South Korea vs South Africa: Full democracy
South Korea
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
South Korea rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- South Korea
- South Africa
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
Across all 78 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | South Africa |
| 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, South Korea or South Africa?
- South Korea, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between South Korea and South Africa?
- 0, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and South Africa?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and South Africa rank globally for full democracy?
- South Korea 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+).