Deliberative Political Institutions Index in South Africa
South Africa: Deliberative Political Institutions Index was 0.898 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.898
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
23rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.926
in 1996
All-time low
0.389
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Deliberative Political Institutions Index in South Africa, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, deliberative political institutions index in South Africa stood at 0.898.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, deliberative political institutions index in South Africa peaked at 0.926 in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.389, in 1900.
That places South Africa 23rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Deliberative Political Institutions Index in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.389 | — |
| 1901 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.389 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.435 | +11.8% |
| 1911 | 0.464 | +6.7% |
| 1912 | 0.464 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.497 | +7.1% |
| 1914 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.412 | -17.1% |
| 1949 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.409 | -0.7% |
| 1960 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.409 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.431 | +5.4% |
| 1981 | 0.431 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.431 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.431 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.431 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.437 | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 0.457 | +4.6% |
| 1987 | 0.457 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.457 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.48 | +5.0% |
| 1990 | 0.702 | +46.2% |
| 1991 | 0.702 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.718 | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 0.752 | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 0.879 | +16.9% |
| 1995 | 0.922 | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 0.926 | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 0.926 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.914 | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 0.886 | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 0.883 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.883 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.89 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.874 | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.879 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.88 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.871 | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 0.84 | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 0.84 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.84 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.845 | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.847 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.869 | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 0.886 | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 0.915 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 0.879 | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 0.878 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 0.907 | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 0.898 | -1.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.898 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.599, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.898 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5725, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.389 | 0.389 | 0.389 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.4842 | 0.435 | 0.497 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.497 | 0.497 | 0.497 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.497 | 0.497 | 0.497 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.48 | 0.412 | 0.497 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4117 | 0.409 | 0.412 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.409 | 0.409 | 0.409 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.409 | 0.409 | 0.409 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4443 | 0.431 | 0.48 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8327 | 0.702 | 0.926 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8828 | 0.874 | 0.89 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8597 | 0.84 | 0.886 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8962 | 0.878 | 0.915 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is deliberative political institutions index in South Africa?
- Deliberative political institutions index in South Africa was 0.898 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest deliberative political institutions index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.926 in 1996.
- What is the lowest deliberative political institutions index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.389 in 1900.
- How does South Africa rank for deliberative political institutions index?
- South Africa ranks 23rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is deliberative political institutions index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Deliberative Political Institutions Index. 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 positions, justify them with the common good, acknowledge counterarguments, consult elites in policy changes, and society deliberates policy changes.