Democracy in Brazil
Brazil: Democracy was 5 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
5
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 175 countries
All-time high
5
in 1987
All-time low
0
in 1930
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Democracy in Brazil, 1900–2025
Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in Brazil is 5, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Brazil peaked at 5 in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1930.
That places Brazil 1st out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Democracy in Brazil, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 1 | — |
| 1901 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1931 | 0 | — |
| 1932 | 1 | — |
| 1933 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1946 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1949 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1965 | 0 | — |
| 1966 | 1 | — |
| 1967 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1980 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 | +150.0% |
| 1988 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1993 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2024 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5 | +0.0% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 5 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.5, 3.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 5 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.8 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.9 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.2 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.5 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
- 1 Bolivia 5 compare
- 1 Botswana 5 compare
- 1 Dominican Republic 5 compare
- 1 East Timor 5 compare
- 1 Gambia 5 compare
- 1 Guatemala 5 compare
- 1 Honduras 5 compare
- 1 Lesotho 5 compare
- 1 Maldives 5 compare
- 1 Montenegro 5 compare
- 1 Nepal 5 compare
- 1 Poland 5 compare
- 1 Seychelles 5 compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 5 compare
- 1 Sri Lanka 5 compare
More reference data data for Brazil
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 72.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 46.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 18.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 405.35 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 699.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 49.04 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Brazil?
- Democracy in Brazil was 5 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 1987.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1930.
- How does Brazil rank for democracy?
- Brazil ranks 1st out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is up 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from Episodes of Regime Transformation (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 — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Political regime of a country using the classification by the Episodes of Regime Transformation-project. It distinguishes between hardening autocracies (score 0), stable autocracies (score 1), liberalizing autocracies (score 2), eroding democracies (score 3), stable democracies (score 4), and deepening democracies (score 5).