | 0.91 | 0.91 | 0.66 | 0.9 | |
United States | 0.75 | 0.84 | 0.89 | 0.67 | 0.66 | 0.88 | |
United Kingdom | 0.75 | 0.83 | 0.91 | 0.78 | 0.64 | 0.87 | |
Portugal | 0.75 | 0.83 | 0.91 | 0.8 | 0.61 | 0.89 | |
Spain | 0.74 | 0.83 | 0.91 | 0.84 | 0.64 | 0.84 | |
Canada | 0.74 | 0.84 | 0.89 | 0.7 | 0.63 | 0.75 | |
Japan | 0.73 | 0.82 | 0.9 | 0.93 | 0.56 | 0.91 | |
Lithuania | 0.73 | 0.8 | 0.94 | 0.88 | 0.68 | 0.81 | |
Brazil | 0.71 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.62 | 0.63 | 0.94 | |
Italy | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.88 | 0.9 | 0.75 | 0.86 | |
Taiwan | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.88 | 0.87 | 0.75 | 0.84 | |
Vanuatu | 0.69 | 0.8 | 0.86 | 0.74 | 0.57 | 0.74 | |
Jamaica | 0.68 | 0.8 | 0.85 | 0.79 | 0.6 | 0.73 | |
Barbados | 0.67 | 0.79 | 0.85 | 0.84 | 0.3 | 0.93 | |
Seychelles | 0.66 | 0.74 | 0.9 | 0.83 | 0.3 | 0.95 | |
South Africa | 0.65 | 0.73 | 0.9 | 0.64 | 0.57 | 0.91 | |
Cyprus | 0.65 | 0.77 | 0.84 | 0.9 | 0.57 | 0.83 | |
Cape Verde | 0.65 | 0.76 | 0.86 | 0.72 | 0.53 | 0.7 | |
Suriname | 0.64 | 0.77 | 0.82 | 0.72 | 0.58 | 0.76 | |
Malta | 0.64 | 0.78 | 0.8 | 0.89 | 0.64 | 0.8 | |
South Korea | 0.63 | 0.73 | 0.87 | 0.86 | 0.61 | 0.81 | |
Trinidad and Tobago | 0.63 | 0.76 | 0.83 | 0.79 | 0.58 | 0.92 | |
Poland | 0.62 | 0.73 | 0.84 | 0.88 | 0.61 | 0.84 | |
Israel | 0.62 | 0.72 | 0.87 | 0.81 | 0.6 | 0.77 | |
Croatia | 0.62 | 0.72 | 0.86 | 0.78 | 0.62 | 0.68 | |
Slovenia | 0.62 | 0.72 | 0.87 | 0.89 | 0.75 | 0.86 | |
Greece | 0.58 | 0.75 | 0.74 | 0.88 | 0.64 | 0.83 | |
Slovakia | 0.58 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.77 | 0.65 | 0.37 | |
Panama | 0.58 | 0.73 | 0.79 | 0.58 | 0.52 | 0.74 | |
Ghana | 0.57 | 0.67 | 0.85 | 0.64 | 0.37 | 0.81 | |
Colombia | 0.56 | 0.7 | 0.78 | 0.53 | 0.63 | 0.64 | |
Sao Tome and Principe | 0.56 | 0.67 | 0.84 | 0.67 | 0.56 | 0.67 | |
Argentina | 0.55 | 0.71 | 0.76 | 0.73 | 0.59 | 0.54 | |
Timor-Leste | 0.55 | 0.73 | 0.72 | 0.57 | 0.55 | 0.72 | |
Nepal | 0.52 | 0.67 | 0.76 | 0.58 | 0.58 | 0.61 | |
Namibia | 0.52 | 0.62 | 0.82 | 0.44 | 0.47 | 0.7 | |
Moldova | 0.52 | 0.63 | 0.81 | 0.78 | 0.67 | 0.8 | |
Lesotho | 0.52 | 0.66 | 0.76 | 0.75 | 0.55 | 0.74 | |
Solomon Islands | 0.52 | 0.66 | 0.76 | 0.51 | 0.55 | 0.49 | |
Bulgaria | 0.51 | 0.65 | 0.77 | 0.6 | 0.67 | 0.84 | |
Gambia | 0.51 | 0.63 | 0.78 | 0.67 | 0.59 | 0.75 | |
Peru | 0.49 | 0.63 | 0.76 | 0.51 | 0.6 | 0.41 | |
Sri Lanka | 0.49 | 0.66 | 0.7 | 0.67 | 0.59 | 0.62 | |
Malawi | 0.48 | 0.58 | 0.82 | 0.51 | 0.58 | 0.74 | |
Botswana | 0.48 | 0.59 | 0.79 | 0.68 | 0.48 | 0.43 | |
Montenegro | 0.48 | 0.62 | 0.76 | 0.76 | 0.58 | 0.72 | |
Guatemala | 0.47 | 0.6 | 0.77 | 0.33 | 0.59 | 0.59 | |
Senegal | 0.46 | 0.62 | 0.72 | 0.7 | 0.59 | 0.89 | |
Ecuador | 0.45 | 0.65 | 0.64 | 0.37 | 0.75 | 0.44 | |
Dominican Republic | 0.45 | 0.7 | 0.57 | 0.47 | 0.6 | 0.82 | |
Bhutan | 0.45 | 0.56 | 0.78 | 0.83 | 0.54 | 0.9 | |
Romania | 0.44 | 0.63 | 0.67 | 0.68 | 0.62 | 0.32 | |
