Democracy in Romania

Romania: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
69th
of 175 countries
All-time high
5
in 1990
All-time low
0
in 1937
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Democracy in Romania, 1900–2025

012345190019622025

Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Romania recorded 3 for democracy in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 40.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Romania peaked at 5 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1937.

Romania ranks 69th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Democracy in Romania, year by year

Annual values for Democracy in Romania, 1900 to 2025.
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 1 +0.0%
1931 1 +0.0%
1932 1 +0.0%
1933 1 +0.0%
1934 1 +0.0%
1935 1 +0.0%
1936 1 +0.0%
1937 0 -100.0%
1938 0 —
1939 0 —
1940 0 —
1941 1 —
1942 1 +0.0%
1943 1 +0.0%
1944 1 +0.0%
1945 1 +0.0%
1946 1 +0.0%
1947 1 +0.0%
1948 1 +0.0%
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 1 +0.0%
1965 1 +0.0%
1966 1 +0.0%
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 1 +0.0%
1980 1 +0.0%
1981 1 +0.0%
1982 1 +0.0%
1983 1 +0.0%
1984 1 +0.0%
1985 1 +0.0%
1986 1 +0.0%
1987 1 +0.0%
1988 1 +0.0%
1989 1 +0.0%
1990 5 +400.0%
1991 5 +0.0%
1992 5 +0.0%
1993 5 +0.0%
1994 5 +0.0%
1995 5 +0.0%
1996 5 +0.0%
1997 5 +0.0%
1998 4 -20.0%
1999 4 +0.0%
2000 4 +0.0%
2001 4 +0.0%
2002 4 +0.0%
2003 5 +25.0%
2004 5 +0.0%
2005 5 +0.0%
2006 5 +0.0%
2007 5 +0.0%
2008 5 +0.0%
2009 5 +0.0%
2010 5 +0.0%
2011 5 +0.0%
2012 5 +0.0%
2013 5 +0.0%
2014 5 +0.0%
2015 5 +0.0%
2016 5 +0.0%
2017 4 -20.0%
2018 4 +0.0%
2019 5 +25.0%
2020 5 +0.0%
2021 3 -40.0%
2022 3 +0.0%
2023 3 +0.0%
2024 3 +0.0%
2025 3 +0.0%

Romania compared with similar countries

  • Romania's 3 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4, 75% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Romania's 3 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4, 75% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 1 1 1 10
1910s 1 1 1 10
1920s 1 1 1 10
1930s 0.7 0 1 10
1940s 0.9 0 1 10
1950s 1 1 1 10
1960s 1 1 1 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 4.8 4 5 10
2000s 4.7 4 5 10
2010s 4.8 4 5 10
2020s 3.33 3 5 6

Countries ranked near Romania

  1. 69 Argentina 3 compare
  2. 69 Armenia 3 compare
  3. 69 Croatia 3 compare
  4. 69 Greece 3 compare
  5. 69 Guyana 3 compare
  6. 69 Italy 3 compare
  7. 69 Moldova 3 compare
  8. 69 Peru 3 compare
  9. 69 Senegal 3 compare
  10. 69 Slovakia 3 compare
  11. 69 Slovenia 3 compare
  12. 69 Ukraine 3 compare
  13. 69 United Kingdom 3 compare
  14. 69 United States 3 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Romania

All data for Romania →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Romania?
Democracy in Romania was 3 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Romania?
The highest recorded value was 5 in 1990.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Romania?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1937.
How does Romania rank for democracy?
Romania ranks 69th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Romania?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Romania 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.

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Democracy in Romania. Statizoid, drawing on Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-ert-within-regimes/romania/

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About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 19,128 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

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).