Which has higher direct democracy index, Italy or Romania?

Romania, at 0.403 against 0.353 in Italy as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Romania?

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.

Italy vs Romania: Direct Democracy Index

Italy

0.353

in 2025

Romania

0.403

in 2025

Italy rank

7th

Romania rank

6th

Direct Democracy Index over time

Italy
Romania

How they compare

Romania currently reports 0.403 against 0.353 in Italy, a difference of 0.05.

That makes Romania's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.

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

Italy ranks 7th and Romania ranks 6th of 175 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Italy averaged higher in 9 and Romania in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Italy	Romania	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0	0	0	—
1910s	0	0	0	—
1920s	0.01	0	0.01	Italy
1930s	0.01	0.01	0	—
1940s	0.0217	0.014	0.0077	Italy
1950s	0.039	0.02	0.019	Italy
1960s	0.039	0.02	0.019	Italy
1970s	0.1644	0.02	0.1444	Italy
1980s	0.2658	0.092	0.1738	Italy
1990s	0.274	0.1817	0.0923	Italy
2000s	0.3495	0.2396	0.1099	Italy
2010s	0.3569	0.319	0.0379	Italy
2020s	0.3698	0.4958	0.126	Romania

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher direct democracy index, Italy or Romania?: Romania, at 0.403 against 0.353 in Italy as of 2025.
What is the difference in direct democracy index between Italy and Romania?: 0.05, with Romania ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Romania?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Italy and Romania rank globally for direct democracy index?: Italy ranks 7th and Romania ranks 6th 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

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: 07 August 2026

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