Botswana vs South Africa: Electoral democracy
Botswana
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
Botswana rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Electoral democracy over time
- Botswana
- South Africa
How they compare
Botswana currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.
Botswana ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Botswana has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | Botswana |
| 1970s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Botswana |
| 1980s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Botswana |
| 1990s | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | Botswana |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electoral democracy, Botswana or South Africa?
- Botswana, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between Botswana and South Africa?
- 0, with Botswana ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Botswana and South Africa rank globally for electoral democracy?
- Botswana ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Electoral democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country using the reduced Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies, one-party autocracies, multi-party autocracies without elected executive, multi-party autocracies, exclusive democracies, male democracies, and electoral democracies (including full democracies or polyarchies).