Ireland vs South Korea: Democracy
Ireland
4
in 2025
South Korea
4
in 2025
Ireland rank
17th
South Korea rank
17th
Democracy over time
- Ireland
- South Korea
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 4 against 4 in South Korea, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 107 shared years of data; in 1919 it was South Korea ahead.
Ireland ranks 17th and South Korea ranks 17th of 175 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, Ireland averaged higher in 10 and South Korea in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 4.2 | 1 | 3.2 | Ireland |
| 1930s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Ireland |
| 1940s | 4 | 1.5 | 2.5 | Ireland |
| 1950s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Ireland |
| 1960s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Ireland |
| 1970s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Ireland |
| 1980s | 4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | Ireland |
| 1990s | 4 | 5 | 1 | South Korea |
| 2000s | 4 | 3.9 | 0.1 | Ireland |
| 2010s | 4 | 3.6 | 0.4 | Ireland |
| 2020s | 4 | 3.33 | 0.6667 | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Ireland or South Korea?
- Ireland, at 4 against 4 in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Ireland and South Korea?
- 0, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and South Korea?
- 107 years are reported by both, from 1919 to 2025.
- How do Ireland and South Korea rank globally for democracy?
- Ireland ranks 17th and South Korea ranks 17th of 175 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Political regime of a country using the classification by the Episodes of Regime Transformation-project. It distinguishes between hardening autocracies (score 0), stable autocracies (score 1), liberalizing autocracies (score 2), eroding democracies (score 3), stable democracies (score 4), and deepening democracies (score 5).