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Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Australia

Australia: Strong Elected Local Governments Index was 0.996 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.996
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
2nd
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.996
in 2013
All-time low
0
in 1789
Years of data
234
1789–2025

Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Australia, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, strong elected local governments index in Australia stood at 0.996. That is the highest value across all 234 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, strong elected local governments index in Australia peaked at 0.996 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

That places Australia 2nd out of 175 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.

Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Australia, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0 —
1790 0 —
1791 0 —
1792 0 —
1793 0 —
1794 0 —
1795 0 —
1796 0 —
1797 0 —
1798 0 —
1799 0 —
1800 0 —
1801 0 —
1802 0 —
1803 0 —
1804 0 —
1805 0 —
1806 0 —
1807 0 —
1808 0 —
1809 0 —
1810 0 —
1814 0 —
1815 0 —
1816 0 —
1817 0 —
1818 0 —
1819 0 —
1820 0 —
1821 0 —
1822 0 —
1823 0 —
1824 0 —
1825 0 —
1826 0 —
1827 0 —
1828 0 —
1829 0.125 —
1830 0.125 +0.0%
1831 0.125 +0.0%
1832 0.125 +0.0%
1833 0.125 +0.0%
1834 0.125 +0.0%
1835 0.125 +0.0%
1836 0.125 +0.0%
1837 0.125 +0.0%
1838 0.125 +0.0%
1839 0.125 +0.0%
1840 0.125 +0.0%
1841 0.125 +0.0%
1842 0.125 +0.0%
1843 0.125 +0.0%
1844 0.125 +0.0%
1845 0.125 +0.0%
1846 0.244 +95.2%
1847 0.244 +0.0%
1848 0.244 +0.0%
1849 0.244 +0.0%
1850 0.244 +0.0%
1851 0.244 +0.0%
1852 0.244 +0.0%
1853 0.244 +0.0%
1854 0.244 +0.0%
1855 0.244 +0.0%
1856 0.973 +298.8%
1857 0.973 +0.0%
1858 0.977 +0.4%
1859 0.995 +1.8%
1860 0.995 +0.0%
1861 0.995 +0.0%
1862 0.995 +0.0%
1863 0.995 +0.0%
1864 0.995 +0.0%
1865 0.995 +0.0%
1866 0.995 +0.0%
1867 0.995 +0.0%
1868 0.995 +0.0%
1869 0.995 +0.0%
1870 0.995 +0.0%
1871 0.995 +0.0%
1872 0.995 +0.0%
1873 0.995 +0.0%
1874 0.995 +0.0%
1875 0.995 +0.0%
1876 0.995 +0.0%
1877 0.995 +0.0%
1878 0.995 +0.0%
1879 0.995 +0.0%
1880 0.995 +0.0%
1881 0.995 +0.0%
1882 0.995 +0.0%
1883 0.995 +0.0%
1884 0.995 +0.0%
1885 0.995 +0.0%
1886 0.995 +0.0%
1887 0.995 +0.0%
1888 0.995 +0.0%
1889 0.995 +0.0%
1890 0.995 +0.0%
1891 0.995 +0.0%
1892 0.995 +0.0%
1893 0.995 +0.0%
1894 0.995 +0.0%
1895 0.995 +0.0%
1896 0.995 +0.0%
1897 0.995 +0.0%
1898 0.995 +0.0%
1899 0.995 +0.0%
1900 0.995 +0.0%
1901 0.995 +0.0%
1902 0.995 +0.0%
1903 0.995 +0.0%
1904 0.995 +0.0%
1905 0.995 +0.0%
1906 0.995 +0.0%
1907 0.995 +0.0%
1908 0.995 +0.0%
1909 0.995 +0.0%
1910 0.995 +0.0%
1911 0.995 +0.0%
1912 0.995 +0.0%
1913 0.995 +0.0%
1914 0.995 +0.0%
1915 0.995 +0.0%
1916 0.995 +0.0%
1917 0.995 +0.0%
1918 0.995 +0.0%
1919 0.995 +0.0%
1920 0.995 +0.0%
1921 0.995 +0.0%
1922 0.995 +0.0%
1923 0.995 +0.0%
1924 0.995 +0.0%
1925 0.995 +0.0%
1926 0.995 +0.0%
1927 0.995 +0.0%
1928 0.995 +0.0%
1929 0.995 +0.0%
1930 0.995 +0.0%
1931 0.995 +0.0%
1932 0.995 +0.0%
1933 0.995 +0.0%
1934 0.995 +0.0%
1935 0.995 +0.0%
1936 0.995 +0.0%
1937 0.995 +0.0%
1938 0.995 +0.0%
1939 0.995 +0.0%
1940 0.995 +0.0%
1941 0.995 +0.0%
1942 0.995 +0.0%
1943 0.995 +0.0%
1944 0.995 +0.0%
1945 0.995 +0.0%
1946 0.995 +0.0%
1947 0.995 +0.0%
1948 0.995 +0.0%
1949 0.995 +0.0%
1950 0.995 +0.0%
1951 0.995 +0.0%
1952 0.995 +0.0%
1953 0.995 +0.0%
1954 0.995 +0.0%
1955 0.995 +0.0%
1956 0.995 +0.0%
1957 0.995 +0.0%
1958 0.995 +0.0%
1959 0.995 +0.0%
1960 0.995 +0.0%
1961 0.995 +0.0%
1962 0.995 +0.0%
1963 0.995 +0.0%
