United States vs USSR: Full democracy
United States
1
in 2025
USSR
0
in 1990
United States rank
1st
USSR rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- United States
- USSR
How they compare
United States currently reports 1 against 0 in USSR, a difference of 1.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 69 shared years of data; in 1922 it was USSR ahead.
United States ranks 1st and USSR ranks 1st of 197 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | United States |
| 1970s | 1 | 0 | 1 | United States |
| 1980s | 1 | 0 | 1 | United States |
| 1990s | 1 | 0 | 1 | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full democracy, United States or USSR?
- United States, at 1 against 0 in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between United States and USSR?
- 1, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States and USSR?
- 69 years are reported by both, from 1922 to 1990.
- How do United States and USSR rank globally for full democracy?
- United States ranks 1st and USSR 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+).