Costa Rica vs Uruguay: Electoral democracy

Costa Rica
1
in 2025
Uruguay
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Uruguay rank
1st

Electoral democracy over time

  • Costa Rica
  • Uruguay
00.20.40.60.81182519252025

How they compare

Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in Uruguay, a difference of 0.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Uruguay ahead.

Costa Rica ranks 1st and Uruguay ranks 1st of 197 countries.

Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 2 and Uruguay in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Costa Rica Uruguay Difference Ahead
1830s 0 0 0
1840s 0 0 0
1850s 0 0 0
1860s 0 0 0
1870s 0 0 0
1880s 0 0 0
1890s 0 0 0
1900s 0 0 0
1910s 0 0 0
1920s 0 0 0
1930s 0 0.1 0.1 Uruguay
1940s 0.1 0.8 0.7 Uruguay
1950s 1 1 0
1960s 1 1 0
1970s 1 0.3 0.7 Costa Rica
1980s 1 0.6 0.4 Costa Rica
1990s 1 1 0
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, Costa Rica or Uruguay?
Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in Uruguay as of 2025.
What is the difference in electoral democracy between Costa Rica and Uruguay?
0, with Costa Rica ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Uruguay?
188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
How do Costa Rica and Uruguay rank globally for electoral democracy?
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Uruguay 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

Indicator
Electoral democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

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).