Kenya | 0.43 | 0.55 | 0.76 | 0.52 | 0.58 | 0.81 | |
Maldives | 0.42 | 0.56 | 0.71 | 0.58 | 0.48 | 0.7 | |
Armenia | 0.41 | 0.62 | 0.61 | 0.8 | 0.41 | 0.69 | |
Fiji | 0.41 | 0.52 | 0.77 | 0.71 | 0.44 | 0.79 | |
Liberia | 0.4 | 0.61 | 0.61 | 0.57 | 0.46 | 0.81 | |
Albania | 0.4 | 0.51 | 0.74 | 0.67 | 0.54 | 0.42 | |
Zambia | 0.39 | 0.51 | 0.73 | 0.6 | 0.65 | 0.88 | |
Paraguay | 0.39 | 0.58 | 0.62 | 0.31 | 0.52 | 0.46 | |
Mongolia | 0.39 | 0.5 | 0.74 | 0.65 | 0.4 | 0.75 | |
Honduras | 0.38 | 0.54 | 0.66 | 0.41 | 0.54 | 0.69 | |
Papua New Guinea | 0.38 | 0.46 | 0.78 | 0.46 | 0.51 | 0.51 | |
Tanzania | 0.37 | 0.42 | 0.82 | 0.75 | 0.55 | 0.68 | |
North Macedonia | 0.37 | 0.56 | 0.61 | 0.6 | 0.59 | 0.59 | |
Mauritius | 0.37 | 0.49 | 0.7 | 0.71 | 0.57 | 0.8 | |
Malaysia | 0.36 | 0.52 | 0.64 | 0.71 | 0.54 | 0.67 | |
Sierra Leone | 0.35 | 0.44 | 0.73 | 0.64 | 0.58 | 0.9 | |
Singapore | 0.34 | 0.41 | 0.75 | 0.8 | 0.13 | 0.74 | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.34 | 0.51 | 0.61 | 0.65 | 0.52 | 0.61 | |
Indonesia | 0.33 | 0.48 | 0.61 | 0.54 | 0.59 | 0.81 | |
Benin | 0.33 | 0.5 | 0.59 | 0.75 | 0.49 | 0.54 | |
Georgia | 0.33 | 0.48 | 0.62 | 0.73 | 0.51 | 0.75 | |
Nigeria | 0.32 | 0.5 | 0.55 | 0.51 | 0.61 | 0.66 | |
Hungary | 0.32 | 0.44 | 0.65 | 0.64 | 0.53 | 0.31 | |
Guyana | 0.32 | 0.49 | 0.57 | 0.68 | 0.52 | 0.38 | |
Philippines | 0.31 | 0.44 | 0.63 | 0.31 | 0.57 | 0.53 | |
Bolivia | 0.31 | 0.58 | 0.46 | 0.59 | 0.63 | 0.47 | |
India | 0.29 | 0.4 | 0.64 | 0.42 | 0.52 | 0.63 | |
Thailand | 0.29 | 0.39 | 0.65 | 0.48 | 0.36 | 0.37 | |
Jordan | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0.77 | 0.58 | 0.3 | 0.88 | |
Kuwait | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.72 | 0.61 | 0.15 | 0.43 | |
Tunisia | 0.26 | 0.43 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.51 | 0.75 | |
Mexico | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.44 | 0.62 | 0.42 | |
Morocco | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.7 | 0.55 | 0.43 | 0.81 | |
Ivory Coast | 0.25 | 0.43 | 0.48 | 0.54 | 0.6 | 0.74 | |
Iraq | 0.23 | 0.35 | 0.52 | 0.46 | 0.44 | 0.59 | |
Ukraine | 0.23 | 0.39 | 0.49 | 0.64 | 0.58 | 0.79 | |
Madagascar | 0.22 | 0.42 | 0.42 | 0.32 | 0.49 | 0.39 | |
Serbia | 0.22 | 0.32 | 0.54 | 0.74 | 0.55 | 0.49 | |
Lebanon | 0.21 | 0.35 | 0.46 | 0.38 | 0.42 | 0.56 | |
Pakistan | 0.2 | 0.31 | 0.48 | 0.22 | 0.5 | 0.53 | |
Uganda | 0.2 | 0.27 | 0.54 | 0.48 | 0.42 | 0.66 | |
Niger | 0.18 | 0.24 | 0.51 | 0.65 | 0.58 | 0.74 | |
Kyrgyzstan | 0.18 | 0.33 | 0.41 | 0.62 | 0.4 | 0.37 | |
Mozambique | 0.17 | 0.3 | 0.41 | 0.5 | 0.51 | 0.46 | |
Togo | 0.17 | 0.36 | 0.36 | 0.62 | 0.46 | 0.72 | |
Angola | 0.16 | 0.34 | 0.35 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 0.34 | |
Zimbabwe | 0.16 | 0.27 | 0.39 | 0.34 | 0.55 | 0.58 | |
Gabon | 0.16 | 0.23 | 0.44 | 0.65 | 0.62 | 0.58 | |
Mali | 0.15 | 0.2 | 0.44 | 0.62 | 0.54 | 0.73 | |
Guinea-Bissau | 0.15 | 0.28 | 0.36 | 0.47 | 0.32 | 0.35 | |
