Malawi vs South Africa: Electoral democracy (Lexical Index)
Malawi
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
Malawi rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Electoral democracy (Lexical Index) over time
- Malawi
- South Africa
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
Across all 126 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Malawi ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | 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 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 0.6 | 0.6 | 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, Malawi or South Africa?
- Malawi, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between Malawi and South Africa?
- 0, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and South Africa rank globally for electoral democracy?
- Malawi ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 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).