South Korea vs Malaysia: Electoral democracy
South Korea
2
in 2025
Malaysia
2
in 2025
South Korea rank
1st
Malaysia rank
1st
Electoral democracy over time
- South Korea
- Malaysia
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 2 against 2 in Malaysia, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Malaysia ahead.
South Korea ranks 1st and Malaysia ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 8 and Malaysia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | South Korea |
| 1950s | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | South Korea |
| 1960s | 0.9 | 1 | 0.1 | Malaysia |
| 1970s | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | South Korea |
| 1980s | 1.2 | 1 | 0.2 | South Korea |
| 1990s | 2 | 1 | 1 | South Korea |
| 2000s | 2 | 1 | 1 | South Korea |
| 2010s | 2 | 1 | 1 | South Korea |
| 2020s | 2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electoral democracy, South Korea or Malaysia?
- South Korea, at 2 against 2 in Malaysia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between South Korea and Malaysia?
- 0, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Malaysia?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and Malaysia rank globally for electoral democracy?
- South Korea ranks 1st and Malaysia 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.