Democracy in South Korea
South Korea: Democracy was 9 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in South Korea, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in South Korea is 9, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 28.6% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in South Korea peaked at 9 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
South Korea ranks 1st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.6 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 1990s | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.5 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 1 Australia 9 compare
- 1 Belgium 9 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 9 compare
- 1 Czechia 9 compare
- 1 Denmark 9 compare
- 1 Estonia 9 compare
- 1 Finland 9 compare
- 1 Germany 9 compare
- 1 Iceland 9 compare
- 1 Japan 9 compare
- 1 Latvia 9 compare
- 1 Netherlands 9 compare
- 1 New Zealand 9 compare
- 1 Norway 9 compare
- 1 Seychelles 9 compare
- 1 Spain 9 compare
- 1 Sweden 9 compare
- 1 Switzerland 9 compare
- 1 Taiwan 9 compare
More reference data data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.24 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9115 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 135 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in South Korea?
- Democracy in South Korea was 9 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 1997.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does South Korea rank for democracy?
- South Korea ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea 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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.