France vs United Kingdom: Electoral democracy
France
2
in 2025
United Kingdom
2
in 2025
France rank
1st
United Kingdom rank
1st
Electoral democracy over time
- France
- United Kingdom
How they compare
France currently reports 2 against 2 in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United Kingdom ahead.
France ranks 1st and United Kingdom ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 25 decades both report, France averaged higher in 5 and United Kingdom in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 0.7 | 1 | 0.3 | United Kingdom |
| 1800s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United Kingdom |
| 1810s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United Kingdom |
| 1820s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United Kingdom |
| 1830s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United Kingdom |
| 1840s | 0.2 | 1 | 0.8 | United Kingdom |
| 1850s | 0.1 | 1 | 0.9 | United Kingdom |
| 1860s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United Kingdom |
| 1870s | 1.6 | 1 | 0.6 | France |
| 1880s | 2 | 1 | 1 | France |
| 1890s | 2 | 1 | 1 | France |
| 1900s | 2 | 1 | 1 | France |
| 1910s | 2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | France |
| 1920s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0.6 | 2 | 1.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1950s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 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, France or United Kingdom?
- France, at 2 against 2 in United Kingdom as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between France and United Kingdom?
- 0, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and United Kingdom?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do France and United Kingdom rank globally for electoral democracy?
- France ranks 1st and United Kingdom 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.