Statizoid

Electoral democracy in South Korea

South Korea: Electoral democracy was 1 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 197 countries
All-time high
1
in 2005
All-time low
1
in 2005
Years of data
21
2005–2025

Electoral democracy in South Korea, 2005–2025

00.20.40.60.812005201520252005: 12006: 12007: 12008: 12009: 12010: 12011: 12012: 12013: 12014: 12015: 12016: 12017: 12018: 12019: 12020: 12021: 12022: 12023: 12024: 12025: 1

Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for electoral democracy in South Korea is 1, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

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

That places South Korea 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1 1 1 5
2010s 1 1 1 10
2020s 1 1 1 6

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See the full ranking of 197 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy in South Korea?
Electoral democracy in South Korea was 1 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 1 in 2005.
How does South Korea rank for electoral democracy?
South Korea ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Electoral democracy
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
197 places, 4,121 data points, 2005–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies if the political regime of a country is an electoral democracy. It identifies whether a country is an electoral democracy (score 1) or not (score 0).