Democracy in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: 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 Saudi Arabia, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia peaked at 1 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1, in 2005.
That places Saudi Arabia 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Democracy in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1 | — |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 1 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.5, 22% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 1 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 80 Afghanistan 1 compare
- 80 Azerbaijan 1 compare
- 80 Bahrain 1 compare
- 80 Belarus 1 compare
- 80 Burkina Faso 1 compare
- 80 Burundi 1 compare
- 80 Cambodia 1 compare
- 80 Cameroon 1 compare
- 80 Central African Republic 1 compare
- 80 Chad 1 compare
- 80 China 1 compare
- 80 Congo 1 compare
- 80 Cuba 1 compare
- 80 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
- 80 Egypt 1 compare
- 80 Eritrea 1 compare
- 80 Ethiopia 1 compare
- 80 Guinea 1 compare
- 80 Haiti 1 compare
- 80 Iran 1 compare
- 80 Kazakhstan 1 compare
- 80 Kuwait 1 compare
- 80 Laos 1 compare
- 80 Libya 1 compare
- 80 Mali 1 compare
- 80 Morocco 1 compare
- 80 Mozambique 1 compare
- 80 Myanmar 1 compare
- 80 Nicaragua 1 compare
- 80 Niger 1 compare
- 80 North Korea 1 compare
- 80 Oman 1 compare
- 80 Pakistan 1 compare
- 80 Qatar 1 compare
- 80 Russia 1 compare
- 80 Rwanda 1 compare
- 80 Somalia 1 compare
- 80 South Sudan 1 compare
- 80 Sudan 1 compare
- 80 Syria 1 compare
- 80 Tajikistan 1 compare
- 80 Thailand 1 compare
- 80 Turkmenistan 1 compare
- 80 Uzbekistan 1 compare
- 80 Venezuela 1 compare
- 80 Vietnam 1 compare
- 80 Yemen 1 compare
- 80 Zimbabwe 1 compare
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1771 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2207 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9641 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Saudi Arabia?
- Democracy in Saudi Arabia was 1 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for democracy?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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
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).