Which has higher clientelism index, South Korea or United States?

South Korea, at 0.123 against 0.105 in United States as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?

237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Clientelism Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

South Korea vs United States: Clientelism Index

South Korea

0.123

in 2025

United States

0.105

in 2025

South Korea rank

150th

United States rank

152nd

Clientelism Index over time

South Korea
United States

How they compare

South Korea currently reports 0.123 against 0.105 in United States, a difference of 0.018.

That makes South Korea's figure about 1.2 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was South Korea ahead.

South Korea ranks 150th and United States ranks 152nd of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 24 and United States in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Korea	United States	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.915	0.418	0.497	South Korea
1790s	0.915	0.4151	0.4999	South Korea
1800s	0.915	0.417	0.498	South Korea
1810s	0.915	0.5007	0.4143	South Korea
1820s	0.915	0.649	0.266	South Korea
1830s	0.915	0.895	0.02	South Korea
1840s	0.915	0.6119	0.3031	South Korea
1850s	0.915	0.8971	0.0179	South Korea
1860s	0.915	0.4958	0.4192	South Korea
1870s	0.915	0.581	0.334	South Korea
1880s	0.915	0.9293	0.0143	United States
1890s	0.915	0.7556	0.1594	South Korea
1900s	0.9119	0.4424	0.4695	South Korea
1910s	0.9073	0.4413	0.466	South Korea
1920s	0.907	0.4437	0.4633	South Korea
1930s	0.907	0.38	0.527	South Korea
1940s	0.8119	0.3579	0.454	South Korea
1950s	0.7977	0.2869	0.5108	South Korea
1960s	0.7203	0.2832	0.4371	South Korea
1970s	0.6636	0.2195	0.4441	South Korea
1980s	0.5888	0.1701	0.4187	South Korea
1990s	0.3881	0.1228	0.2653	South Korea
2000s	0.2598	0.1181	0.1417	South Korea
2010s	0.1579	0.0714	0.0865	South Korea
2020s	0.1218	0.1017	0.0202	South Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher clientelism index, South Korea or United States?: South Korea, at 0.123 against 0.105 in United States as of 2025.
What is the difference in clientelism index between South Korea and United States?: 0.018, with South Korea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do South Korea and United States rank globally for clientelism index?: South Korea ranks 150th and United States ranks 152nd of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Clientelism Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

South Korea vs United States: Clientelism Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/clientelism-index/korea-rep/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/clientelism-index/korea-rep/united-states/">South Korea vs United States: Clientelism Index</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Clientelism Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 24,366 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Composite index measuring the extent to which politics hinge on clientelistic exchanges of targeted goods, jobs, or cash for electoral support; higher values denote more pervasive clientelism.