Statizoid

Democracy in South Africa

South Africa: Democracy was 2 in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 168 countries
All-time high
2
in 1992
All-time low
1
in 1910
Years of data
109
1910–2018

Democracy in South Africa, 1910–2018

00.511.52191019642018

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 2 for democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 109 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in South Africa peaked at 2 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1910.

That places South Africa 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 109 years of available data.

Democracy in South Africa, year by year

Year Value Change
1910 1 —
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 1 +0.0%
1938 1 +0.0%
1939 1 +0.0%
1940 1 +0.0%
1941 1 +0.0%
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 1 +0.0%
1991 1 +0.0%
1992 2 +100.0%
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 Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 2 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 2 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 1 1 1 10
1920s 1 1 1 10
1930s 1 1 1 10
1940s 1 1 1 10
1950s 1 1 1 10
1960s 1 1 1 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 1.8 1 2 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 9

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 1 Albania 2 compare
  2. 1 Argentina 2 compare
  3. 1 Armenia 2 compare
  4. 1 Australia 2 compare
  5. 1 Austria 2 compare
  6. 1 Belgium 2 compare
  7. 1 Benin 2 compare
  8. 1 Bhutan 2 compare
  9. 1 Bolivia 2 compare
  10. 1 Botswana 2 compare
  11. 1 Brazil 2 compare
  12. 1 Bulgaria 2 compare
  13. 1 Burkina Faso 2 compare
  14. 1 Canada 2 compare
  15. 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
  16. 1 Central African Republic 2 compare
  17. 1 Chile 2 compare
  18. 1 Colombia 2 compare
  19. 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
  20. 1 Croatia 2 compare
  21. 1 Cyprus 2 compare
  22. 1 Czechia 2 compare
  23. 1 Denmark 2 compare
  24. 1 Dominican Republic 2 compare
  25. 1 East Timor 2 compare
  26. 1 El Salvador 2 compare
  27. 1 Estonia 2 compare
  28. 1 Finland 2 compare
  29. 1 France 2 compare
  30. 1 Georgia 2 compare
  31. 1 Germany 2 compare
  32. 1 Ghana 2 compare
  33. 1 Greece 2 compare
  34. 1 Guatemala 2 compare
  35. 1 Guinea-Bissau 2 compare
  36. 1 Guyana 2 compare
  37. 1 Honduras 2 compare
  38. 1 Hungary 2 compare
  39. 1 India 2 compare
  40. 1 Indonesia 2 compare
  41. 1 Iraq 2 compare
  42. 1 Ireland 2 compare
  43. 1 Israel 2 compare
  44. 1 Italy 2 compare
  45. 1 Jamaica 2 compare
  46. 1 Japan 2 compare
  47. 1 Kenya 2 compare
  48. 1 Kyrgyzstan 2 compare
  49. 1 Latvia 2 compare
  50. 1 Lebanon 2 compare
  51. 1 Lesotho 2 compare
  52. 1 Liberia 2 compare
  53. 1 Lithuania 2 compare
  54. 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
  55. 1 Madagascar 2 compare
  56. 1 Malawi 2 compare
  57. 1 Malaysia 2 compare
  58. 1 Mauritius 2 compare
  59. 1 Mexico 2 compare
  60. 1 Moldova 2 compare
  61. 1 Mongolia 2 compare
  62. 1 Montenegro 2 compare
  63. 1 Myanmar 2 compare
  64. 1 Namibia 2 compare
  65. 1 Nepal 2 compare
  66. 1 Netherlands 2 compare
  67. 1 New Zealand 2 compare
  68. 1 Nicaragua 2 compare
  69. 1 Nigeria 2 compare
  70. 1 North Macedonia 2 compare
  71. 1 Norway 2 compare
  72. 1 Pakistan 2 compare
  73. 1 Panama 2 compare
  74. 1 Paraguay 2 compare
  75. 1 Peru 2 compare
  76. 1 Philippines 2 compare
  77. 1 Poland 2 compare
  78. 1 Portugal 2 compare
  79. 1 Romania 2 compare
  80. 1 Senegal 2 compare
  81. 1 Serbia 2 compare
  82. 1 Sierra Leone 2 compare
  83. 1 Slovakia 2 compare
  84. 1 Slovenia 2 compare
  85. 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
  86. 1 South Korea 2 compare
  87. 1 Spain 2 compare
  88. 1 Sri Lanka 2 compare
  89. 1 Sweden 2 compare
  90. 1 Switzerland 2 compare
  91. 1 Taiwan 2 compare
  92. 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
  93. 1 Tunisia 2 compare
  94. 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
  95. 1 Uruguay 2 compare
  96. 1 Zambia 2 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in South Africa?
Democracy in South Africa was 2 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 2 in 1992.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1910.
How does South Africa rank for democracy?
South Africa ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Is democracy rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa 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 Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-polity/south-africa/

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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).