Canada vs Switzerland: Democracy

Canada
7
in 2025
Switzerland
7
in 2025
Canada rank
1st
Switzerland rank
1st

Democracy over time

  • Canada
  • Switzerland
02468179819112025

How they compare

Canada currently reports 7 against 7 in Switzerland, a difference of 0.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 185 shared years of data; in 1841 it was Switzerland ahead.

Canada ranks 1st and Switzerland ranks 1st of 197 countries.

Across the 19 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 6 and Switzerland in 8.

Head to head by decade

Decade Canada Switzerland Difference Ahead
1840s 1.78 3.44 1.67 Switzerland
1850s 2 5 3 Switzerland
1860s 2.6 5 2.4 Switzerland
1870s 4 5 1 Switzerland
1880s 4 5 1 Switzerland
1890s 4 5 1 Switzerland
1900s 4 5 1 Switzerland
1910s 4 5 1 Switzerland
1920s 6 5 1 Canada
1930s 6 5 1 Canada
1940s 6.4 5 1.4 Canada
1950s 7 5 2 Canada
1960s 7 5 2 Canada
1970s 7 6.8 0.2 Canada
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, Canada or Switzerland?
Canada, at 7 against 7 in Switzerland as of 2025.
What is the difference in democracy between Canada and Switzerland?
0, with Canada ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Switzerland?
185 years are reported by both, from 1841 to 2025.
How do Canada and Switzerland rank globally for democracy?
Canada ranks 1st and Switzerland 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).