Which has higher direct democracy index, Ireland or Malta?

Malta, at 0.19 against 0.189 in Ireland as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and Malta?

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Direct Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Ireland vs Malta: Direct Democracy Index

Ireland

0.189

in 2025

Malta

0.19

in 2025

Ireland rank

29th

Malta rank

28th

Direct Democracy Index over time

Ireland
Malta

How they compare

Malta currently reports 0.19 against 0.189 in Ireland, a difference of 0.001.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Malta ahead.

Ireland ranks 29th and Malta ranks 28th of 175 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Ireland averaged higher in 9 and Malta in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Ireland	Malta	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0	0	0	—
1910s	0	0	0	—
1920s	0.1574	0	0.1574	Ireland
1930s	0.1296	0	0.1296	Ireland
1940s	0.1672	0	0.1672	Ireland
1950s	0.0769	0.01	0.0669	Ireland
1960s	0.17	0.01	0.16	Ireland
1970s	0.2008	0.0616	0.1392	Ireland
1980s	0.208	0.088	0.12	Ireland
1990s	0.208	0.088	0.12	Ireland
2000s	0.208	0.1906	0.0174	Ireland
2010s	0.208	0.3244	0.1164	Malta
2020s	0.203	0.284	0.081	Malta

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher direct democracy index, Ireland or Malta?: Malta, at 0.19 against 0.189 in Ireland as of 2025.
What is the difference in direct democracy index between Ireland and Malta?: 0.001, with Malta ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and Malta?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Ireland and Malta rank globally for direct democracy index?: Ireland ranks 29th and Malta ranks 28th of 175 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Direct Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Ireland vs Malta: Direct Democracy Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/direct-democracy-index/ireland/malta/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/direct-democracy-index/ireland/malta/">Ireland vs Malta: Direct Democracy Index</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Direct Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 175 places, 20,802 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Measures the extent of how easy it is for citizens to vote on specific issues themselves in popular initiatives, referendums, and plebiscites.