Democracy in Turkey
Turkey: Democracy was 2 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Democracy in Turkey, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 2 for democracy in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Turkey peaked at 4 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 2, in 2019.
That places Turkey 57th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in Turkey, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | — |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 2021 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2 | +0.0% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 2 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3, 67% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 2 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4, 50% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 2010s | 3.4 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
- 57 Algeria 2 compare
- 57 Angola 2 compare
- 57 Bangladesh 2 compare
- 57 Benin 2 compare
- 57 Cote d'Ivoire 2 compare
- 57 El Salvador 2 compare
- 57 Georgia 2 compare
- 57 Guatemala 2 compare
- 57 Iraq 2 compare
- 57 Jordan 2 compare
- 57 Kyrgyzstan 2 compare
- 57 Madagascar 2 compare
- 57 Mauritania 2 compare
- 57 Nigeria 2 compare
- 57 Papua New Guinea 2 compare
- 57 Serbia 2 compare
- 57 Singapore 2 compare
- 57 Tanzania 2 compare
- 57 Togo 2 compare
- 57 Tunisia 2 compare
- 57 Uganda 2 compare
- 57 United Arab Emirates 2 compare
More reference data data for Turkey
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.815 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 10.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 22.31 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 22.31 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 53.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 103 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.35 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Turkey?
- Democracy in Turkey was 2 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 4 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 2019.
- How does Turkey rank for democracy?
- Turkey ranks 57th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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).