What is the difference in strong elected local governments index between Brazil and United States?

0.003, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and United States?

237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

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

Brazil vs United States: Strong Elected Local Governments Index

Brazil

0.972

in 2025

United States

0.975

in 2025

Brazil rank

30th

United States rank

27th

Strong Elected Local Governments Index over time

Brazil
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 0.975 against 0.972 in Brazil, a difference of 0.003.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United States ahead.

Brazil ranks 30th and United States ranks 27th of 175 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 4 and United States in 20.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Brazil	United States	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.639	0.791	0.152	United States
1790s	0.639	0.791	0.152	United States
1800s	0.639	0.791	0.152	United States
1810s	0.639	0.791	0.152	United States
1820s	0.737	0.791	0.054	United States
1830s	0.81	0.8013	0.0087	Brazil
1840s	0.81	0.809	0.001	Brazil
1850s	0.81	0.809	0.001	Brazil
1860s	0.81	0.992	0.182	United States
1870s	0.81	0.992	0.182	United States
1880s	0.81	0.992	0.182	United States
1890s	0.81	0.992	0.182	United States
1900s	0.866	0.992	0.126	United States
1910s	0.88	0.992	0.112	United States
1920s	0.88	0.992	0.112	United States
1930s	0.4786	0.992	0.5134	United States
1940s	0.6552	0.992	0.3368	United States
1950s	0.988	0.992	0.004	United States
1960s	0.9642	0.992	0.0278	United States
1970s	0.949	0.992	0.043	United States
1980s	0.9532	0.992	0.0388	United States
1990s	0.991	0.992	0.001	United States
2000s	0.991	0.992	0.001	United States
2010s	0.9886	0.9886	0	—
2020s	0.9775	0.975	0.0025	Brazil

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher strong elected local governments index, Brazil or United States?: United States, at 0.975 against 0.972 in Brazil as of 2025.
What is the difference in strong elected local governments index between Brazil and United States?: 0.003, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and United States?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Brazil and United States rank globally for strong elected local governments index?: Brazil ranks 30th and United States ranks 27th of 175 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Strong Elected Local Governments Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Strong Elected Local Governments Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 175 places, 25,933 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which elected local governments exist, and they operate without interference from local unelected bodies.