1964 0.995 +0.0%
1965 0.995 +0.0%
1966 0.995 +0.0%
1967 0.995 +0.0%
1968 0.995 +0.0%
1969 0.995 +0.0%
1970 0.995 +0.0%
1971 0.995 +0.0%
1972 0.995 +0.0%
1973 0.995 +0.0%
1974 0.995 +0.0%
1975 0.995 +0.0%
1976 0.995 +0.0%
1977 0.995 +0.0%
1978 0.995 +0.0%
1979 0.995 +0.0%
1980 0.995 +0.0%
1981 0.972 -2.3%
1982 0.972 +0.0%
1983 0.972 +0.0%
1984 0.972 +0.0%
1985 0.972 +0.0%
1986 0.972 +0.0%
1987 0.972 +0.0%
1988 0.972 +0.0%
1989 0.972 +0.0%
1990 0.972 +0.0%
1991 0.972 +0.0%
1992 0.989 +1.7%
1993 0.989 +0.0%
1994 0.989 +0.0%
1995 0.989 +0.0%
1996 0.989 +0.0%
1997 0.989 +0.0%
1998 0.989 +0.0%
1999 0.989 +0.0%
2000 0.989 +0.0%
2001 0.989 +0.0%
2002 0.989 +0.0%
2003 0.989 +0.0%
2004 0.989 +0.0%
2005 0.989 +0.0%
2006 0.989 +0.0%
2007 0.989 +0.0%
2008 0.989 +0.0%
2009 0.989 +0.0%
2010 0.989 +0.0%
2011 0.989 +0.0%
2012 0.989 +0.0%
2013 0.996 +0.7%
2014 0.996 +0.0%
2015 0.996 +0.0%
2016 0.996 +0.0%
2017 0.996 +0.0%
2018 0.996 +0.0%
2019 0.996 +0.0%
2020 0.996 +0.0%
2021 0.996 +0.0%
2022 0.996 +0.0%
2023 0.996 +0.0%
2024 0.996 +0.0%
2025 0.996 +0.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 0.996 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.963, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 0.996 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.642, 1.6× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0 0 0 1
1790s 0 0 0 10
1800s 0 0 0 10
1810s 0 0 0 7
1820s 0.0125 0 0.125 10
1830s 0.125 0.125 0.125 10
1840s 0.1726 0.125 0.244 10
1850s 0.5382 0.244 0.995 10
1860s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1870s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1880s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1890s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1900s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1910s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1920s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1930s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1940s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1950s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1960s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1970s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
1980s 0.9743 0.972 0.995 10
1990s 0.9856 0.972 0.989 10
2000s 0.989 0.989 0.989 10
2010s 0.9939 0.989 0.996 10
2020s 0.996 0.996 0.996 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 1 Switzerland 0.997 compare
  2. 3 Iceland 0.995 compare
  3. 3 Italy 0.995 compare
  4. 3 Mexico 0.995 compare
  5. 3 Spain 0.995 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is strong elected local governments index in Australia?
Strong elected local governments index in Australia was 0.996 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest strong elected local governments index recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 0.996 in 2013.
What is the lowest strong elected local governments index recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does Australia rank for strong elected local governments index?
Australia ranks 2nd out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is strong elected local governments index rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Strong Elected Local Governments Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/strong-elected-local-governments-index/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Strong Elected Local Governments Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 25,933 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which elected local governments exist, and they operate without interference from local unelected bodies.