South Korea vs USSR: Democracy
Democracy over time
- South Korea
- USSR
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 7 against 3 in USSR, a difference of 4.
That makes South Korea's figure about 2.3 times USSR's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 43 shared years of data; in 1948 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 1st and USSR ranks 1st of 197 countries.
South Korea has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 3 | 1 | 2 | South Korea |
| 1950s | 3 | 1 | 2 | South Korea |
| 1960s | 2.7 | 1 | 1.7 | South Korea |
| 1970s | 1.3 | 1 | 0.3 | South Korea |
| 1980s | 3.3 | 1 | 2.3 | South Korea |
| 1990s | 6 | 3 | 3 | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, South Korea or USSR?
- South Korea, at 7 against 3 in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between South Korea and USSR?
- 4, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and USSR?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 1990.
- How do South Korea and USSR rank globally for democracy?
- South Korea 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).