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Liberal democracy index
What this indicator measures
This V-Dem index adds to electoral democracy the protection of individual liberties, equality before the law and oversight of the executive by the judiciary and parliament.
How to read this?
The closer the index is to 1, the more individual liberties are protected and power is constrained; the closer to 0, the less so.
Ranking : ranked from highest to lowest
In brief
Liberal democracy index: across 173 countries and territories, values range from 0.01 (Eritrea) to 0.88 (Denmark), with a world median of 0.36. Data: 2025. The top 10% of countries exceed 0.77, while the bottom 10% stay below 0.06. By continent, the median is highest in Europe (0.69) and lowest in Asia (0.14).
Median by continent
- Europe 0.69 (39)
- Oceania 0.58 (6)
- North America 0.52 (15)
- South America 0.52 (12)
- Africa 0.16 (51)
- Asia 0.14 (47)
Why this indicator matters
This index goes further than elections alone. It also looks at whether individual liberties are protected and whether the judiciary and parliament constrain the executive. It makes it possible to compare the quality of democracies.
What makes this indicator vary
The score reflects political history, the strength of institutions, the independence of the judiciary and changes of regime. It can evolve slowly with reforms or faster during crises or transitions.
Reading precautions
The V-Dem index relies on expert assessments, with an element of judgment and a margin of uncertainty. It ranges from zero to one. Small gaps between countries are not necessarily significant.
Full ranking
ranked from highest to lowest
| Rank | Country | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1er | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 0.88 | 2025 |
| 2e | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 0.85 | 2025 |
| 3e | 🇳🇴 Norway | 0.85 | 2025 |
| 4e | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 0.84 | 2025 |
| 5e | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 0.84 | 2025 |
| 6e | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 0.82 | 2025 |
| 7e | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 0.81 | 2025 |
| 8e | 🇫🇮 Finland | 0.81 | 2025 |
| 9e | 🇫🇷 France | 0.8 | 2025 |
| 10e | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 10e | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 12e | 🇦🇺 Australia | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 13e | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 14e | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 15e | 🇩🇪 Germany | 0.78 | 2025 |
| 16e | 🇨🇱 Chile | 0.78 | 2025 |
| 17e | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 0.78 | 2025 |
| 18e | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 0.77 | 2025 |
| 19e | 🇦🇹 Austria | 0.76 | 2025 |
| 20e | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 0.75 | 2025 |
| 21e | 🇪🇸 Spain | 0.74 | 2025 |
| 22e | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 0.74 | 2025 |
| 23e | 🇨🇦 Canada | 0.74 | 2025 |
| 24e | 🇯🇵 Japan | 0.73 | 2025 |
| 25e | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 0.72 | 2025 |
| 26e | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 0.72 | 2025 |
| 27e | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 0.71 | 2025 |
| 28e | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 0.7 | 2025 |
| 28e | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 0.7 | 2025 |
| 30e | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 0.69 | 2025 |
| 31e | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | 0.68 | 2025 |
| 32e | 🇧🇧 Barbados | 0.68 | 2025 |
| 32e | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 0.68 | 2025 |
| 34e | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | 0.67 | 2025 |
| 35e | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 0.66 | 2025 |
| 36e | 🇵🇱 Poland | 0.65 | 2025 |
| 37e | 🇮🇹 Italy | 0.64 | 2025 |
| 38e | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 0.64 | 2025 |
| 39e | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 0.63 | 2025 |
| 40e | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | 0.63 | 2025 |
| 41e | 🇸🇷 Suriname | 0.63 | 2025 |
| 42e | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 0.62 | 2025 |
| 43e | 🇲🇹 Malta | 0.62 | 2025 |
| 44e | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 0.61 | 2025 |
| 45e | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 0.61 | 2025 |
| 46e | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 0.59 | 2025 |
| 47e | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 0.59 | 2025 |
| 48e | 🇮🇱 Israel | 0.59 | 2025 |
| 49e | 🇵🇦 Panama | 0.58 | 2025 |
| 50e | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 0.57 | 2025 |
| 51e | 🇺🇸 United States | 0.57 | 2025 |
| 52e | 🇬🇷 Greece | 0.57 | 2025 |
| 53e | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 0.56 | 2025 |
| 54e | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 0.55 | 2025 |
| 55e | 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | 0.54 | 2025 |
| 56e | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 57e | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 58e | 🇬🇲 Gambia | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 59e | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 60e | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 60e | 🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe | 0.52 | 2025 |
| 62e | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 0.51 | 2025 |
| 63e | 🇵🇪 Peru | 0.51 | 2025 |
| 64e | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 0.51 | 2025 |
| 64e | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 0.51 | 2025 |
| 66e | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 0.5 | 2025 |
| 67e | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 0.5 | 2025 |
| 68e | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 0.48 | 2025 |
| 69e | 🇷🇴 Romania | 0.46 | 2025 |
| 70e | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 0.46 | 2025 |
| 71e | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 0.46 | 2025 |
| 72e | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 0.45 | 2025 |
| 73e | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 0.45 | 2025 |
| 74e | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 0.42 | 2025 |
| 75e | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 0.42 | 2025 |
| 76e | 🇲🇻 Maldives | 0.42 | 2025 |
| 77e | 🇫🇯 Fiji | 0.4 | 2025 |
