Kenya vs South Africa: Institutionalized democracy
Institutionalized democracy over time
- Kenya
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 9 against 8 in Kenya, a difference of 1.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Kenya's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 49 shared years of data; in 1963 it was South Africa ahead.
Kenya ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 3rd of 51 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Kenya averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Kenya | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.43 | 7 | 3.57 | South Africa |
| 1970s | 0 | 7 | 7 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 0 | 7 | 7 | South Africa |
| 1990s | 0.6 | -10.8 | 11.4 | Kenya |
| 2000s | 6.5 | 9 | 2.5 | South Africa |
| 2010s | 8 | 9 | 1 | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher institutionalized democracy, Kenya or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 9 against 8 in Kenya as of 2011.
- What is the difference in institutionalized democracy between Kenya and South Africa?
- 1, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and South Africa?
- 49 years are reported by both, from 1963 to 2011.
- How do Kenya and South Africa rank globally for institutionalized democracy?
- Kenya ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 3rd of 51 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Center for Systemic Peace, www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm, published as Institutionalized democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Democracy is conceived as three essential, interdependent elements. One is the presence of institutions and procedures through which citizens can express effective preferences about alternative policies and leaders. Second is the existence of institutionalized constraints on the exercise of power by the executive. Third is the guarantee of civil liberties to all citizens in their daily lives and in acts of political participation. Other aspects of plural democracy, such as the rule of law, systems of checks and balances, freedom of the press, and so on are means to, or specific manifestations of, these general principles. We do not include coded data on civil liberties.