Sweden vs United States: Full democracy
Sweden
1
in 2025
United States
1
in 2025
Sweden rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- Sweden
- United States
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 1 against 1 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United States ahead.
Sweden ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Sweden has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sweden | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | Sweden |
| 1930s | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | Sweden |
| 1940s | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | Sweden |
| 1950s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Sweden |
| 1960s | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Sweden |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 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, Sweden or United States?
- Sweden, at 1 against 1 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between Sweden and United States?
- 0, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and United States?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Sweden and United States rank globally for full democracy?
- Sweden ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 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+).