Belgium vs Sweden: Democracy

Belgium
7
in 2025
Sweden
7
in 2025
Belgium rank
1st
Sweden rank
1st

Democracy over time

  • Belgium
  • Sweden
02468178919072025

How they compare

Belgium currently reports 7 against 7 in Sweden, a difference of 0.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 203 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Sweden ahead.

Belgium ranks 1st and Sweden ranks 1st of 197 countries.

Across the 22 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 9 and Sweden in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Belgium Sweden Difference Ahead
1780s 0 0 0
1790s 0 0 0
1830s 4 2 2 Belgium
1840s 4 2 2 Belgium
1850s 4 2 2 Belgium
1860s 4 2 2 Belgium
1870s 4 2 2 Belgium
1880s 4 2 2 Belgium
1890s 4.6 2 2.6 Belgium
1900s 5 2 3 Belgium
1910s 3.5 2.8 0.7 Belgium
1920s 5 6.8 1.8 Sweden
1930s 5 6.3 1.3 Sweden
1940s 2.7 6.4 3.7 Sweden
1950s 7 7 0
1960s 7 7 0
1970s 7 7 0
1980s 7 7 0
1990s 7 7 0
2000s 7 7 0
2010s 7 7 0
2020s 7 7 0

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher democracy, Belgium or Sweden?
Belgium, at 7 against 7 in Sweden as of 2025.
What is the difference in democracy between Belgium and Sweden?
0, with Belgium ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Sweden?
203 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Belgium and Sweden rank globally for democracy?
Belgium ranks 1st and Sweden ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Lexical Index (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

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).