Democracy in China
China: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Democracy in China, 1900–2025
Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in China is 1, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in China peaked at 1 in 1900 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1900.
China ranks 87th of 172 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 87 Albania 1 compare
- 87 Algeria 1 compare
- 87 Angola 1 compare
- 87 Azerbaijan 1 compare
- 87 Bahrain 1 compare
- 87 Bangladesh 1 compare
- 87 Burundi 1 compare
- 87 Cameroon 1 compare
- 87 Chad 1 compare
- 87 Comoros 1 compare
- 87 Congo 1 compare
- 87 Cuba 1 compare
- 87 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
- 87 Egypt 1 compare
- 87 Equatorial Guinea 1 compare
- 87 Eritrea 1 compare
- 87 Eswatini 1 compare
- 87 Ethiopia 1 compare
- 87 Gabon 1 compare
- 87 Iran 1 compare
- 87 Iraq 1 compare
- 87 Jordan 1 compare
- 87 Kazakhstan 1 compare
- 87 Laos 1 compare
- 87 Lebanon 1 compare
- 87 Malaysia 1 compare
- 87 Mongolia 1 compare
- 87 Morocco 1 compare
- 87 Nigeria 1 compare
- 87 North Korea 1 compare
- 87 Oman 1 compare
- 87 Palestine 1 compare
- 87 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 87 Qatar 1 compare
- 87 Russia 1 compare
- 87 Rwanda 1 compare
- 87 Saudi Arabia 1 compare
- 87 Sierra Leone 1 compare
- 87 Singapore 1 compare
- 87 Somalia 1 compare
- 87 South Sudan 1 compare
- 87 Sudan 1 compare
- 87 Syria 1 compare
- 87 Tajikistan 1 compare
- 87 Tanzania 1 compare
- 87 Turkey 1 compare
- 87 Turkmenistan 1 compare
- 87 Uganda 1 compare
- 87 United Arab Emirates 1 compare
- 87 Uzbekistan 1 compare
- 87 Venezuela 1 compare
- 87 Vietnam 1 compare
- 87 Yemen 1 compare
- 87 Zimbabwe 1 compare
More reference data data for China
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.0991 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.15 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.66 °C (2026)
- Winter temperature anomalies 2.06 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.34 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 132.6 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Democracy 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in China?
- Democracy in China was 1 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1900.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1900.
- How does China rank for democracy?
- China ranks 87th out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this China 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).