South Korea vs United States: Free and fair elections
South Korea
1
in 2025
United States
1
in 2025
South Korea rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Free and fair elections over time
- South Korea
- United States
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 1 against 1 in United States, a difference of 0.
Across all 78 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 172 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United States |
| 1950s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United States |
| 1960s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United States |
| 1970s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United States |
| 1980s | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | United States |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher free and fair elections, South Korea or United States?
- South Korea, at 1 against 1 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in free and fair elections between South Korea and United States?
- 0, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and United States rank globally for free and fair elections?
- South Korea ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Free and fair elections. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of whether national elections were free and fair or not.