Costa Rica vs South Africa: Full democracy
Costa Rica
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- South Africa
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full democracy, Costa Rica or South Africa?
- Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full 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 full democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Full democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies if a country is a full democracy using the extended Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy (LIED+).