Democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Democracy was 1 in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
98th
of 168 countries
All-time high
1
in 1960
All-time low
0
in 1964
Years of data
59
1960–2018

Democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1960–2018

00.20.40.60.81196019892018

Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 1 for democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 59 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 1 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1964.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 98th of 168 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year

Annual values for Democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1960 to 2018.
Year Value Change
1960 1
1961 1 +0.0%
1962 1 +0.0%
1963 1 +0.0%
1964 0 -100.0%
1965 0
1966 0
1967 0
1968 0
1969 0
1970 0
1971 0
1972 0
1973 0
1974 0
1975 0
1976 0
1977 0
1978 0
1979 0
1980 0
1981 0
1982 0
1983 0
1984 0
1985 0
1986 0
1987 0
1988 0
1989 0
1990 0
1991 0
1992 1
1993 1 +0.0%
1994 1 +0.0%
1995 1 +0.0%
1996 1 +0.0%
1997 1 +0.0%
1998 1 +0.0%
1999 1 +0.0%
2000 1 +0.0%
2001 1 +0.0%
2002 1 +0.0%
2003 1 +0.0%
2004 1 +0.0%
2005 1 +0.0%
2006 1 +0.0%
2007 1 +0.0%
2008 1 +0.0%
2009 1 +0.0%
2010 1 +0.0%
2011 1 +0.0%
2012 1 +0.0%
2013 1 +0.0%
2014 1 +0.0%
2015 1 +0.0%
2016 1 +0.0%
2017 1 +0.0%
2018 1 +0.0%

Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries

  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 1 is above the median for low income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 1 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 0.4 0 1 10
1970s 0 0 0 10
1980s 0 0 0 10
1990s 0.8 0 1 10
2000s 1 1 1 10
2010s 1 1 1 9

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 98 Afghanistan 1 compare
  2. 98 Algeria 1 compare
  3. 98 Angola 1 compare
  4. 98 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 compare
  5. 98 Burundi 1 compare
  6. 98 Cambodia 1 compare
  7. 98 Cameroon 1 compare
  8. 98 Chad 1 compare
  9. 98 Comoros 1 compare
  10. 98 Congo 1 compare
  11. 98 Cote d'Ivoire 1 compare
  12. 98 Cuba 1 compare
  13. 98 Djibouti 1 compare
  14. 98 Ecuador 1 compare
  15. 98 Egypt 1 compare
  16. 98 Ethiopia 1 compare
  17. 98 Fiji 1 compare
  18. 98 Gabon 1 compare
  19. 98 Gambia 1 compare
  20. 98 Guinea 1 compare
  21. 98 Haiti 1 compare
  22. 98 Jordan 1 compare
  23. 98 Libya 1 compare
  24. 98 Mali 1 compare
  25. 98 Mauritania 1 compare
  26. 98 Morocco 1 compare
  27. 98 Mozambique 1 compare
  28. 98 Niger 1 compare
  29. 98 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
  30. 98 Russia 1 compare
  31. 98 Rwanda 1 compare
  32. 98 Singapore 1 compare
  33. 98 Somalia 1 compare
  34. 98 South Sudan 1 compare
  35. 98 Sudan 1 compare
  36. 98 Suriname 1 compare
  37. 98 Tajikistan 1 compare
  38. 98 Tanzania 1 compare
  39. 98 Thailand 1 compare
  40. 98 Togo 1 compare
  41. 98 Turkey 1 compare
  42. 98 USSR 1 compare
  43. 98 Uganda 1 compare
  44. 98 Ukraine 1 compare
  45. 98 United States 1 compare
  46. 98 Venezuela 1 compare
  47. 98 Yemen 1 compare
  48. 98 Zimbabwe 1 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Democracy in Democratic Republic of Congo was 1 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 1960.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1964.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for democracy?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 98th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Is democracy rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – 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 Democratic Republic of Congo. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-polity/congo-dem-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 18,392 data points, 1776–2020
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country using the Polity 5 data by the Center for Systemic Peace. It distinguishes between autocracies (score 0), anocracies (score 1), and democracies (score 2).