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Free and Fair Elections Index in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Free and Fair Elections Index was 0.924 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.924
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
30th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.948
in 2020
All-time low
0
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Free and Fair Elections Index in United Kingdom, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, free and fair elections index in United Kingdom stood at 0.924.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in United Kingdom peaked at 0.948 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

That places United Kingdom 30th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Free and Fair Elections Index in United Kingdom, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0 —
1790 0.119 —
1791 0.175 +47.1%
1792 0.175 +0.0%
1793 0.175 +0.0%
1794 0.175 +0.0%
1795 0.175 +0.0%
1796 0.219 +25.1%
1797 0.174 -20.5%
1798 0.174 +0.0%
1799 0.174 +0.0%
1800 0.174 +0.0%
1801 0.215 +23.6%
1802 0.215 +0.0%
1803 0.178 -17.2%
1804 0.178 +0.0%
1805 0.178 +0.0%
1806 0.217 +21.9%
1807 0.223 +2.8%
1808 0.175 -21.5%
1809 0.175 +0.0%
1810 0.222 +26.9%
1811 0.175 -21.2%
1812 0.218 +24.6%
1813 0.182 -16.5%
1814 0.182 +0.0%
1815 0.182 +0.0%
1816 0.182 +0.0%
1817 0.182 +0.0%
1818 0.221 +21.4%
1819 0.182 -17.6%
1820 0.213 +17.0%
1821 0.17 -20.2%
1822 0.17 +0.0%
1823 0.17 +0.0%
1824 0.17 +0.0%
1825 0.17 +0.0%
1826 0.216 +27.1%
1827 0.175 -19.0%
1828 0.175 +0.0%
1829 0.175 +0.0%
1830 0.219 +25.1%
1831 0.216 -1.4%
1832 0.223 +3.2%
1833 0.278 +24.7%
1834 0.278 +0.0%
1835 0.317 +14.0%
1836 0.279 -12.0%
1837 0.318 +14.0%
1838 0.273 -14.2%
1839 0.273 +0.0%
1840 0.273 +0.0%
1841 0.316 +15.8%
1842 0.272 -13.9%
1843 0.272 +0.0%
1844 0.272 +0.0%
1845 0.272 +0.0%
1846 0.272 +0.0%
1847 0.311 +14.3%
1848 0.28 -10.0%
1849 0.28 +0.0%
1850 0.28 +0.0%
1851 0.28 +0.0%
1852 0.315 +12.5%
1853 0.275 -12.7%
1854 0.275 +0.0%
1855 0.275 +0.0%
1856 0.275 +0.0%
1857 0.307 +11.6%
1858 0.275 -10.4%
1859 0.309 +12.4%
1860 0.278 -10.0%
1861 0.278 +0.0%
1862 0.278 +0.0%
1863 0.278 +0.0%
1864 0.278 +0.0%
1865 0.338 +21.6%
1866 0.342 +1.2%
1867 0.342 +0.0%
1868 0.362 +5.8%
1869 0.338 -6.6%
1870 0.338 +0.0%
1871 0.338 +0.0%
1872 0.338 +0.0%
1873 0.338 +0.0%
1874 0.411 +21.6%
1875 0.393 -4.4%
1876 0.393 +0.0%
1877 0.393 +0.0%
1878 0.393 +0.0%
1879 0.393 +0.0%
1880 0.466 +18.6%
1881 0.472 +1.3%
1882 0.472 +0.0%
1883 0.472 +0.0%
1884 0.472 +0.0%
1885 0.495 +4.9%
1886 0.594 +20.0%
1887 0.608 +2.4%
1888 0.608 +0.0%
1889 0.608 +0.0%
1890 0.608 +0.0%
1891 0.608 +0.0%
1892 0.633 +4.1%
1893 0.694 +9.6%
1894 0.694 +0.0%
1895 0.677 -2.4%
1896 0.692 +2.2%
1897 0.692 +0.0%
1898 0.692 +0.0%
1899 0.692 +0.0%
1900 0.697 +0.7%
1901 0.72 +3.3%
1902 0.72 +0.0%
1903 0.72 +0.0%
1904 0.72 +0.0%
1905 0.72 +0.0%
1906 0.717 -0.4%
1907 0.717 +0.0%
1908 0.717 +0.0%
1909 0.717 +0.0%
1910 0.721 +0.6%
1911 0.721 +0.0%
1912 0.721 +0.0%
1913 0.721 +0.0%
1914 0.721 +0.0%
1915 0.721 +0.0%
1916 0.721 +0.0%
1917 0.721 +0.0%
1918 0.721 +0.0%
1919 0.747 +3.6%
1920 0.756 +1.2%
1921 0.756 +0.0%
1922 0.759 +0.4%
1923 0.782 +3.0%
1924 0.781 -0.1%
1925 0.779 -0.3%
1926 0.779 +0.0%
1927 0.779 +0.0%
1928 0.779 +0.0%
1929 0.787 +1.0%
1930 0.792 +0.6%
1931 0.794 +0.3%
1932 0.802 +1.0%
1933 0.802 +0.0%
1934 0.802 +0.0%
1935 0.802 +0.0%
1936 0.803 +0.1%
1937 0.803 +0.0%
1938 0.803 +0.0%
1939 0.803 +0.0%
1940 0.811 +1.0%
1941 0.811 +0.0%
1942 0.811 +0.0%
1943 0.811 +0.0%
1944 0.811 +0.0%
1945 0.827 +2.0%
1946 0.851 +2.9%
1947 0.851 +0.0%
1948 0.851 +0.0%
1949 0.851 +0.0%
1950 0.873 +2.6%
1951 0.874 +0.1%
1952 0.874 +0.0%
1953 0.874 +0.0%
1954 0.874 +0.0%
1955 0.868 -0.7%
1956 0.864 -0.5%
1957 0.864 +0.0%
1958 0.864 +0.0%
1959 0.864 +0.0%
1960 0.865 +0.1%
1961 0.865 +0.0%
1962 0.865 +0.0%
1963 0.865 +0.0%
1964 0.871 +0.7%
1965 0.891 +2.3%
1966 0.891 +0.0%
1967 0.891 +0.0%
1968 0.891 +0.0%
1969 0.891 +0.0%
1970 0.893 +0.2%
1971 0.895 +0.2%
1972 0.895 +0.0%
1973 0.895 +0.0%
1974 0.892 -0.3%
1975 0.892 +0.0%
1976 0.892 +0.0%
1977 0.892 +0.0%
1978 0.892 +0.0%
1979 0.892 +0.0%
1980 0.894 +0.2%
1981 0.894 +0.0%
1982 0.894 +0.0%
1983 0.889 -0.6%
1984 0.885 -0.4%
1985 0.885 +0.0%
1986 0.885 +0.0%
1987 0.887 +0.2%
1988 0.888 +0.1%
1989 0.888 +0.0%
1990 0.888 +0.0%
1991 0.888 +0.0%
1992 0.884 -0.5%
1993 0.883 -0.1%
1994 0.883 +0.0%
1995 0.883 +0.0%
1996 0.883 +0.0%
1997 0.878 -0.6%
1998 0.886 +0.9%
1999 0.892 +0.7%
2000 0.907 +1.7%
2001 0.916 +1.0%
2002 0.92 +0.4%
2003 0.92 +0.0%
2004 0.92 +0.0%
2005 0.929 +1.0%
2006 0.934 +0.5%
2007 0.934 +0.0%
2008 0.934 +0.0%
2009 0.934 +0.0%
2010 0.932 -0.2%
2011 0.931 -0.1%
2012 0.931 +0.0%
2013 0.931 +0.0%
2014 0.931 +0.0%
2015 0.921 -1.1%
2016 0.919 -0.2%
2017 0.926 +0.8%
2018 0.942 +1.7%
2019 0.936 -0.6%
2020 0.948 +1.3%
2021 0.943 -0.5%
2022 0.936 -0.7%
2023 0.932 -0.4%
2024 0.928 -0.4%
2025 0.924 -0.4%

