Democracy in China
China: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in China, 1789–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 0 for democracy in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 237 years on record.
Over the whole period, democracy in China peaked at 3 in 1913 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
China ranks 175th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 175 Afghanistan 0 compare
- 175 Bangladesh 0 compare
- 175 Brunei 0 compare
- 175 Burkina Faso 0 compare
- 175 Eritrea 0 compare
- 175 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
- 175 Haiti 0 compare
- 175 Kuwait 0 compare
- 175 Libya 0 compare
- 175 Madagascar 0 compare
- 175 Mali 0 compare
- 175 Myanmar 0 compare
- 175 Niger 0 compare
- 175 Palestine 0 compare
- 175 Qatar 0 compare
- 175 Saudi Arabia 0 compare
- 175 Somalia 0 compare
- 175 South Sudan 0 compare
- 175 Sudan 0 compare
- 175 United Arab Emirates 0 compare
- 175 Vatican 0 compare
- 175 Yemen 0 compare
More reference data data for China
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.66 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.0991 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.15 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.34 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 2.06 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 132.6 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in China?
- Democracy in China was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1913.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does China rank for democracy?
- China ranks 175th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical 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 — 237 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 non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).