Cameroon | 0.14 | 0.29 | 0.33 | 0.51 | 0.24 | 0.24 | |
Oman | 0.14 | 0.17 | 0.44 | 0.57 | 0.39 | 0.19 | |
Mauritania | 0.14 | 0.33 | 0.27 | 0.32 | 0.54 | 0.58 | |
Egypt | 0.13 | 0.19 | 0.39 | 0.33 | 0.21 | 0.3 | |
DR Congo | 0.13 | 0.33 | 0.27 | 0.42 | 0.38 | 0.55 | |
Burkina Faso | 0.13 | 0.16 | 0.42 | 0.52 | 0.39 | 0.22 | |
Kazakhstan | 0.13 | 0.27 | 0.33 | 0.54 | 0.29 | 0.5 | |
Somalia | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.4 | 0.31 | 0.27 | 0.71 | |
Hong Kong | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.42 | 0.74 | 0.14 | 0.15 | |
Vietnam | 0.12 | 0.17 | 0.38 | 0.61 | 0.5 | 0.66 | |
Turkey | 0.12 | 0.29 | 0.26 | 0.54 | 0.42 | 0.18 | |
Algeria | 0.12 | 0.26 | 0.28 | 0.67 | 0.21 | 0.44 | |
Republic of the Congo | 0.12 | 0.25 | 0.28 | 0.36 | 0.54 | 0.44 | |
Djibouti | 0.12 | 0.25 | 0.3 | 0.54 | 0.38 | 0.38 | |
Libya | 0.11 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.38 | 0.23 | 0.75 | |
Comoros | 0.11 | 0.28 | 0.23 | 0.6 | 0.52 | 0.42 | |
Ethiopia | 0.1 | 0.26 | 0.22 | 0.42 | 0.34 | 0.47 | |
Laos | 0.1 | 0.13 | 0.34 | 0.43 | 0.39 | 0.16 | |
Central African Republic | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.19 | 0.28 | 0.3 | 0.31 | |
Eswatini | 0.1 | 0.13 | 0.32 | 0.24 | 0.38 | 0.2 | |
Iran | 0.09 | 0.17 | 0.28 | 0.47 | 0.09 | 0.32 | |
Rwanda | 0.09 | 0.2 | 0.24 | 0.52 | 0.39 | 0.59 | |
El Salvador | 0.09 | 0.34 | 0.14 | 0.26 | 0.45 | 0.27 | |
Uzbekistan | 0.08 | 0.22 | 0.19 | 0.44 | 0.2 | 0.42 | |
Haiti | 0.08 | 0.22 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0.26 | 0.59 | |
United Arab Emirates | 0.08 | 0.1 | 0.27 | 0.45 | 0.09 | 0.3 | |
Qatar | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.28 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.39 | |
Bangladesh | 0.07 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.32 | 0.24 | 0.29 | |
Guinea | 0.07 | 0.16 | 0.22 | 0.44 | 0.4 | 0.22 | |
Burundi | 0.07 | 0.17 | 0.2 | 0.26 | 0.32 | 0.13 | |
South Sudan | 0.07 | 0.16 | 0.21 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.1 | |
Russia | 0.06 | 0.17 | 0.14 | 0.37 | 0.38 | 0.11 | |
Cambodia | 0.06 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.18 | |
Cuba | 0.06 | 0.18 | 0.14 | 0.75 | 0.17 | 0.29 | |
Yemen | 0.05 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.09 | 0.17 | 0.13 | |
Saudi Arabia | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.19 | 0.45 | 0.08 | 0.26 | |
Venezuela | 0.05 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.26 | 0.49 | 0.02 | |
Syria | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.16 | 0.23 | 0.19 | 0.09 | |
Chad | 0.05 | 0.2 | 0.12 | 0.2 | 0.34 | 0.32 | |
Tajikistan | 0.05 | 0.17 | 0.12 | 0.2 | 0.14 | 0.14 | |
Azerbaijan | 0.05 | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.34 | 0.1 | 0.09 | |
Palestine | 0.05 | 0.1 | 0.18 | 0.41 | 0.21 | 0.11 | |
Equatorial Guinea | 0.05 | 0.18 | 0.11 | 0.34 | 0.11 | 0.09 | |
Bahrain | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.16 | 0.38 | 0.12 | 0.16 | |
China | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.12 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.23 | |
Sudan | 0.04 | 0.14 | 0.1 | 0.19 | 0.29 | 0.16 | |
Belarus | 0.04 | 0.16 | 0.08 | 0.76 | 0.15 | 0.06 | |
Turkmenistan | 0.03 | 0.15 | 0.08 | 0.29 | 0.07 | 0.04 | |
Myanmar | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.21 | 0.34 | 0.2 | |
Afghanistan | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.07 | |
Nicaragua | 0.02 | 0.15 | 0.02 | 0.27 | 0.3 | 0.02 | |
North Korea | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.31 | 0.15 | 0.02 | |
Eritrea | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.32 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
Although democracy is a wonderful concept, it’s a complex one, as well, making it difficult to unpack from one country or region to the next. The V-Dem Democracy Index helps take the guesswork out of analyzing and comparing the way democracy manifests from one country to the next. (V-Dem is short for “Varieties of Democracy.”)
Here’s a closer look at some examples of how V-Dem stats play out from one country to the next, as well as some potential contributing factors that can impact them.
The V-Dem Democracy Index consists of five core indices – deliberative democracy, egalitarian democracy, electoral democracy, liberal democracy, and participatory democracy. The higher the V-Dem Democracy Index score, the higher the estimated levels of key democratic features, such as civil liberties, participation, and overall political rights.
As of 2023, the countries with the most consistently high V-Dem Democracy Index scores include the following.
Both Denmark and Norway have V-Dem scores that remain consistently high from year to year – ranging from 0.70 to 0.92 out of a potentially perfect score of 1.00. This suggests that democracy is functioning as it should in these nations, meaning citizens enjoy considerable political rights, are adequately involved in their democratic system, and so forth.
National advantages like strong social systems and comparatively low levels of government corruption help contribute to these scores.
Switzerland is another nation with consistently positive V-Dem scores – ranging from 0.80 to 0.90. Among other features, the Swiss democratic system is known for the way it allows Swiss citizens to enjoy high levels of participation at multiple levels.
The robust protection of each citizen’s inviolable rights is also very important in Switzerland, contributing even further to the nation’s consistently high scores.
Additional countries with V-Dem Democracy Index scores that hold steady toward the high end of the spectrum include Luxembourg, Germany, Costa Rica, France, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, and Finland.
Other contributors to a high national V-Dem score are predictably also signs of a healthy democratic system overall. They include but are not limited to: