Portugal vs Spain: Democracy
Portugal
7
in 2025
Spain
7
in 2025
Portugal rank
1st
Spain rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Portugal
- Spain
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 7 against 7 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 14 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Spain ahead.
Portugal ranks 1st and Spain ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 25 decades both report, Portugal averaged higher in 9 and Spain in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1810s | 0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | Spain |
| 1820s | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | Portugal |
| 1830s | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | Portugal |
| 1870s | 2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | Portugal |
| 1880s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 1.7 | 2 | 0.3 | Spain |
| 1900s | 1.8 | 2 | 0.2 | Spain |
| 1910s | 2.4 | 2 | 0.4 | Portugal |
| 1920s | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | Portugal |
| 1930s | 1.6 | 3.5 | 1.9 | Spain |
| 1940s | 3 | 0 | 3 | Portugal |
| 1950s | 3 | 0 | 3 | Portugal |
| 1960s | 3 | 0 | 3 | Portugal |
| 1970s | 4.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | Portugal |
| 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, Portugal or Spain?
- Portugal, at 7 against 7 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Portugal and Spain?
- 0, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Spain?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Portugal and Spain rank globally for democracy?
- Portugal ranks 1st and Spain 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).