Costa Rica vs South Africa: Electoral democracy (V-Dem)
Costa Rica
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Electoral democracy (V-Dem) over time
- Costa Rica
- South Africa
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 6 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.8 | 1 | 0.2 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0.8 | 1 | 0.2 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 2 | 1 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 2 | 1 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 2 | 1 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 2 | 0.4 | 1.6 | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 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, Costa Rica or South Africa?
- Costa Rica, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between Costa Rica and South Africa?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and South Africa rank globally for electoral democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and South Africa 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.