Statizoid

Free and Fair Elections Index in Australia

Australia: Free and Fair Elections Index was 0.962 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.962
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
3rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.977
in 2011
All-time low
0
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Free and Fair Elections Index in Australia, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Australia recorded 0.962 for free and fair elections index in 2025.

The figure is up 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in Australia peaked at 0.977 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

Australia ranks 3rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Free and Fair Elections Index in Australia, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0 —
1790 0 —
1791 0 —
1792 0 —
1793 0 —
1794 0 —
1795 0 —
1796 0 —
1797 0 —
1798 0 —
1799 0 —
1800 0 —
1801 0 —
1802 0 —
1803 0 —
1804 0 —
1805 0 —
1806 0 —
1807 0 —
1808 0 —
1809 0 —
1810 0 —
1811 0 —
1812 0 —
1813 0 —
1814 0 —
1815 0 —
1816 0 —
1817 0 —
1818 0 —
1819 0 —
1820 0 —
1821 0 —
1822 0 —
1823 0 —
1824 0 —
1825 0 —
1826 0 —
1827 0 —
1828 0 —
1829 0 —
1830 0 —
1831 0 —
1832 0 —
1833 0 —
1834 0 —
1835 0 —
1836 0 —
1837 0 —
1838 0 —
1839 0 —
1840 0 —
1841 0 —
1842 0 —
1843 0.4 —
1844 0.75 +87.5%
1845 0.75 +0.0%
1846 0.75 +0.0%
1847 0.75 +0.0%
1848 0.756 +0.8%
1849 0.776 +2.6%
1850 0.776 +0.0%
1851 0.775 -0.1%
1852 0.77 -0.6%
1853 0.77 +0.0%
1854 0.77 +0.0%
1855 0.77 +0.0%
1856 0.813 +5.6%
1857 0.811 -0.2%
1858 0.873 +7.6%
1859 0.876 +0.3%
1860 0.877 +0.1%
1861 0.874 -0.3%
1862 0.874 +0.0%
1863 0.874 +0.0%
1864 0.874 +0.0%
1865 0.876 +0.2%
1866 0.876 +0.0%
1867 0.876 +0.0%
1868 0.876 +0.0%
1869 0.876 +0.0%
1870 0.877 +0.1%
1871 0.877 +0.0%
1872 0.873 -0.5%
1873 0.872 -0.1%
1874 0.872 +0.0%
1875 0.876 +0.5%
1876 0.876 +0.0%
1877 0.875 -0.1%
1878 0.873 -0.2%
1879 0.873 +0.0%
1880 0.874 +0.1%
1881 0.882 +0.9%
1882 0.881 -0.1%
1883 0.878 -0.3%
1884 0.878 +0.0%
1885 0.877 -0.1%
1886 0.872 -0.6%
1887 0.876 +0.5%
1888 0.876 +0.0%
1889 0.875 -0.1%
1890 0.875 +0.0%
1891 0.876 +0.1%
1892 0.876 +0.0%
1893 0.876 +0.0%
1894 0.877 +0.1%
1895 0.875 -0.2%
1896 0.873 -0.2%
1897 0.873 +0.0%
1898 0.875 +0.2%
1899 0.878 +0.3%
1900 0.878 +0.0%
1901 0.882 +0.5%
1902 0.888 +0.7%
1903 0.891 +0.3%
1904 0.916 +2.8%
1905 0.916 +0.0%
1906 0.917 +0.1%
1907 0.925 +0.9%
1908 0.925 +0.0%
1909 0.925 +0.0%
1910 0.925 +0.0%
1911 0.925 +0.0%
1912 0.925 +0.0%
1913 0.927 +0.2%
1914 0.928 +0.1%
1915 0.926 -0.2%
1916 0.926 +0.0%
1917 0.897 -3.1%
1918 0.885 -1.3%
1919 0.888 +0.3%
1920 0.928 +4.5%
1921 0.928 +0.0%
1922 0.928 +0.0%
1923 0.933 +0.5%
1924 0.933 +0.0%
1925 0.933 +0.0%
1926 0.931 -0.2%
1927 0.931 +0.0%
1928 0.932 +0.1%
1929 0.934 +0.2%
1930 0.934 +0.0%
1931 0.934 +0.0%
1932 0.93 -0.4%
1933 0.93 +0.0%
1934 0.93 +0.0%
1935 0.931 +0.1%
1936 0.931 +0.0%
1937 0.931 +0.0%
1938 0.932 +0.1%
1939 0.932 +0.0%
1940 0.932 +0.0%
1941 0.932 +0.0%
1942 0.932 +0.0%
1943 0.933 +0.1%
1944 0.934 +0.1%
1945 0.934 +0.0%
1946 0.933 -0.1%
1947 0.929 -0.4%
1948 0.929 +0.0%
1949 0.93 +0.1%
1950 0.933 +0.3%
1951 0.923 -1.1%
1952 0.919 -0.4%
1953 0.919 +0.0%
1954 0.928 +1.0%
1955 0.933 +0.5%
1956 0.929 -0.4%
1957 0.929 +0.0%
1958 0.929 +0.0%
1959 0.931 +0.2%
1960 0.931 +0.0%
1961 0.931 +0.0%
1962 0.931 +0.0%
1963 0.932 +0.1%
1964 0.933 +0.1%
1965 0.933 +0.0%
1966 0.932 -0.1%
1967 0.928 -0.4%
1968 0.928 +0.0%
1969 0.928 +0.0%
1970 0.931 +0.3%
1971 0.931 +0.0%
1972 0.932 +0.1%
1973 0.938 +0.6%
1974 0.934 -0.4%
1975 0.931 -0.3%
1976 0.931 +0.0%
1977 0.931 +0.0%
1978 0.93 -0.1%
1979 0.93 +0.0%
1980 0.932 +0.2%
1981 0.94 +0.9%
1982 0.94 +0.0%
1983 0.939 -0.1%
1984 0.95 +1.2%
1985 0.955 +0.5%
1986 0.955 +0.0%
1987 0.955 +0.0%
1988 0.955 +0.0%
1989 0.955 +0.0%
1990 0.957 +0.2%
1991 0.957 +0.0%
1992 0.957 +0.0%
1993 0.956 -0.1%
1994 0.955 -0.1%
1995 0.955 +0.0%
1996 0.956 +0.1%
1997 0.956 +0.0%
1998 0.956 +0.0%
1999 0.956 +0.0%
2000 0.956 +0.0%
2001 0.956 +0.0%
2002 0.951 -0.5%
2003 0.951 +0.0%
2004 0.951 +0.0%
2005 0.953 +0.2%
2006 0.953 +0.0%
2007 0.954 +0.1%
2008 0.965 +1.2%
2009 0.965 +0.0%
2010 0.973 +0.8%
2011 0.977 +0.4%
2012 0.977 +0.0%
2013 0.965 -1.2%
2014 0.954 -1.1%
2015 0.954 +0.0%
2016 0.961 +0.7%
2017 0.969 +0.8%
2018 0.969 +0.0%
2019 0.958 -1.1%
2020 0.944 -1.5%
2021 0.944 +0.0%
2022 0.956 +1.3%
2023 0.962 +0.6%
2024 0.962 +0.0%
2025 0.962 +0.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 0.962 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.929, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 0.962 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5335, 1.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Free and Fair Elections Index in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1844 +87.5% 0.4 0.75

