Common Good Justifications Score in United States
United States: Common Good Justifications Score was 0.414 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.414
Change on year
down 69.1%
World rank
107th
of 175 countries
All-time high
1.85
in 1993
All-time low
0.366
in 2020
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Common Good Justifications Score in United States, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 0.414 for common good justifications score in 2025.
That represents a change of down 69.1% on the previous year and down 67.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, common good justifications score in United States peaked at 1.85 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.366, in 2020.
United States ranks 107th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Common Good Justifications Score in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.522 | — |
| 1901 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.522 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.66 | +26.4% |
| 1914 | 0.724 | +9.7% |
| 1915 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.66 | -8.8% |
| 1919 | 0.66 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.66 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.475 | -28.0% |
| 1922 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.475 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.564 | +18.7% |
| 1930 | 0.564 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.564 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.897 | +59.0% |
| 1933 | 0.977 | +8.9% |
| 1934 | 1.38 | +41.0% |
| 1935 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.902 | -34.5% |
| 1947 | 0.704 | -22.0% |
| 1948 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.855 | +21.4% |
| 1951 | 0.855 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.855 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.855 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.855 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 1.02 | +19.5% |
| 1956 | 1.02 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 1.02 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 1.02 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 1.02 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 1.15 | +12.7% |
| 1961 | 1.15 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 1.15 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.24 | +7.9% |
| 1964 | 1.24 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1.24 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1.03 | -17.1% |
| 1967 | 1.03 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1.03 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1.44 | +40.1% |
| 1970 | 1.44 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1.44 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1.44 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1.38 | -4.6% |
| 1974 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.38 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1.58 | +14.7% |
| 1977 | 1.73 | +9.6% |
| 1978 | 1.73 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1.73 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1.73 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1.56 | -9.7% |
| 1982 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1.56 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.28 | -18.2% |
| 1990 | 1.66 | +29.9% |
| 1991 | 1.66 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.66 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.85 | +11.6% |
| 1994 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.85 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.8 | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 1.6 | -10.9% |
| 2002 | 1.6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.6 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.42 | -11.7% |
| 2006 | 1.42 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.42 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.52 | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 1.6 | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 1.65 | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 1.65 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.65 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.65 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.26 | -24.1% |
| 2015 | 1.26 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.17 | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 0.476 | -59.4% |
| 2018 | 0.476 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.476 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.366 | -23.1% |
| 2021 | 1.36 | +271.9% |
| 2022 | 1.6 | +17.3% |
| 2023 | 1.34 | -16.2% |
| 2024 | 1.34 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.414 | -69.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.414 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.23, 34% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.522 | 0.522 | 0.522 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.6442 | 0.522 | 0.724 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.5024 | 0.475 | 0.66 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.13 | 0.564 | 1.38 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.13 | 0.704 | 1.38 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.9385 | 0.855 | 1.02 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.17 | 1.03 | 1.44 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.52 | 1.38 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.55 | 1.28 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.79 | 1.66 | 1.85 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.56 | 1.42 | 1.8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.17 | 0.476 | 1.65 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.07 | 0.366 | 1.6 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is common good justifications score in United States?
- Common good justifications score in United States was 0.414 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest common good justifications score recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.85 in 1993.
- What is the lowest common good justifications score recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.366 in 2020.
- How does United States rank for common good justifications score?
- United States ranks 107th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is common good justifications score rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 67.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Common Good Justifications Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which political elites justify their views with the common good for society, either the greatest good for the greatest number of people or as helping the least advantaged people in society when considering important policy changes.