Which has higher democracy, France or Switzerland?

France, at 2 against 2 in Switzerland as of 2018.

How many years of comparable data are there for France and Switzerland?

167 years are reported by both, from 1848 to 2018.

Where does this data come from?

Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

France vs Switzerland: Democracy

France

in 2018

Switzerland

in 2018

France rank

1st

Switzerland rank

1st

Democracy over time

France
Switzerland

How they compare

France currently reports 2 against 2 in Switzerland, a difference of 0.

Across all 167 years both countries report, Switzerland has been ahead every year.

France ranks 1st and Switzerland ranks 1st of 167 countries.

Switzerland has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	France	Switzerland	Difference	Ahead
1840s	2	2	0	—
1850s	0.3	2	1.7	Switzerland
1860s	0.1	2	1.9	Switzerland
1870s	1.4	2	0.6	Switzerland
1880s	2	2	0	—
1890s	2	2	0	—
1900s	2	2	0	—
1910s	2	2	0	—
1920s	2	2	0	—
1930s	2	2	0	—
1940s	2	2	0	—
1950s	1.8	2	0.2	Switzerland
1960s	1.5	2	0.5	Switzerland
1970s	2	2	0	—
1980s	2	2	0	—
1990s	2	2	0	—
2000s	2	2	0	—
2010s	2	2	0	—

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher democracy, France or Switzerland?: France, at 2 against 2 in Switzerland as of 2018.
What is the difference in democracy between France and Switzerland?: 0, with France ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and Switzerland?: 167 years are reported by both, from 1848 to 2018.
How do France and Switzerland rank globally for democracy?: France ranks 1st and Switzerland ranks 1st of 167 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Polity 5 (2020) – 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

Indicator: Democracy
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 168 places, 18,392 data points, 1776–2020
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Identifies the political regime of a country using the Polity 5 data by the Center for Systemic Peace. It distinguishes between autocracies (score 0), anocracies (score 1), and democracies (score 2).