| 78e | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 0.39 | 2025 |
| 79e | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | 0.38 | 2025 |
| 80e | 🇦🇱 Albania | 0.38 | 2025 |
| 81e | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 0.38 | 2025 |
| 82e | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | 0.38 | 2025 |
| 83e | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 0.38 | 2025 |
| 84e | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 0.37 | 2025 |
| 85e | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 0.37 | 2025 |
| 86e | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 0.36 | 2025 |
| 87e | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 0.36 | 2025 |
| 88e | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 0.35 | 2025 |
| 89e | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 0.35 | 2025 |
| 90e | 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | 0.34 | 2025 |
| 91e | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 0.33 | 2025 |
| 92e | 🇧🇯 Benin | 0.32 | 2025 |
| 93e | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 0.32 | 2025 |
| 94e | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 0.31 | 2025 |
| 95e | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 0.31 | 2025 |
| 96e | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 0.3 | 2025 |
| 97e | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 0.3 | 2025 |
| 98e | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 0.29 | 2025 |
| 99e | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 0.28 | 2025 |
| 100e | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 0.27 | 2025 |
| 101e | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 0.27 | 2025 |
| 102e | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 0.27 | 2025 |
| 103e | 🇮🇳 India | 0.26 | 2025 |
| 104e | 🇲🇦 Morocco | 0.25 | 2025 |
| 105e | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 0.24 | 2025 |
| 106e | 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire | 0.23 | 2025 |
| 107e | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 0.22 | 2025 |
| 108e | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 0.22 | 2025 |
| 109e | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 0.21 | 2025 |
| 110e | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 0.19 | 2025 |
| 111e | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 0.18 | 2025 |
| 111e | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 0.18 | 2025 |
| 113e | 🇳🇪 Niger | 0.18 | 2025 |
| 114e | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 0.18 | 2025 |
| 115e | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 0.18 | 2025 |
| 116e | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 0.17 | 2025 |
| 117e | 🇦🇴 Angola | 0.16 | 2025 |
| 118e | 🇹🇬 Togo | 0.16 | 2025 |
| 119e | 🇲🇱 Mali | 0.15 | 2025 |
| 120e | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 0.15 | 2025 |
| 121e | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | 0.14 | 2025 |
| 122e | 🇴🇲 Oman | 0.14 | 2025 |
| 123e | 🇰🇲 Comoros | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 124e | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 125e | 🇸🇴 Somalia | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 126e | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 126e | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 128e | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 129e | 🇩🇯 Djibouti | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 130e | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 131e | 🇨🇩 Congo - Kinshasa | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 131e | 🇨🇬 Congo - Brazzaville | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 131e | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 134e | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 0.11 | 2025 |
| 135e | 🇱🇦 Laos | 0.11 | 2025 |
| 135e | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 0.11 | 2025 |
| 137e | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 137e | 🇮🇷 Iran | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 139e | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 139e | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 141e | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 142e | 🇭🇹 Haiti | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 142e | 🇱🇾 Libya | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 144e | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 145e | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 145e | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 147e | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 0.09 | 2025 |
| 148e | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | 0.09 | 2025 |
| 148e | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 0.09 | 2025 |
| 150e | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 0.08 | 2025 |
| 151e | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 0.08 | 2025 |
| 152e | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 152e | 🇹🇩 Chad | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 154e | 🇧🇮 Burundi | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 155e | 🇨🇺 Cuba | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 156e | 🇷🇺 Russia | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 157e | 🇸🇾 Syria | 0.05 | 2025 |
| 158e | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 0.05 | 2025 |
| 159e | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 0.05 | 2025 |
| 160e | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | 0.05 | 2025 |
| 160e | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 0.05 | 2025 |
| 162e | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 162e | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 164e | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 165e | 🇨🇳 China | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 166e | 🇧🇾 Belarus | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 167e | 🇸🇩 Sudan | 0.03 | 2025 |
| 167e | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 0.03 | 2025 |
| 169e | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 0.02 | 2025 |
| 170e | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 0.02 | 2025 |
| 171e | 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma) | 0.02 | 2025 |
| 172e | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 0.01 | 2025 |
| 173e | 🇪🇷 Eritrea | 0.01 | 2025 |
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest value for "Liberal democracy index"?
