Norway vs Sweden: Democracy
Norway
7
in 2025
Sweden
7
in 2025
Norway rank
1st
Sweden rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Norway
- Sweden
How they compare
Norway currently reports 7 against 7 in Sweden, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Sweden ahead.
Norway ranks 1st and Sweden ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 25 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 5 and Sweden in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | Sweden |
| 1810s | 1.2 | 2 | 0.8 | Sweden |
| 1820s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1830s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 3.2 | 2 | 1.2 | Norway |
| 1890s | 4.2 | 2 | 2.2 | Norway |
| 1900s | 5 | 2 | 3 | Norway |
| 1910s | 5.8 | 2.8 | 3 | Norway |
| 1920s | 7 | 6.8 | 0.2 | Norway |
| 1930s | 6.3 | 6.3 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 3.4 | 6.4 | 3 | Sweden |
| 1950s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 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, Norway or Sweden?
- Norway, at 7 against 7 in Sweden as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Norway and Sweden?
- 0, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for democracy?
- Norway ranks 1st and Sweden 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).