South Africa vs East Timor: Competitive elections
South Africa
1
in 2025
East Timor
1
in 2025
South Africa rank
1st
East Timor rank
1st
Competitive elections over time
- South Africa
- East Timor
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 1 against 1 in East Timor, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was East Timor ahead.
South Africa ranks 1st and East Timor ranks 1st of 197 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | East Timor | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 1 | 0 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 1 | 0 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1930s | 1 | 0 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 1 | 0 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | South Africa |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher competitive elections, South Africa or East Timor?
- South Africa, at 1 against 1 in East Timor as of 2025.
- What is the difference in competitive elections between South Africa and East Timor?
- 0, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and East Timor?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and East Timor rank globally for competitive elections?
- South Africa ranks 1st and East Timor ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Competitive elections. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Whether the outcomes of elections are uncertain because their timing is not violated, voters are not systematically coerced, and election fraud is not consequential.