Norway vs South Africa: Universal right to vote

Norway
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Norway rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st

Universal right to vote over time

  • Norway
  • South Africa
00.511.52178919072025

How they compare

Norway currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Norway ahead.

Norway ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.

Norway has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Norway South Africa Difference Ahead
1900s 1 0 1 Norway
1910s 1.7 0 1.7 Norway
1920s 2 0 2 Norway
1930s 2 0 2 Norway
1940s 2 0 2 Norway
1950s 2 0 2 Norway
1960s 2 0 2 Norway
1970s 2 0 2 Norway
1980s 2 0 2 Norway
1990s 2 1.2 0.8 Norway
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, Norway or South Africa?
Norway, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in universal right to vote between Norway and South Africa?
0, with Norway ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and South Africa?
126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Norway and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote?
Norway 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

Indicator
Universal right to vote
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 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.