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Liberal Political Institutions Index in China

China: Liberal Political Institutions Index was 0.137 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.137
Change on year
up 7.9%
World rank
160th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.273
in 1948
All-time low
0.044
in 1851
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Liberal Political Institutions Index in China, 1789–2025

0.050.10.150.20.25178919072025

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

Analysis

China recorded 0.137 for liberal political institutions index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 7.9% on the previous year and down 25.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, liberal political institutions index in China peaked at 0.273 in 1948 and was at its lowest, 0.044, in 1851.

That places China 160th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Liberal Political Institutions Index in China, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.046 —
1790 0.046 +0.0%
1791 0.046 +0.0%
1792 0.046 +0.0%
1793 0.046 +0.0%
1794 0.046 +0.0%
1795 0.046 +0.0%
1796 0.046 +0.0%
1797 0.046 +0.0%
1798 0.046 +0.0%
1799 0.046 +0.0%
1800 0.046 +0.0%
1801 0.046 +0.0%
1802 0.046 +0.0%
1803 0.046 +0.0%
1804 0.046 +0.0%
1805 0.046 +0.0%
1806 0.046 +0.0%
1807 0.046 +0.0%
1808 0.046 +0.0%
1809 0.046 +0.0%
1810 0.046 +0.0%
1811 0.046 +0.0%
1812 0.046 +0.0%
1813 0.046 +0.0%
1814 0.046 +0.0%
1815 0.046 +0.0%
1816 0.046 +0.0%
1817 0.046 +0.0%
1818 0.046 +0.0%
1819 0.046 +0.0%
1820 0.046 +0.0%
1821 0.046 +0.0%
1822 0.046 +0.0%
1823 0.046 +0.0%
1824 0.046 +0.0%
1825 0.046 +0.0%
1826 0.046 +0.0%
1827 0.046 +0.0%
1828 0.046 +0.0%
1829 0.046 +0.0%
1830 0.046 +0.0%
1831 0.046 +0.0%
1832 0.046 +0.0%
1833 0.046 +0.0%
1834 0.046 +0.0%
1835 0.046 +0.0%
1836 0.046 +0.0%
1837 0.046 +0.0%
1838 0.046 +0.0%
1839 0.046 +0.0%
1840 0.046 +0.0%
1841 0.046 +0.0%
1842 0.046 +0.0%
1843 0.046 +0.0%
1844 0.046 +0.0%
1845 0.046 +0.0%
1846 0.046 +0.0%
1847 0.046 +0.0%
1848 0.046 +0.0%
1849 0.046 +0.0%
1850 0.046 +0.0%
1851 0.044 -4.3%
1852 0.044 +0.0%
1853 0.044 +0.0%
1854 0.044 +0.0%
1855 0.044 +0.0%
1856 0.044 +0.0%
1857 0.044 +0.0%
1858 0.044 +0.0%
1859 0.044 +0.0%
1860 0.044 +0.0%
1861 0.044 +0.0%
1862 0.044 +0.0%
1863 0.044 +0.0%
1864 0.044 +0.0%
1865 0.046 +4.5%
1866 0.046 +0.0%
1867 0.046 +0.0%
1868 0.046 +0.0%
1869 0.046 +0.0%
1870 0.046 +0.0%
1871 0.046 +0.0%
1872 0.046 +0.0%
1873 0.046 +0.0%
1874 0.046 +0.0%
1875 0.046 +0.0%
1876 0.046 +0.0%
1877 0.046 +0.0%
1878 0.046 +0.0%
1879 0.046 +0.0%
1880 0.046 +0.0%
1881 0.046 +0.0%
1882 0.046 +0.0%
1883 0.046 +0.0%
1884 0.046 +0.0%
1885 0.046 +0.0%
1886 0.046 +0.0%
1887 0.046 +0.0%
1888 0.046 +0.0%
1889 0.046 +0.0%
1890 0.045 -2.2%
1891 0.045 +0.0%
1892 0.045 +0.0%
1893 0.045 +0.0%
1894 0.045 +0.0%
1895 0.045 +0.0%
1896 0.045 +0.0%
1897 0.045 +0.0%
1898 0.045 +0.0%
1899 0.045 +0.0%
1900 0.08 +77.8%
1901 0.08 +0.0%
1902 0.079 -1.3%
1903 0.079 +0.0%
1904 0.081 +2.5%
1905 0.081 +0.0%
1906 0.083 +2.5%
1907 0.089 +7.2%
1908 0.089 +0.0%
1909 0.089 +0.0%
1910 0.089 +0.0%
1911 0.091 +2.2%
1912 0.208 +128.6%
1913 0.223 +7.2%
1914 0.167 -25.1%
1915 0.167 +0.0%
1916 0.194 +16.2%
1917 0.2 +3.1%
1918 0.214 +7.0%
1919 0.265 +23.8%
1920 0.25 -5.7%
1921 0.165 -34.0%
1922 0.195 +18.2%
1923 0.215 +10.3%
1924 0.165 -23.3%
1925 0.165 +0.0%
1926 0.167 +1.2%
1927 0.159 -4.8%
1928 0.172 +8.2%
1929 0.173 +0.6%
1930 0.173 +0.0%
1931 0.173 +0.0%
1932 0.173 +0.0%
1933 0.173 +0.0%
1934 0.173 +0.0%
1935 0.173 +0.0%
1936 0.173 +0.0%
1937 0.175 +1.2%
1938 0.171 -2.3%
1939 0.171 +0.0%
1940 0.171 +0.0%
1941 0.171 +0.0%
1942 0.171 +0.0%
1943 0.171 +0.0%
1944 0.171 +0.0%
1945 0.172 +0.6%
1946 0.17 -1.2%
1947 0.171 +0.6%
1948 0.273 +59.6%
1949 0.185 -32.2%
1950 0.096 -48.1%
1951 0.096 +0.0%
1952 0.096 +0.0%
1953 0.096 +0.0%
1954 0.139 +44.8%
