Botswana vs South Africa: Universal right to vote in practice
Botswana
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Botswana rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Botswana
- South Africa
How they compare
Botswana currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.
Botswana ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Botswana has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | Botswana |
| 1970s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Botswana |
| 1980s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Botswana |
| 1990s | 2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | Botswana |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher universal right to vote in practice, Botswana or South Africa?
- Botswana, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Botswana and South Africa?
- 0, with Botswana ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Botswana and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Botswana ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).