Justified Political Positions Score in United States
United States: Justified Political Positions Score was 0.421 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.421
Change on year
down 68.8%
World rank
99th
of 175 countries
All-time high
3.58
in 1978
All-time low
0.421
in 2025
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Justified Political Positions Score in United States, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for justified political positions score in United States is 0.421, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 126 years on record.
That represents a change of down 68.8% on the previous year and down 85.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, justified political positions score in United States peaked at 3.58 in 1978 and was at its lowest, 0.421, in 2025.
United States ranks 99th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Justified Political Positions Score in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 1.25 | — |
| 1901 | 1.31 | +5.1% |
| 1902 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 1.5 | +14.7% |
| 1914 | 1.26 | -16.0% |
| 1915 | 1.26 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 1.26 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 1.26 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 1.35 | +7.1% |
| 1919 | 1.35 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 1.35 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 1.06 | -21.3% |
| 1922 | 1.06 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1.06 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1.19 | +11.5% |
| 1925 | 1.19 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 1.19 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 1.19 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 1.19 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 1.48 | +24.6% |
| 1930 | 1.48 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 1.48 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 1.67 | +12.9% |
| 1933 | 2.21 | +32.5% |
| 1934 | 2.4 | +8.6% |
| 1935 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 2.4 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 1.95 | -18.7% |
| 1947 | 1.55 | -20.5% |
| 1948 | 1.55 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 1.55 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 1.82 | +17.3% |
| 1951 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 1.82 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2.08 | +14.2% |
| 1959 | 2.08 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 2.08 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 2.36 | +13.6% |
| 1962 | 2.77 | +17.2% |
| 1963 | 2.77 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 2.77 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.77 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2.13 | -23.1% |
| 1967 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2.13 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 2.76 | +29.8% |
| 1976 | 3.3 | +19.3% |
| 1977 | 3.3 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 3.58 | +8.6% |
| 1979 | 3.58 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 3.58 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2.21 | -38.4% |
| 1982 | 1.95 | -11.6% |
| 1983 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.95 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2.35 | +20.7% |
| 1991 | 2.35 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2.36 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 3.3 | +40.1% |
| 1994 | 3.3 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 3.3 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3.3 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2.79 | -15.7% |
| 1998 | 2.79 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2.79 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2.39 | -14.3% |
| 2001 | 1.54 | -35.3% |
| 2002 | 1.54 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.54 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.54 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.05 | +32.4% |
| 2006 | 2.05 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2.05 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.51 | +22.7% |
| 2009 | 2.81 | +12.1% |
| 2010 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.81 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.68 | -40.3% |
| 2017 | 0.893 | -46.8% |
| 2018 | 0.893 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.792 | -11.3% |
| 2020 | 0.556 | -29.8% |
| 2021 | 1.33 | +139.6% |
| 2022 | 1.76 | +31.9% |
| 2023 | 1.35 | -23.1% |
| 2024 | 1.35 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.421 | -68.8% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.421 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.49, 28% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1.3 | 1.25 | 1.31 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.32 | 1.26 | 1.5 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.19 | 1.06 | 1.48 | 10 |
| 1930s | 2.12 | 1.48 | 2.4 | 10 |
| 1940s | 2.1 | 1.55 | 2.4 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.87 | 1.82 | 2.08 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.4 | 2.08 | 2.77 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.72 | 2.13 | 3.58 | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.14 | 1.95 | 3.58 | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.86 | 2.35 | 3.3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 1.54 | 2.81 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.11 | 0.792 | 2.81 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.13 | 0.421 | 1.76 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is justified political positions score in United States?
- Justified political positions score in United States was 0.421 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest justified political positions score recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 3.58 in 1978.
- What is the lowest justified political positions score recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.421 in 2025.
- How does United States rank for justified political positions score?
- United States ranks 99th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is justified political positions score rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 85.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Justified Political Positions Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which political elites provide complex, nuanced, and complete justifications for their views when considering important policy changes.