Which has higher political civil liberties index, Italy or South Africa?

South Africa, at 0.884 against 0.873 in Italy as of 2025.

What is the difference in political civil liberties index between Italy and South Africa?

0.011, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and South Africa?

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Italy vs South Africa: Political Civil Liberties Index

Italy

0.873

in 2025

South Africa

0.884

in 2025

Italy rank

51st

South Africa rank

48th

Political Civil Liberties Index over time

Italy
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.884 against 0.873 in Italy, a difference of 0.011.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Italy ahead.

Italy ranks 51st and South Africa ranks 48th of 176 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Italy averaged higher in 11 and South Africa in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Italy	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0.6676	0.387	0.2806	Italy
1910s	0.6299	0.408	0.2219	Italy
1920s	0.2757	0.408	0.1323	South Africa
1930s	0.0472	0.408	0.3608	South Africa
1940s	0.3949	0.3811	0.0138	Italy
1950s	0.8412	0.277	0.5642	Italy
1960s	0.8674	0.2347	0.6327	Italy
1970s	0.8809	0.2189	0.662	Italy
1980s	0.9464	0.2024	0.744	Italy
1990s	0.9584	0.7387	0.2197	Italy
2000s	0.9603	0.9197	0.0406	Italy
2010s	0.9606	0.8953	0.0653	Italy
2020s	0.9235	0.8848	0.0387	Italy

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher political civil liberties index, Italy or South Africa?: South Africa, at 0.884 against 0.873 in Italy as of 2025.
What is the difference in political civil liberties index between Italy and South Africa?: 0.011, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and South Africa?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Italy and South Africa rank globally for political civil liberties index?: Italy ranks 51st and South Africa ranks 48th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Italy vs South Africa: Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/political-civil-liberties-index/italy/south-africa/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/political-civil-liberties-index/italy/south-africa/">Italy vs South Africa: Political Civil Liberties Index</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Political Civil Liberties Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,211 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which people enjoy the freedoms of expression and association.