Free and Fair Elections Score in South Korea

South Korea: Free and Fair Elections Score was 9 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
9
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
12th
of 128 countries
All-time high
10
in 2005
All-time low
9
in 2015
Years of data
11
2005–2025

Free and Fair Elections Score in South Korea, 2005–2025

02468102005201520252005: 102007: 102009: 102011: 102013: 102015: 92017: 92019: 92021: 92023: 92025: 9

Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, free and fair elections score in South Korea stood at 9. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections score in South Korea peaked at 10 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 9, in 2015.

That places South Korea 12th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 10 10 10 3
2010s 9.4 9 10 5
2020s 9 9 9 3

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 12 Argentina 9 compare
  2. 12 Bolivia 9 compare
  3. 12 Botswana 9 compare
  4. 12 Croatia 9 compare
  5. 12 Ghana 9 compare
  6. 12 Jamaica 9 compare
  7. 12 South Africa 9 compare

See the full ranking of 128 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is free and fair elections score in South Korea?
Free and fair elections score in South Korea was 9 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections score recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 10 in 2005.
What is the lowest free and fair elections score recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 9 in 2015.
How does South Korea rank for free and fair elections score?
South Korea ranks 12th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections score rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free and Fair Elections Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Free and Fair Elections Score
Source
Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
128 places, 1,394 data points, 2005–2025
Last refreshed

Indicates the extent to which elections are free from irregularities, the rights to vote, run for office, and campaign are unrestricted, registration is easy, and campaigning and media access are fair.