Democracy in Sweden
Sweden: Democracy was 9 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Sweden, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Sweden stood at 9. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Sweden peaked at 9 in 1952 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
That places Sweden 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 | 1.1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 1920s | 7.2 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 1930s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 1940s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 1950s | 8.8 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 1960s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1970s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1980s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1990s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2020s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
- 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 South Korea 9 compare
- 1 Spain 9 compare
- 1 Switzerland 9 compare
- 1 Taiwan 9 compare
More reference data data for Sweden
- Spring temperature anomalies 4.22 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.58 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -3.74 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.27 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 3.13 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 138.19 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 Sweden?
- Democracy in Sweden was 9 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 1952.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Sweden rank for democracy?
- Sweden ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sweden 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.