Colombia vs Costa Rica: Electoral democracy (V-Dem)
Colombia
2
in 2025
Costa Rica
2
in 2025
Colombia rank
1st
Costa Rica rank
1st
Electoral democracy (V-Dem) over time
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Colombia currently reports 2 against 2 in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 33 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Colombia ahead.
Colombia ranks 1st and Costa Rica ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Colombia averaged higher in 8 and Costa Rica in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Colombia |
| 1840s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Colombia |
| 1850s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Colombia |
| 1860s | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | Colombia |
| 1870s | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | Colombia |
| 1880s | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | Colombia |
| 1890s | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | Colombia |
| 1900s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | Colombia |
| 1950s | 0.4 | 2 | 1.6 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 1.9 | 2 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electoral democracy, Colombia or Costa Rica?
- Colombia, at 2 against 2 in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between Colombia and Costa Rica?
- 0, with Colombia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and Costa Rica?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Colombia and Costa Rica rank globally for electoral democracy?
- Colombia ranks 1st and Costa Rica ranks 1st of 176 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (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 Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg.