Democracy in Taiwan
Taiwan: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Taiwan, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Taiwan recorded 3 for democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 232 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Taiwan peaked at 3 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
Taiwan ranks 1st of 176 countries on this measure, 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 | 5 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
- 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 Sweden 3 compare
- 1 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
More reference data data for Taiwan
- Democracy 7 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Free country 2 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Engaged Society Score 1.85 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Taiwan?
- Democracy in Taiwan was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 2000.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Taiwan rank for democracy?
- Taiwan ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Taiwan 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 — 232 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.