United Kingdom compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom's 0.924 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.929, 99% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom's 0.924 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8955, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0 0 0 1
1790s 0.1735 0.119 0.219 10
1800s 0.1928 0.174 0.223 10
1810s 0.1928 0.175 0.222 10
1820s 0.1804 0.17 0.216 10
1830s 0.2674 0.216 0.318 10
1840s 0.282 0.272 0.316 10
1850s 0.2866 0.275 0.315 10
1860s 0.3112 0.278 0.362 10
1870s 0.3728 0.338 0.411 10
1880s 0.5267 0.466 0.608 10
1890s 0.6682 0.608 0.694 10
1900s 0.7165 0.697 0.72 10
1910s 0.7236 0.721 0.747 10
1920s 0.7737 0.756 0.787 10
1930s 0.8006 0.792 0.803 10
1940s 0.8286 0.811 0.851 10
1950s 0.8693 0.864 0.874 10
1960s 0.8786 0.865 0.891 10
1970s 0.893 0.892 0.895 10
1980s 0.8889 0.885 0.894 10
1990s 0.8848 0.878 0.892 10
2000s 0.9248 0.907 0.934 10
2010s 0.93 0.919 0.942 10
2020s 0.9352 0.924 0.948 6

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 27 Japan 0.937 compare
  2. 28 South Korea 0.935 compare
  3. 29 Iceland 0.929 compare
  4. 31 Latvia 0.92 compare
  5. 32 Slovenia 0.916 compare
  6. 33 Sri Lanka 0.914 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is free and fair elections index in United Kingdom?
Free and fair elections index in United Kingdom was 0.924 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 0.948 in 2020.
What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does United Kingdom rank for free and fair elections index?
United Kingdom ranks 30th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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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Free and Fair Elections Index in United Kingdom. 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/united-kingdom/

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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.