Free and Fair Elections Score in South Korea
South Korea: Free and Fair Elections Score was 9 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Free and Fair Elections Score in South Korea, 2005–2025
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.
Free and Fair Elections Score in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 10 | — |
| 2007 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 9 | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 9 is above the median for high income countries, which is 8, 1.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 9 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4, 2.2× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| 2010s | 9.4 | 9 | 10 | 5 |
| 2020s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
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
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.