The highest value is in Denmark, at 0.88 (2025).
Which country has the lowest value for "Liberal democracy index"?
The lowest value is in Eritrea, at 0.01 (2025).
What is the world median value of "Liberal democracy index"?
The world median is 0.36, calculated across 173 countries: half of the countries are above it, the other half below.
What is the value of "Liberal democracy index" for France?
France scores 0.8 (2025), ranking 9 out of 173 countries (ranked from highest to lowest).
Where does the "Liberal democracy index" data come from?
It comes from V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy), version 16 – via Our World in Data. Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.
How should this index be read?
It ranges from zero to one. The closer it is to one, the more individual liberties are protected and the executive is controlled.
What is the difference with an electoral democracy?
Electoral democracy checks that free elections are held. The liberal index adds the protection of liberties, equality before the law and checks and balances.
Source and update
Source : V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy), version 16 – via Our World in Data. Site last updated: November 8, 2026.
Indicators in the same category : Democracy & Elections
- Head of the executive chosen through multiparty electionsIndicates, according to V-Dem, whether the head of the executive (president or head of government) is chosen in multiparty elections, either directly or by a parliament that is itself elected this way. It does not say whether these elections are free and fair.
- Free and fair elections indexThis V-Dem index estimates the extent to which elections are free from registration fraud, systematic irregularities, intimidation of the opposition, vote buying and violence, and whether the body that organizes them is autonomous.
- Participatory democracy indexThis V-Dem index measures, in addition to electoral democracy, the room left for citizen participation: civil society organizations, direct democracy, and regional and local governments.
- Egalitarian democracy indexThis V-Dem index measures electoral democracy as well as the equal protection of rights, access to power and distribution of resources among groups in the population.
- Electoral democracy indexThis V-Dem index measures whether leaders are chosen in free and fair elections with broad voting rights, and whether freedom of association and freedom of expression are guaranteed. It is calculated from expert assessments from around the world.
- Civil society participation indexThis V-Dem index estimates the extent to which major civil society organizations are consulted by policymakers, how many people take part in them, and whether women can take part.
- Core civil society indexThis V-Dem index estimates the freedom and vitality of civil society organisations (associations, trade unions, NGOs): their freedom to be created and to act, and their protection from repression.
- Share of adults with the right to voteShare of adult citizens who legally have the right to vote in national elections, according to V-Dem. Legal exclusions (for example based on sex, property or status) bring it below 100%. It does not say whether the elections are free.
- Political regimeClassification of regimes from “Regimes of the World” (Lührmann, Tannenberg and Lindberg), adopted by V-Dem. In a closed autocracy, citizens choose neither the executive nor parliament in multiparty elections. In an electoral autocracy, there are multiparty elections but without the freedoms that make them free and fair. In an electoral democracy, they are free and fair; in a liberal democracy, individual rights are also protected and power is checked.
- Minimum voting ageAge from which a citizen has the right to vote in national elections, according to the CIA World Factbook. When the source text gives several different ages or an ambiguous rule, the country is left out.
- Multiparty legislative electionsShows, according to V-Dem, whether the national assembly (parliament) is chosen in elections where several parties can field candidates. It does not say whether these elections are free and fair.
- Multiparty national electionsShows, according to V-Dem, whether national elections are multiparty, that is, whether several parties can field candidates in them. It does not say whether these elections are free and fair.