South Africa vs United States: Electoral democracy (V-Dem)
South Africa
2
in 2025
United States
2
in 2025
South Africa rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Electoral democracy (V-Dem) over time
- South Africa
- United States
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 2 against 2 in United States, a difference of 0.
Across all 126 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 176 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 1 | 1 | United States |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1930s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1940s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1950s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1960s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1970s | 1 | 2 | 1 | United States |
| 1980s | 0.4 | 2 | 1.6 | United States |
| 1990s | 1.1 | 2 | 0.9 | United States |
| 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, South Africa or United States?
- South Africa, at 2 against 2 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electoral democracy between South Africa and United States?
- 0, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United States?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and United States rank globally for electoral democracy?
- South Africa ranks 1st and United States 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.