France vs USSR: Democracy
France
7
in 2025
USSR
3
in 1990
France rank
1st
USSR rank
1st
Democracy over time
- France
- USSR
How they compare
France currently reports 7 against 3 in USSR, a difference of 4.
That makes France's figure about 2.3 times USSR's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 69 shared years of data; in 1922 it was France ahead.
France ranks 1st and USSR ranks 1st of 197 countries.
France has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 1 | 4 | France |
| 1930s | 5 | 1 | 4 | France |
| 1940s | 2.8 | 1 | 1.8 | France |
| 1950s | 7 | 1 | 6 | France |
| 1960s | 7 | 1 | 6 | France |
| 1970s | 7 | 1 | 6 | France |
| 1980s | 7 | 1 | 6 | France |
| 1990s | 7 | 3 | 4 | France |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, France or USSR?
- France, at 7 against 3 in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between France and USSR?
- 4, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and USSR?
- 69 years are reported by both, from 1922 to 1990.
- How do France and USSR rank globally for democracy?
- France ranks 1st and USSR 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
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).