Democracy in Italy

Italy: Democracy was 8 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
8
in 1970
All-time low
0
in 1815
Years of data
211
1815–2025

Democracy in Italy, 1815–2025

02468181519202025

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

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in Italy stood at 8. That is the highest value across all 211 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Italy peaked at 8 in 1970 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1815.

Italy ranks 23rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1810s 0 0 0 5
1820s 0 0 0 10
1830s 0 0 0 10
1840s 0 0 0 10
1850s 0 0 0 10
1860s 1.5 0 3 10
1870s 3 3 3 10
1880s 3 3 3 10
1890s 3 3 3 10
1900s 3 3 3 10
1910s 3 3 3 10
1920s 1.2 0 3 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 2.1 0 6 10
1950s 6 6 6 10
1960s 6 6 6 10
1970s 8 8 8 10
1980s 8 8 8 10
1990s 8 8 8 10
2000s 8 8 8 10
2010s 8 8 8 10
2020s 8 8 8 6

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 23 Austria 8 compare
  2. 23 Barbados 8 compare
  3. 23 Chile 8 compare
  4. 23 Cyprus 8 compare
  5. 23 France 8 compare
  6. 23 Lithuania 8 compare
  7. 23 Trinidad and Tobago 8 compare
  8. 23 Uruguay 8 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Italy?
Democracy in Italy was 8 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 8 in 1970.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1815.
How does Italy rank for democracy?
Italy ranks 23rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Italy 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 — 211 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.