Democracy in El Salvador

El Salvador: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
94th
of 176 countries
All-time high
6
in 2009
All-time low
0
in 1838
Years of data
187
1838–2025

Democracy in El Salvador, 1838–2025

0246183819312025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in El Salvador is 3, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 50.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in El Salvador peaked at 6 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1838.

El Salvador ranks 94th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0 0 0 2
1840s 1.6 0 2 10
1850s 2 2 2 10
1860s 0.6 0 2 10
1870s 1 0 2 10
1880s 1.4 0 2 10
1890s 1.2 0 2 10
1900s 1.5 1 2 10
1910s 1 0 2 10
1920s 2 1 3 10
1930s 1.8 1 3 10
1940s 1 0 2 10
1950s 1.2 0 3 10
1960s 2.4 0 3 10
1970s 2.7 0 3 10
1980s 1.67 0 3 9
1990s 3.7 3 5 10
2000s 5.1 5 6 10
2010s 6 6 6 10
2020s 3.33 3 5 6

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 94 Algeria 3 compare
  2. 94 Angola 3 compare
  3. 94 Azerbaijan 3 compare
  4. 94 Burundi 3 compare
  5. 94 Cambodia 3 compare
  6. 94 Cameroon 3 compare
  7. 94 Central African Republic 3 compare
  8. 94 Chad 3 compare
  9. 94 Comoros 3 compare
  10. 94 Congo 3 compare
  11. 94 Cote d'Ivoire 3 compare
  12. 94 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 compare
  13. 94 Egypt 3 compare
  14. 94 Equatorial Guinea 3 compare
  15. 94 Ethiopia 3 compare
  16. 94 Gabon 3 compare
  17. 94 Georgia 3 compare
  18. 94 Hungary 3 compare
  19. 94 India 3 compare
  20. 94 Iraq 3 compare
  21. 94 Kazakhstan 3 compare
  22. 94 Kyrgyzstan 3 compare
  23. 94 Lebanon 3 compare
  24. 94 Mauritania 3 compare
  25. 94 Mozambique 3 compare
  26. 94 Nicaragua 3 compare
  27. 94 Pakistan 3 compare
  28. 94 Papua New Guinea 3 compare
  29. 94 Philippines 3 compare
  30. 94 Russia 3 compare
  31. 94 Rwanda 3 compare
  32. 94 Serbia 3 compare
  33. 94 Singapore 3 compare
  34. 94 Tajikistan 3 compare
  35. 94 Tanzania 3 compare
  36. 94 Thailand 3 compare
  37. 94 Togo 3 compare
  38. 94 Tunisia 3 compare
  39. 94 Turkey 3 compare
  40. 94 Uganda 3 compare
  41. 94 Ukraine 3 compare
  42. 94 Venezuela 3 compare
  43. 94 Zimbabwe 3 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in El Salvador?
Democracy in El Salvador was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 2009.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1838.
How does El Salvador rank for democracy?
El Salvador ranks 94th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 187 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,594 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg, including ambiguous categories.