Which has higher centralization of political power index, China or Russia?

Russia, at 0.945 against 0.931 in China as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and Russia?

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 Centralization of Political Power Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs Russia: Centralization of Political Power Index

China

0.931

in 2025

Russia

0.945

in 2025

China rank

15th

Russia rank

13th

Centralization of Political Power Index over time

China
Russia

How they compare

Russia currently reports 0.945 against 0.931 in China, a difference of 0.014.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was China ahead.

China ranks 15th and Russia ranks 13th of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, China averaged higher in 15 and Russia in 10.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	Russia	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1790s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1800s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1810s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1820s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1830s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1840s	0.962	0.93	0.032	China
1850s	0.962	0.9055	0.0565	China
1860s	0.962	0.6121	0.3499	China
1870s	0.962	0.4524	0.5096	China
1880s	0.962	0.8534	0.1086	China
1890s	0.962	0.852	0.11	China
1900s	0.9129	0.8659	0.047	China
1910s	0.7897	0.8397	0.05	Russia
1920s	0.7428	0.9696	0.2268	Russia
1930s	0.7648	0.971	0.2062	Russia
1940s	0.747	0.971	0.224	Russia
1950s	0.7956	0.9668	0.1712	Russia
1960s	0.7773	0.964	0.1867	Russia
1970s	0.7746	0.964	0.1894	Russia
1980s	0.7154	0.9545	0.2391	Russia
1990s	0.714	0.6348	0.0792	China
2000s	0.7747	0.7704	0.0043	China
2010s	0.8588	0.8705	0.0117	Russia
2020s	0.9177	0.923	0.0053	Russia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher centralization of political power index, China or Russia?: Russia, at 0.945 against 0.931 in China as of 2025.
What is the difference in centralization of political power index between China and Russia?: 0.014, with Russia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Russia?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do China and Russia rank globally for centralization of political power index?: China ranks 15th and Russia ranks 13th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Centralization of Political Power Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs Russia: Centralization of Political Power Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/political-centralization-index/china/russian-federation/

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About this data

Indicator: Centralization of Political Power Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,802 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which the executive is unconstrained by the legislature, judiciary, electoral management body, and other oversight.