Democracy in Iran

Iran: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
80th
of 128 countries
All-time high
1
in 2005
All-time low
1
in 2005
Years of data
11
2005–2025

Democracy in Iran, 2005–2025

00.20.40.60.812005201520252005: 12007: 12009: 12011: 12013: 12015: 12017: 12019: 12021: 12023: 12025: 1

Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in Iran stood at 1. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Iran peaked at 1 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1, in 2005.

That places Iran 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1 1 1 3
2010s 1 1 1 5
2020s 1 1 1 3

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 80 Afghanistan 1 compare
  2. 80 Azerbaijan 1 compare
  3. 80 Bahrain 1 compare
  4. 80 Belarus 1 compare
  5. 80 Burkina Faso 1 compare
  6. 80 Burundi 1 compare
  7. 80 Cambodia 1 compare
  8. 80 Cameroon 1 compare
  9. 80 Central African Republic 1 compare
  10. 80 Chad 1 compare
  11. 80 China 1 compare
  12. 80 Congo 1 compare
  13. 80 Cuba 1 compare
  14. 80 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
  15. 80 Egypt 1 compare
  16. 80 Eritrea 1 compare
  17. 80 Ethiopia 1 compare
  18. 80 Guinea 1 compare
  19. 80 Haiti 1 compare
  20. 80 Kazakhstan 1 compare
  21. 80 Kuwait 1 compare
  22. 80 Laos 1 compare
  23. 80 Libya 1 compare
  24. 80 Mali 1 compare
  25. 80 Morocco 1 compare
  26. 80 Mozambique 1 compare
  27. 80 Myanmar 1 compare
  28. 80 Nicaragua 1 compare
  29. 80 Niger 1 compare
  30. 80 North Korea 1 compare
  31. 80 Oman 1 compare
  32. 80 Pakistan 1 compare
  33. 80 Qatar 1 compare
  34. 80 Russia 1 compare
  35. 80 Rwanda 1 compare
  36. 80 Saudi Arabia 1 compare
  37. 80 Somalia 1 compare
  38. 80 South Sudan 1 compare
  39. 80 Sudan 1 compare
  40. 80 Syria 1 compare
  41. 80 Tajikistan 1 compare
  42. 80 Thailand 1 compare
  43. 80 Turkmenistan 1 compare
  44. 80 Uzbekistan 1 compare
  45. 80 Venezuela 1 compare
  46. 80 Vietnam 1 compare
  47. 80 Yemen 1 compare
  48. 80 Zimbabwe 1 compare

See the full ranking of 128 places →

More reference data data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Iran?
Democracy in Iran was 1 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Iran?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
How does Iran rank for democracy?
Iran ranks 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Iran data come from?
The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
128 places, 1,394 data points, 2005–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).