Iceland vs South Africa: Universal right to vote
Iceland
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Iceland rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Universal right to vote over time
- Iceland
- South Africa
How they compare
Iceland 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.
Iceland ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1920s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1930s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1940s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1950s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1960s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1970s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1980s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Iceland |
| 1990s | 2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | Iceland |
| 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, Iceland or South Africa?
- Iceland, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote between Iceland and South Africa?
- 0, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote?
- Iceland 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. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all men and women that are citizens are allowed to vote in national elections (score 2), whether it is only men (score 1), or there is no universal rights to vote for either men or women (score 0). It neither considers informal restrictions nor legal restrictions based on age, criminal conviction, disability, and local residency.