Democracy in Uruguay

Uruguay: Democracy was 8 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
9
in 1986
All-time low
0
in 1825
Years of data
201
1825–2025

Democracy in Uruguay, 1825–2025

0246810182519252025

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

Analysis

Uruguay recorded 8 for democracy in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Uruguay peaked at 9 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1825.

Uruguay 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
1820s 0 0 0 5
1830s 2.1 0 3 10
1840s 0.3 0 3 10
1850s 2.4 0 3 10
1860s 2.1 0 3 10
1870s 1.8 0 3 10
1880s 2.7 0 3 10
1890s 3 3 3 10
1900s 3 3 3 10
1910s 3.1 3 4 10
1920s 5.2 4 6 10
1930s 4.2 0 6 10
1940s 6.4 6 7 10
1950s 7 7 7 10
1960s 6.8 6 7 10
1970s 1.8 0 6 10
1980s 4.4 0 9 10
1990s 9 9 9 10
2000s 9 9 9 10
2010s 9 9 9 10
2020s 8.5 8 9 6

Countries ranked near Uruguay

  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 Italy 8 compare
  7. 23 Lithuania 8 compare
  8. 23 Trinidad and Tobago 8 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Uruguay

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Uruguay?
Democracy in Uruguay was 8 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Uruguay?
The highest recorded value was 9 in 1986.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Uruguay?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1825.
How does Uruguay rank for democracy?
Uruguay ranks 23rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Uruguay?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Uruguay 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 — 201 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.