Meaningful democratic electoral institutions by country
Central estimate of whether the country is meaningfully an electoral democracy. This includes the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.
Countries reporting
115
Highest
1
Argentina
Lowest
0
Zambia
Median
1
Years covered
237
1789–2025
Data points
29,649
What the numbers show
Meaningful democratic electoral institutions is currently reported for 115 countries. The highest value is 1 in Argentina; the lowest is 0 in Zambia.
The median across all reporting countries is 1, and the mean is 0.7478.
Meaningful democratic electoral institutions: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Armenia | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Australia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Austria | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Belgium | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Bulgaria | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Bolivia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Brazil | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Barbados | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Bhutan | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Botswana | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Canada | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Switzerland | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Chile | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Colombia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Cape Verde | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Costa Rica | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Cyprus | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Czechia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Germany | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Denmark | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Dominican Republic | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Ecuador | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Spain | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Estonia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Finland | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Fiji | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | France | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | United Kingdom | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Ghana | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Gambia | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Greece | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Guatemala | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Guyana | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Honduras | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Croatia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Ireland | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Iceland | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 1 | Israel | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Italy | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Jamaica | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Japan | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Kenya | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | South Korea | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Liberia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Lesotho | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Lithuania | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Luxembourg | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 1 | Latvia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Moldova | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Maldives | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | North Macedonia | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Malta | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Montenegro | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Mongolia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Mauritius | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Malawi | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Malaysia | 1 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 1 | Namibia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Nigeria | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Netherlands | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Norway | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Nepal | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | New Zealand | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 1 | Panama | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Peru | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Poland | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Portugal | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Paraguay | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Romania | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Senegal | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Solomon Islands | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Sao Tome and Principe | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Suriname | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Slovakia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Slovenia | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Sweden | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Seychelles | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | East Timor | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Uruguay | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | United States | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Vanuatu | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | South Africa | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Taiwan | 1 | 2025 | unchanged | volatile |
| 87 | Albania | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Benin | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Burkina Faso | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Bangladesh | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Belarus | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Cote d'Ivoire | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Georgia | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Guinea-Bissau | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Hungary | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Indonesia | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | India | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Libya | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Madagascar | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Mexico | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Mali | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Niger | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Nicaragua | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Philippines | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Sierra Leone | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | El Salvador | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Serbia | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Thailand | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Tunisia | 0 | 2025 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 87 | Turkey | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Ukraine | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Venezuela | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 87 | Zambia | 0 | 2025 | — | volatile |
About this data
Central estimate of whether the country is meaningfully an electoral democracy. This includes the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.