Legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa
South Africa: Legislative constraints on the executive index was 0.843 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.843
Change on year
down 9.0%
World rank
42nd
of 174 countries
All-time high
0.926
in 2024
All-time low
0.332
in 1948
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa, 1900–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.843 for legislative constraints on the executive index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 9.0% on the previous year and down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa peaked at 0.926 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.332, in 1948.
That places South Africa 42nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.415 | — |
| 1901 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.355 | -14.5% |
| 1948 | 0.332 | -6.5% |
| 1949 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.332 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.582 | +75.3% |
| 1985 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.582 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.656 | +12.7% |
| 1994 | 0.682 | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 0.682 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.83 | +21.7% |
| 1997 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.817 | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.836 | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 0.836 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.847 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 0.844 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.844 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.886 | +5.0% |
| 2016 | 0.896 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 0.878 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 0.887 | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 0.903 | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 0.829 | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 0.837 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 0.849 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 0.868 | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 0.926 | +6.7% |
| 2025 | 0.843 | -9.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.843 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.599, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.843 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.352, 2.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.415 | 0.415 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.415 | 0.415 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.415 | 0.415 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.415 | 0.415 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.3924 | 0.332 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.332 | 0.332 | 0.332 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.332 | 0.332 | 0.332 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.332 | 0.332 | 0.332 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.482 | 0.332 | 0.582 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7086 | 0.582 | 0.83 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8287 | 0.817 | 0.83 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8657 | 0.836 | 0.903 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8587 | 0.829 | 0.926 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa?
- Legislative constraints on the executive index in South Africa was 0.843 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest legislative constraints on the executive index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.926 in 2024.
- What is the lowest legislative constraints on the executive index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.332 in 1948.
- How does South Africa rank for legislative constraints on the executive index?
- South Africa ranks 42nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is legislative constraints on the executive index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Legislative constraints on the executive index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).