Statizoid

Democracy in United States

United States: Democracy was 1 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
1
Change on year
down 50.0%
World rank
98th
of 167 countries
All-time high
2
in 1801
All-time low
1
in 1776
Years of data
245
1776–2020

Democracy in United States, 1776–2020

00.511.52177618982020

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

Analysis

United States recorded 1 for democracy in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 245 years on record.

The figure is down 50.0% on the previous year and down 50.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in United States peaked at 2 in 1801 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1776.

That places United States 98th out of 167 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 245 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1770s 1 1 1 4
1780s 1 1 1 10
1790s 1 1 1 10
1800s 1.9 1 2 10
1810s 2 2 2 10
1820s 2 2 2 10
1830s 2 2 2 10
1840s 2 2 2 10
1850s 2 2 2 10
1860s 1.5 1 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 2 2 2 10
1940s 2 2 2 10
1950s 2 2 2 10
1960s 2 2 2 10
1970s 2 2 2 10
1980s 2 2 2 10
1990s 2 2 2 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 10
2020s 1 1 1 1

Countries ranked near United States

  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 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
  14. 98 Djibouti 1 compare
  15. 98 Ecuador 1 compare
  16. 98 Egypt 1 compare
  17. 98 Ethiopia 1 compare
  18. 98 Fiji 1 compare
  19. 98 Gabon 1 compare
  20. 98 Gambia 1 compare
  21. 98 Guinea 1 compare
  22. 98 Haiti 1 compare
  23. 98 Jordan 1 compare
  24. 98 Libya 1 compare
  25. 98 Mali 1 compare
  26. 98 Mauritania 1 compare
  27. 98 Morocco 1 compare
  28. 98 Mozambique 1 compare
  29. 98 Niger 1 compare
  30. 98 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
  31. 98 Russia 1 compare
  32. 98 Rwanda 1 compare
  33. 98 Singapore 1 compare
  34. 98 Somalia 1 compare
  35. 98 South Sudan 1 compare
  36. 98 Sudan 1 compare
  37. 98 Suriname 1 compare
  38. 98 Tajikistan 1 compare
  39. 98 Tanzania 1 compare
  40. 98 Thailand 1 compare
  41. 98 Togo 1 compare
  42. 98 Turkey 1 compare
  43. 98 Uganda 1 compare
  44. 98 Ukraine 1 compare
  45. 98 Venezuela 1 compare
  46. 98 Yemen 1 compare
  47. 98 Zimbabwe 1 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in United States?
Democracy in United States was 1 in 2020, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 2 in 1801.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1776.
How does United States rank for democracy?
United States ranks 98th out of 167 countries with data for 2020.
Is democracy rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 245 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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).