United Kingdom vs USSR: Democracy
Democracy over time
- United Kingdom
- USSR
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 7 against 3 in USSR, a difference of 4.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 2.3 times USSR's.
Across all 69 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.
United Kingdom ranks 1st and USSR ranks 1st of 197 countries.
United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United Kingdom | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5.5 | 1 | 4.5 | United Kingdom |
| 1930s | 6.9 | 1 | 5.9 | United Kingdom |
| 1940s | 6.4 | 1 | 5.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1950s | 7 | 1 | 6 | United Kingdom |
| 1960s | 7 | 1 | 6 | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 7 | 1 | 6 | United Kingdom |
| 1980s | 7 | 1 | 6 | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 7 | 3 | 4 | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, United Kingdom or USSR?
- United Kingdom, at 7 against 3 in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between United Kingdom and USSR?
- 4, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United Kingdom and USSR?
- 69 years are reported by both, from 1922 to 1990.
- How do United Kingdom and USSR rank globally for democracy?
- United Kingdom 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).