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0 0 0 1
1790s 0 0 0 10
1800s 0 0 0 10
1810s 0 0 0 10
1820s 0 0 0 10
1830s 0 0 0 10
1840s 0.4932 0 0.776 10
1850s 0.8004 0.77 0.876 10
1860s 0.8753 0.874 0.877 10
1870s 0.8744 0.872 0.877 10
1880s 0.8769 0.872 0.882 10
1890s 0.8754 0.873 0.878 10
1900s 0.9063 0.878 0.925 10
1910s 0.9152 0.885 0.928 10
1920s 0.9311 0.928 0.934 10
1930s 0.9315 0.93 0.934 10
1940s 0.9318 0.929 0.934 10
1950s 0.9273 0.919 0.933 10
1960s 0.9307 0.928 0.933 10
1970s 0.9319 0.93 0.938 10
1980s 0.9476 0.932 0.955 10
1990s 0.9561 0.955 0.957 10
2000s 0.9555 0.951 0.965 10
2010s 0.9657 0.954 0.977 10
2020s 0.955 0.944 0.962 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 1 Belgium 0.968 compare
  2. 2 Norway 0.966 compare
  3. 4 Denmark 0.961 compare
  4. 4 Finland 0.961 compare
  5. 6 Germany 0.957 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is free and fair elections index in Australia?
Free and fair elections index in Australia was 0.962 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 0.977 in 2011.
What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does Australia rank for free and fair elections index?
Australia ranks 3rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free and Fair Elections Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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Free and Fair Elections Index in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/free-and-fair-elections-index/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Free and Fair Elections Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,402 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which registration fraud, systematic irregularities, government intimidation of the opposition, vote buying, and election violence are absent, and the election management body is autonomous and has enough staff and resources.