Which has higher judicial checks on government index, Spain or United Kingdom?

United Kingdom, at 0.941 against 0.937 in Spain as of 2025.

What is the difference in judicial checks on government index between Spain and United Kingdom?

0.004, with United Kingdom ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Spain 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 Judicial Checks on Government Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Spain vs United Kingdom: Judicial Checks on Government Index

Spain

0.937

in 2025

United Kingdom

0.941

in 2025

Spain rank

23rd

United Kingdom rank

21st

Judicial Checks on Government Index over time

Spain
United Kingdom

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 0.941 against 0.937 in Spain, a difference of 0.004.

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

Spain ranks 23rd and United Kingdom ranks 21st of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Spain averaged higher in 5 and United Kingdom in 20.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Spain	United Kingdom	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.597	0.863	0.266	United Kingdom
1790s	0.597	0.863	0.266	United Kingdom
1800s	0.597	0.863	0.266	United Kingdom
1810s	0.5932	0.863	0.2698	United Kingdom
1820s	0.6068	0.863	0.2562	United Kingdom
1830s	0.616	0.8819	0.2659	United Kingdom
1840s	0.628	0.89	0.262	United Kingdom
1850s	0.628	0.89	0.262	United Kingdom
1860s	0.6325	0.89	0.2575	United Kingdom
1870s	0.673	0.89	0.217	United Kingdom
1880s	0.673	0.89	0.217	United Kingdom
1890s	0.673	0.89	0.217	United Kingdom
1900s	0.673	0.89	0.217	United Kingdom
1910s	0.673	0.89	0.217	United Kingdom
1920s	0.6215	0.89	0.2685	United Kingdom
1930s	0.5978	0.89	0.2922	United Kingdom
1940s	0.333	0.8832	0.5502	United Kingdom
1950s	0.333	0.909	0.576	United Kingdom
1960s	0.333	0.909	0.576	United Kingdom
1970s	0.4633	0.909	0.4457	United Kingdom
1980s	0.968	0.909	0.059	Spain
1990s	0.968	0.909	0.059	Spain
2000s	0.968	0.909	0.059	Spain
2010s	0.9454	0.9179	0.0275	Spain
2020s	0.9512	0.9277	0.0235	Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher judicial checks on government index, Spain or United Kingdom?: United Kingdom, at 0.941 against 0.937 in Spain as of 2025.
What is the difference in judicial checks on government index between Spain and United Kingdom?: 0.004, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Spain and United Kingdom?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Spain and United Kingdom rank globally for judicial checks on government index?: Spain ranks 23rd and United Kingdom ranks 21st of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Judicial Checks on Government Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Judicial Checks on Government Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,297 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which the executive respects the constitution, complies with the judiciary and high courts, and higher and lower courts are independent.