1955 0.139 +0.0%
1956 0.139 +0.0%
1957 0.131 -5.8%
1958 0.129 -1.5%
1959 0.128 -0.8%
1960 0.13 +1.6%
1961 0.13 +0.0%
1962 0.13 +0.0%
1963 0.13 +0.0%
1964 0.13 +0.0%
1965 0.129 -0.8%
1966 0.125 -3.1%
1967 0.124 -0.8%
1968 0.124 +0.0%
1969 0.124 +0.0%
1970 0.125 +0.8%
1971 0.125 +0.0%
1972 0.125 +0.0%
1973 0.125 +0.0%
1974 0.125 +0.0%
1975 0.125 +0.0%
1976 0.125 +0.0%
1977 0.13 +4.0%
1978 0.148 +13.8%
1979 0.208 +40.5%
1980 0.227 +9.1%
1981 0.231 +1.8%
1982 0.231 +0.0%
1983 0.231 +0.0%
1984 0.231 +0.0%
1985 0.231 +0.0%
1986 0.228 -1.3%
1987 0.228 +0.0%
1988 0.228 +0.0%
1989 0.225 -1.3%
1990 0.226 +0.4%
1991 0.226 +0.0%
1992 0.227 +0.4%
1993 0.229 +0.9%
1994 0.23 +0.4%
1995 0.236 +2.6%
1996 0.233 -1.3%
1997 0.234 +0.4%
1998 0.236 +0.9%
1999 0.239 +1.3%
2000 0.239 +0.0%
2001 0.241 +0.8%
2002 0.252 +4.6%
2003 0.254 +0.8%
2004 0.251 -1.2%
2005 0.195 -22.3%
2006 0.196 +0.5%
2007 0.193 -1.5%
2008 0.195 +1.0%
2009 0.196 +0.5%
2010 0.193 -1.5%
2011 0.19 -1.6%
2012 0.191 +0.5%
2013 0.183 -4.2%
2014 0.182 -0.5%
2015 0.183 +0.5%
2016 0.183 +0.0%
2017 0.184 +0.5%
2018 0.171 -7.1%
2019 0.167 -2.3%
2020 0.147 -12.0%
2021 0.152 +3.4%
2022 0.147 -3.3%
2023 0.126 -14.3%
2024 0.127 +0.8%
2025 0.137 +7.9%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 0.137 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.6145, 22% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • China's 0.137 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.6895, 20% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.046 0.046 0.046 1
1790s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1800s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1810s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1820s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1830s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1840s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1850s 0.0442 0.044 0.046 10
1860s 0.045 0.044 0.046 10
1870s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1880s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1890s 0.045 0.045 0.045 10
1900s 0.083 0.079 0.089 10
1910s 0.1818 0.089 0.265 10
1920s 0.1826 0.159 0.25 10
1930s 0.1728 0.171 0.175 10
1940s 0.1826 0.17 0.273 10
1950s 0.1189 0.096 0.139 10
1960s 0.1276 0.124 0.13 10
1970s 0.1361 0.125 0.208 10
1980s 0.2291 0.225 0.231 10
1990s 0.2316 0.226 0.239 10
2000s 0.2212 0.193 0.254 10
2010s 0.1827 0.167 0.193 10
2020s 0.1393 0.126 0.152 6

Countries ranked near China

  1. 157 Russia 0.147 compare
  2. 158 Cuba 0.146 compare
  3. 159 El Salvador 0.141 compare
  4. 161 Azerbaijan 0.132 compare
  5. 162 Yemen 0.125 compare
  6. 163 Cambodia 0.119 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is liberal political institutions index in China?
Liberal political institutions index in China was 0.137 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest liberal political institutions index recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 0.273 in 1948.
What is the lowest liberal political institutions index recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 0.044 in 1851.
How does China rank for liberal political institutions index?
China ranks 160th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is liberal political institutions index rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 25.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal Political Institutions Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Liberal Political Institutions Index in China. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/liberal-political-institutions-index/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Liberal Political Institutions Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,207 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent of individual and minority rights, equality before the law, and executive constraints.