Switzerland vs United States: Universal right to vote in practice
Switzerland
2
in 2025
United States
2
in 2025
Switzerland rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Switzerland
- United States
How they compare
Switzerland currently reports 2 against 2 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 228 shared years of data; in 1798 it was United States ahead.
Switzerland ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 24 decades both report, Switzerland averaged higher in 12 and United States in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Switzerland | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | Switzerland |
| 1850s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1860s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1870s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1880s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1890s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1900s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1910s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1920s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1930s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1940s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1950s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1.9 | 2 | 0.1 | United States |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 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, Switzerland or United States?
- Switzerland, at 2 against 2 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Switzerland and United States?
- 0, with Switzerland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Switzerland and United States?
- 228 years are reported by both, from 1798 to 2025.
- How do Switzerland and United States rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Switzerland 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).