South Korea vs United States: Universal right to vote in practice
South Korea
2
in 2025
United States
2
in 2025
South Korea rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- South Korea
- United States
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 2 against 2 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 78 shared years of data; in 1948 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 3 and United States in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 2 | 0 | 2 | South Korea |
| 1950s | 2 | 0 | 2 | South Korea |
| 1960s | 1.6 | 1 | 0.6 | South Korea |
| 1970s | 1.6 | 2 | 0.4 | United States |
| 1980s | 1.8 | 2 | 0.2 | United States |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 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, South Korea or United States?
- South Korea, at 2 against 2 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between South Korea and United States?
- 0, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and United States rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- South Korea ranks 1st and United States 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).