Democracy in Sweden
Sweden: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Sweden, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 3 for democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Sweden peaked at 3 in 1922 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
That places Sweden 1st out of 176 countries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 2.6 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1960s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
- 1 Australia 3 compare
- 1 Austria 3 compare
- 1 Barbados 3 compare
- 1 Belgium 3 compare
- 1 Chile 3 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 3 compare
- 1 Cyprus 3 compare
- 1 Czechia 3 compare
- 1 Denmark 3 compare
- 1 Estonia 3 compare
- 1 Finland 3 compare
- 1 France 3 compare
- 1 Germany 3 compare
- 1 Iceland 3 compare
- 1 Italy 3 compare
- 1 Japan 3 compare
- 1 Latvia 3 compare
- 1 Lithuania 3 compare
- 1 Netherlands 3 compare
- 1 New Zealand 3 compare
- 1 Norway 3 compare
- 1 Seychelles 3 compare
- 1 South Korea 3 compare
- 1 Spain 3 compare
- 1 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Taiwan 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
More reference data data for Sweden
- Spring temperature anomalies 4.22 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.58 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -3.74 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.27 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 3.13 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 138.19 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Sweden?
- Democracy in Sweden was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1922.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Sweden rank for democracy?
- Sweden ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sweden data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.