Democracy in South Africa
South Africa: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Democracy in South Africa, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in South Africa stood at 4. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in South Africa peaked at 5 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 4, in 2009.
That places South Africa 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5 | — |
| 2007 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 4 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3, 1.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 4 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2, 2.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.67 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 16 Albania 4 compare
- 16 Argentina 4 compare
- 16 Armenia 4 compare
- 16 Bhutan 4 compare
- 16 Bolivia 4 compare
- 16 Brazil 4 compare
- 16 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 16 Colombia 4 compare
- 16 Dominican Republic 4 compare
- 16 Ecuador 4 compare
- 16 Ghana 4 compare
- 16 Hungary 4 compare
- 16 India 4 compare
- 16 Lesotho 4 compare
- 16 Liberia 4 compare
- 16 Malawi 4 compare
- 16 Malaysia 4 compare
- 16 Mauritius 4 compare
- 16 Moldova 4 compare
- 16 Mongolia 4 compare
- 16 Montenegro 4 compare
- 16 Namibia 4 compare
- 16 Nepal 4 compare
- 16 North Macedonia 4 compare
- 16 Panama 4 compare
- 16 Paraguay 4 compare
- 16 Romania 4 compare
- 16 Senegal 4 compare
- 16 Sri Lanka 4 compare
- 16 Ukraine 4 compare
- 16 Zambia 4 compare
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in South Africa?
- Democracy in South Africa was 4 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 2009.
- How does South Africa rank for democracy?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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).