Iceland vs South Korea: Democracy
Iceland
7
in 2025
South Korea
7
in 2025
Iceland rank
1st
South Korea rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Iceland
- South Korea
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 7 against 7 in South Korea, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 78 shared years of data; in 1948 it was Iceland ahead.
Iceland ranks 1st and South Korea ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Iceland |
| 1950s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Iceland |
| 1960s | 7 | 2.7 | 4.3 | Iceland |
| 1970s | 7 | 1.3 | 5.7 | Iceland |
| 1980s | 7 | 3.3 | 3.7 | Iceland |
| 1990s | 7 | 6.3 | 0.7 | Iceland |
| 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, Iceland or South Korea?
- Iceland, at 7 against 7 in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Iceland and South Korea?
- 0, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and South Korea?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and South Korea rank globally for democracy?
- Iceland ranks 1st and South Korea 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).