Rwanda vs South Africa: Universal right to vote in practice
Rwanda
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Rwanda rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Rwanda
- South Africa
How they compare
Rwanda currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 110 shared years of data; in 1916 it was South Africa ahead.
Rwanda ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, Rwanda averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Rwanda | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | Rwanda |
| 1970s | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | Rwanda |
| 1980s | 1.8 | 0 | 1.8 | Rwanda |
| 1990s | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1.4 | 2 | 0.6 | 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, Rwanda or South Africa?
- Rwanda, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Rwanda and South Africa?
- 0, with Rwanda ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Rwanda and South Africa?
- 110 years are reported by both, from 1916 to 2025.
- How do Rwanda and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Rwanda 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).