Democracy in Malta
Malta: Democracy was 7 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Malta, 1840–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malta recorded 7 for democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 186 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Malta peaked at 7 in 1959 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1840.
That places Malta 1st out of 197 regions 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 1.2 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1860s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1870s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1880s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1890s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1900s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1910s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1920s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.6 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3.2 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 1950s | 6.1 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 1960s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malta
- 1 Andorra 7 compare
- 1 Antigua and Barbuda 7 compare
- 1 Argentina 7 compare
- 1 Australia 7 compare
- 1 Austria 7 compare
- 1 Bahamas 7 compare
- 1 Barbados 7 compare
- 1 Belgium 7 compare
- 1 Belize 7 compare
- 1 Brazil 7 compare
- 1 Bulgaria 7 compare
- 1 Canada 7 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 7 compare
- 1 Chile 7 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 7 compare
- 1 Croatia 7 compare
- 1 Cyprus 7 compare
- 1 Czechia 7 compare
- 1 Denmark 7 compare
- 1 Dominica 7 compare
- 1 Dominican Republic 7 compare
- 1 Estonia 7 compare
- 1 Fiji 7 compare
- 1 Finland 7 compare
- 1 France 7 compare
- 1 Germany 7 compare
- 1 Ghana 7 compare
- 1 Greece 7 compare
- 1 Grenada 7 compare
- 1 Guyana 7 compare
- 1 Iceland 7 compare
- 1 Italy 7 compare
- 1 Jamaica 7 compare
- 1 Japan 7 compare
- 1 Kiribati 7 compare
- 1 Latvia 7 compare
- 1 Lithuania 7 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 7 compare
- 1 Mauritius 7 compare
- 1 Micronesia (country) 7 compare
- 1 Mongolia 7 compare
- 1 Namibia 7 compare
- 1 Nauru 7 compare
- 1 Netherlands 7 compare
- 1 New Zealand 7 compare
- 1 Norway 7 compare
- 1 Palau 7 compare
- 1 Panama 7 compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 7 compare
- 1 Poland 7 compare
- 1 Portugal 7 compare
- 1 Romania 7 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 7 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 7 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7 compare
- 1 Samoa 7 compare
- 1 San Marino 7 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 7 compare
- 1 Seychelles 7 compare
- 1 Slovenia 7 compare
- 1 South Africa 7 compare
- 1 South Korea 7 compare
- 1 Spain 7 compare
- 1 Suriname 7 compare
- 1 Sweden 7 compare
- 1 Switzerland 7 compare
- 1 Taiwan 7 compare
- 1 Tonga 7 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 7 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 7 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 7 compare
- 1 United States 7 compare
- 1 Uruguay 7 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 7 compare
More reference data data for Malta
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Consumer price index 134.53 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Free country 2 (2025)
- Clientelism Index 0.226 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Malta?
- Democracy in Malta was 7 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1959.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1840.
- How does Malta rank for democracy?
- Malta ranks 1st out of 197 regions with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malta 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 — 186 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).