Poland vs South Africa: Electoral democracy (V-Dem)
Poland
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Poland rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Electoral democracy (V-Dem) over time
- Poland
- South Africa
How they compare
Poland currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 103 shared years of data; in 1918 it was South Africa ahead.
Poland ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, Poland averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Poland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 1.6 | 1 | 0.6 | Poland |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | South Africa |
| 1960s | 0.1 | 1 | 0.9 | South Africa |
| 1970s | 0 | 1 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | South Africa |
| 1990s | 2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | Poland |
| 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, Poland or South Africa?
- Poland, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between Poland and South Africa?
- 0, with Poland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Poland and South Africa?
- 103 years are reported by both, from 1918 to 2025.
- How do Poland and South Africa rank globally for electoral democracy?
- Poland 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.