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Centralization of Political Power Index in South Africa

South Africa: Centralization of Political Power Index was 0.084 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.084
Change on year
up 27.3%
World rank
149th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.608
in 1950
All-time low
0.066
in 2024
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Centralization of Political Power Index in South Africa, 1900–2025

00.20.40.6190019622025

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.084 for centralization of political power index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 27.3% on the previous year and down 27.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, centralization of political power index in South Africa peaked at 0.608 in 1950 and was at its lowest, 0.066, in 2024.

South Africa ranks 149th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.

Centralization of Political Power Index in South Africa, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.519 —
1901 0.519 +0.0%
1902 0.519 +0.0%
1903 0.519 +0.0%
1904 0.519 +0.0%
1905 0.519 +0.0%
1906 0.519 +0.0%
1907 0.519 +0.0%
1908 0.519 +0.0%
1909 0.519 +0.0%
1910 0.525 +1.2%
1911 0.525 +0.0%
1912 0.525 +0.0%
1913 0.525 +0.0%
1914 0.525 +0.0%
1915 0.525 +0.0%
1916 0.525 +0.0%
1917 0.525 +0.0%
1918 0.525 +0.0%
1919 0.525 +0.0%
1920 0.525 +0.0%
1921 0.525 +0.0%
1922 0.525 +0.0%
1923 0.525 +0.0%
1924 0.525 +0.0%
1925 0.525 +0.0%
1926 0.525 +0.0%
1927 0.525 +0.0%
1928 0.525 +0.0%
1929 0.525 +0.0%
1930 0.525 +0.0%
1931 0.525 +0.0%
1932 0.525 +0.0%
1933 0.525 +0.0%
1934 0.525 +0.0%
1935 0.525 +0.0%
1936 0.525 +0.0%
1937 0.525 +0.0%
1938 0.525 +0.0%
1939 0.525 +0.0%
1940 0.525 +0.0%
1941 0.525 +0.0%
1942 0.525 +0.0%
1943 0.525 +0.0%
1944 0.525 +0.0%
1945 0.525 +0.0%
1946 0.525 +0.0%
1947 0.534 +1.7%
1948 0.571 +6.9%
1949 0.571 +0.0%
1950 0.608 +6.5%
1951 0.608 +0.0%
1952 0.608 +0.0%
1953 0.608 +0.0%
1954 0.608 +0.0%
1955 0.608 +0.0%
1956 0.608 +0.0%
1957 0.608 +0.0%
1958 0.608 +0.0%
1959 0.608 +0.0%
1960 0.608 +0.0%
1961 0.608 +0.0%
1962 0.608 +0.0%
1963 0.608 +0.0%
1964 0.608 +0.0%
1965 0.608 +0.0%
1966 0.608 +0.0%
1967 0.608 +0.0%
1968 0.608 +0.0%
1969 0.608 +0.0%
1970 0.608 +0.0%
1971 0.608 +0.0%
1972 0.608 +0.0%
1973 0.608 +0.0%
1974 0.608 +0.0%
1975 0.608 +0.0%
1976 0.608 +0.0%
1977 0.608 +0.0%
1978 0.608 +0.0%
1979 0.608 +0.0%
1980 0.608 +0.0%
1981 0.608 +0.0%
1982 0.608 +0.0%
1983 0.608 +0.0%
1984 0.526 -13.5%
1985 0.526 +0.0%
1986 0.526 +0.0%
1987 0.526 +0.0%
1988 0.526 +0.0%
1989 0.5 -4.9%
1990 0.499 -0.2%
1991 0.499 +0.0%
1992 0.499 +0.0%
1993 0.46 -7.8%
1994 0.223 -51.5%
1995 0.125 -43.9%
1996 0.115 -8.0%
1997 0.115 +0.0%
1998 0.115 +0.0%
1999 0.115 +0.0%
2000 0.115 +0.0%
2001 0.115 +0.0%
2002 0.115 +0.0%
2003 0.115 +0.0%
2004 0.115 +0.0%
2005 0.114 -0.9%
2006 0.114 +0.0%
2007 0.104 -8.8%
2008 0.104 +0.0%
2009 0.109 +4.8%
2010 0.105 -3.7%
2011 0.105 +0.0%
2012 0.105 +0.0%
2013 0.116 +10.5%
2014 0.114 -1.7%
2015 0.115 +0.9%
2016 0.114 -0.9%
2017 0.113 -0.9%
2018 0.1 -11.5%
2019 0.106 +6.0%
2020 0.115 +8.5%
2021 0.116 +0.9%
2022 0.092 -20.7%
2023 0.102 +10.9%
2024 0.066 -35.3%
2025 0.084 +27.3%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.084 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3495, 24% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.084 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.683, 12% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.519 0.519 0.519 10
1910s 0.525 0.525 0.525 10
1920s 0.525 0.525 0.525 10
1930s 0.525 0.525 0.525 10
1940s 0.5351 0.525 0.571 10
1950s 0.608 0.608 0.608 10
1960s 0.608 0.608 0.608 10
1970s 0.608 0.608 0.608 10
1980s 0.5562 0.5 0.608 10
1990s 0.2765 0.115 0.499 10
2000s 0.112 0.104 0.115 10
2010s 0.1093 0.1 0.116 10
2020s 0.0958 0.066 0.116 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 146 Jamaica 0.087 compare
  2. 147 South Korea 0.086 compare
  3. 148 Canada 0.085 compare
  4. 150 Barbados 0.076 compare
  5. 151 Austria 0.075 compare
  6. 152 Portugal 0.06 compare
  7. 152 United Kingdom 0.06 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is centralization of political power index in South Africa?
Centralization of political power index in South Africa was 0.084 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest centralization of political power index recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.608 in 1950.
What is the lowest centralization of political power index recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.066 in 2024.
How does South Africa rank for centralization of political power index?
South Africa ranks 149th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is centralization of political power index rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 27.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Centralization of Political Power Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Centralization of Political Power Index in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-centralization-index/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Centralization of Political Power Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,802 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which the executive is unconstrained by the legislature, judiciary, electoral management body, and other oversight.