Netherlands vs Spain: Democracy
Netherlands
4
in 2025
Spain
4
in 2025
Netherlands rank
17th
Spain rank
17th
Democracy over time
- Netherlands
- Spain
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 4 against 4 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Spain ahead.
Netherlands ranks 17th and Spain ranks 17th of 175 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Netherlands averaged higher in 7 and Spain in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 1.9 | 1 | 0.9 | Netherlands |
| 1920s | 4.1 | 0.8 | 3.3 | Netherlands |
| 1930s | 4 | 2 | 2 | Netherlands |
| 1940s | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | Netherlands |
| 1950s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Netherlands |
| 1960s | 4 | 1 | 3 | Netherlands |
| 1970s | 4 | 2 | 2 | Netherlands |
| 1980s | 4 | 4.3 | 0.3 | Spain |
| 1990s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Netherlands or Spain?
- Netherlands, at 4 against 4 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Netherlands and Spain?
- 0, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Spain?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Netherlands and Spain rank globally for democracy?
- Netherlands ranks 17th and Spain 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).