Which has higher free and fair elections index, South Korea or United Kingdom?

South Korea, at 0.935 against 0.924 in United Kingdom as of 2025.

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

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 Free and Fair Elections Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

South Korea vs United Kingdom: Free and Fair Elections Index

South Korea

0.935

in 2025

United Kingdom

0.924

in 2025

South Korea rank

28th

United Kingdom rank

30th

Free and Fair Elections Index over time

South Korea
United Kingdom

How they compare

South Korea currently reports 0.935 against 0.924 in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.011.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United Kingdom ahead.

South Korea ranks 28th and United Kingdom ranks 30th of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 2 and United Kingdom in 22.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Korea	United Kingdom	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0	0	0	—
1790s	0	0.1735	0.1735	United Kingdom
1800s	0	0.1928	0.1928	United Kingdom
1810s	0	0.1928	0.1928	United Kingdom
1820s	0	0.1804	0.1804	United Kingdom
1830s	0	0.2674	0.2674	United Kingdom
1840s	0	0.282	0.282	United Kingdom
1850s	0	0.2866	0.2866	United Kingdom
1860s	0	0.3112	0.3112	United Kingdom
1870s	0	0.3728	0.3728	United Kingdom
1880s	0	0.5267	0.5267	United Kingdom
1890s	0	0.6682	0.6682	United Kingdom
1900s	0	0.7165	0.7165	United Kingdom
1910s	0	0.7236	0.7236	United Kingdom
1920s	0	0.7737	0.7737	United Kingdom
1930s	0	0.8006	0.8006	United Kingdom
1940s	0.0309	0.8286	0.7977	United Kingdom
1950s	0.1576	0.8693	0.7117	United Kingdom
1960s	0.2333	0.8786	0.6453	United Kingdom
1970s	0.2216	0.893	0.6714	United Kingdom
1980s	0.3765	0.8889	0.5124	United Kingdom
1990s	0.8141	0.8848	0.0707	United Kingdom
2000s	0.9394	0.9248	0.0146	South Korea
2010s	0.9284	0.93	0.0016	United Kingdom
2020s	0.9442	0.9352	0.009	South Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher free and fair elections index, South Korea or United Kingdom?: South Korea, at 0.935 against 0.924 in United Kingdom as of 2025.
What is the difference in free and fair elections index between South Korea and United Kingdom?: 0.011, with South Korea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United Kingdom?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do South Korea and United Kingdom rank globally for free and fair elections index?: South Korea ranks 28th and United Kingdom ranks 30th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Free and Fair Elections Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Free and Fair Elections Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,402 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which registration fraud, systematic irregularities, government intimidation of the opposition, vote buying, and election violence are absent, and the election management body is autonomous and has enough staff and resources.