Democratic Republic of Congo vs South Africa: Universal right to vote in practice

Democratic Republic of Congo
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st

Universal right to vote in practice over time

  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • South Africa
00.511.52187719512025

How they compare

Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Democratic Republic of Congo averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Democratic Republic of Congo 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 0.3 0 0.3 Democratic Republic of Congo
1970s 2 0 2 Democratic Republic of Congo
1980s 2 0 2 Democratic Republic of Congo
1990s 1.4 1.2 0.2 Democratic Republic of Congo
2000s 0.8 2 1.2 South Africa
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, Democratic Republic of Congo or South Africa?
Democratic Republic of Congo, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa?
0, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa?
126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
Democratic Republic of Congo 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

Indicator
Universal right to vote in practice
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

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).