Malta vs Portugal: Democracy
Malta
7
in 2025
Portugal
7
in 2025
Malta rank
1st
Portugal rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Malta
- Portugal
How they compare
Malta currently reports 7 against 7 in Portugal, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 14 times across 186 shared years of data; in 1840 it was Portugal ahead.
Malta ranks 1st and Portugal ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 19 decades both report, Malta averaged higher in 7 and Portugal in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malta | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 2 | 2 | Portugal |
| 1850s | 1.2 | 2 | 0.8 | Portugal |
| 1860s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 2 | 1.7 | 0.3 | Malta |
| 1900s | 2 | 1.8 | 0.2 | Malta |
| 1910s | 2 | 2.4 | 0.4 | Portugal |
| 1920s | 2 | 1.8 | 0.2 | Malta |
| 1930s | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 3.2 | 3 | 0.2 | Malta |
| 1950s | 6.1 | 3 | 3.1 | Malta |
| 1960s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Malta |
| 1970s | 7 | 4.2 | 2.8 | Malta |
| 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, Malta or Portugal?
- Malta, at 7 against 7 in Portugal as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Malta and Portugal?
- 0, with Malta ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malta and Portugal?
- 186 years are reported by both, from 1840 to 2025.
- How do Malta and Portugal rank globally for democracy?
- Malta ranks 1st and Portugal 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).