Which has higher strong civil society index, Namibia or South Africa?

South Africa, at 0.916 against 0.915 in Namibia as of 2025.

What is the difference in strong civil society index between Namibia and South Africa?

0.001, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Namibia and South Africa?

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Strong Civil Society Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Namibia vs South Africa: Strong Civil Society Index

Namibia

0.915

in 2025

South Africa

0.916

in 2025

Namibia rank

22nd

South Africa rank

20th

Strong Civil Society Index over time

Namibia
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.916 against 0.915 in Namibia, a difference of 0.001.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.

Namibia ranks 22nd and South Africa ranks 20th of 176 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Namibia averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 12.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Namibia	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0.245	0.496	0.251	South Africa
1910s	0.245	0.48	0.235	South Africa
1920s	0.245	0.48	0.235	South Africa
1930s	0.245	0.48	0.235	South Africa
1940s	0.2336	0.4388	0.2052	South Africa
1950s	0.188	0.258	0.07	South Africa
1960s	0.21	0.258	0.048	South Africa
1970s	0.1872	0.2625	0.0753	South Africa
1980s	0.268	0.282	0.014	South Africa
1990s	0.877	0.8271	0.0499	Namibia
2000s	0.9204	0.98	0.0596	South Africa
2010s	0.9261	0.9419	0.0158	South Africa
2020s	0.9093	0.9127	0.0033	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher strong civil society index, Namibia or South Africa?: South Africa, at 0.916 against 0.915 in Namibia as of 2025.
What is the difference in strong civil society index between Namibia and South Africa?: 0.001, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Namibia and South Africa?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Namibia and South Africa rank globally for strong civil society index?: Namibia ranks 22nd and South Africa ranks 20th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Strong Civil Society Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Namibia vs South Africa: Strong Civil Society Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/strong-civil-society-index/namibia/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Strong Civil Society Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,138 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which interest groups, labor unions, charities, and other civil society organizations are autonomous from the state and can freely pursue their goals. The index ranges from 0 to 1 (strongest).