What is democracy in South Korea?

Democracy in South Korea was 2 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest democracy recorded in South Korea?

The highest recorded value was 2 in 1960.

What is the lowest democracy recorded in South Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1961.

How does South Korea rank for democracy?

South Korea ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.

Is democracy rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this South Korea 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.

Democracy in South Korea

Name: Democracy in South Korea
Creator: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Korea: Democracy was 2 in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

1st

of 168 countries

All-time high

in 1960

All-time low

in 1961

Years of data

1948–2018

Democracy in South Korea, 1948–2018

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

Analysis

In 2018, democracy in South Korea stood at 2. That is the highest value across all 71 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in South Korea peaked at 2 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1961.

South Korea ranks 1st of 168 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Democracy in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Democracy in South Korea, 1948 to 2018.
Year	Value	Change
1948	1	—
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	2	+100.0%
1961	0	-100.0%
1962	0	—
1963	1	—
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	0	-100.0%
1973	0	—
1974	0	—
1975	0	—
1976	0	—
1977	0	—
1978	0	—
1979	0	—
1980	0	—
1981	1	—
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	2	+100.0%
1989	2	+0.0%
1990	2	+0.0%
1991	2	+0.0%
1992	2	+0.0%
1993	2	+0.0%
1994	2	+0.0%
1995	2	+0.0%
1996	2	+0.0%
1997	2	+0.0%
1998	2	+0.0%
1999	2	+0.0%
2000	2	+0.0%
2001	2	+0.0%
2002	2	+0.0%
2003	2	+0.0%
2004	2	+0.0%
2005	2	+0.0%
2006	2	+0.0%
2007	2	+0.0%
2008	2	+0.0%
2009	2	+0.0%
2010	2	+0.0%
2011	2	+0.0%
2012	2	+0.0%
2013	2	+0.0%
2014	2	+0.0%
2015	2	+0.0%
2016	2	+0.0%
2017	2	+0.0%
2018	2	+0.0%

South Korea compared with similar countries

South Korea's 2 is above the median for high income countries, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
South Korea's 2 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (20 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1940s	1	1	1	2
1950s	1	1	1	10
1960s	0.9	0	2	10
1970s	0.2	0	1	10
1980s	1.1	0	2	10
1990s	2	2	2	10
2000s	2	2	2	10
2010s	2	2	2	9

Countries ranked near South Korea

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in South Korea?: Democracy in South Korea was 2 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 2 in 1960.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1961.
How does South Korea rank for democracy?: South Korea ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Is democracy rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea 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 South Korea. 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/korea-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: 18 September 2026

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).