Which has higher liberal democracy index, Korea, Rep. or Latvia?

Latvia, at 0.751 against 0.739 in Korea, Rep. as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Korea, Rep. and Latvia?

237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Liberal Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Korea, Rep. vs Latvia: Liberal Democracy Index

Korea, Rep.

0.739

in 2025

Latvia

0.751

in 2025

Korea, Rep. rank

22nd

Latvia rank

20th

Liberal Democracy Index over time

Korea, Rep.
Latvia

How they compare

Latvia currently reports 0.751 against 0.739 in Korea, Rep., a difference of 0.012.

The two have swapped places 11 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Korea, Rep. ahead.

Korea, Rep. ranks 22nd and Latvia ranks 20th of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Korea, Rep. averaged higher in 11 and Latvia in 13.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Korea, Rep.	Latvia	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.016	0.014	0.002	Korea, Rep.
1790s	0.016	0.014	0.002	Korea, Rep.
1800s	0.0151	0.0149	0.0002	Korea, Rep.
1810s	0.015	0.015	0	—
1820s	0.015	0.0142	0.0008	Korea, Rep.
1830s	0.015	0.0147	0.0003	Korea, Rep.
1840s	0.0149	0.0152	0.0003	Latvia
1850s	0.014	0.0215	0.0075	Latvia
1860s	0.0152	0.0637	0.0485	Latvia
1870s	0.0154	0.0866	0.0712	Latvia
1880s	0.0163	0.0411	0.0248	Latvia
1890s	0.0243	0.0433	0.019	Latvia
1900s	0.0325	0.0499	0.0174	Latvia
1910s	0.021	0.0618	0.0408	Latvia
1920s	0.021	0.5081	0.4871	Latvia
1930s	0.0207	0.3371	0.3164	Latvia
1940s	0.05	0.0144	0.0356	Korea, Rep.
1950s	0.1455	0.0196	0.1259	Korea, Rep.
1960s	0.1367	0.0232	0.1135	Korea, Rep.
1970s	0.1065	0.0247	0.0818	Korea, Rep.
1980s	0.2043	0.0352	0.1691	Korea, Rep.
1990s	0.6064	0.6252	0.0188	Latvia
2000s	0.7399	0.7016	0.0383	Korea, Rep.
2010s	0.6778	0.7378	0.06	Latvia
2020s	0.7102	0.7482	0.038	Latvia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher liberal democracy index, Korea, Rep. or Latvia?: Latvia, at 0.751 against 0.739 in Korea, Rep. as of 2025.
What is the difference in liberal democracy index between Korea, Rep. and Latvia?: 0.012, with Latvia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Korea, Rep. and Latvia?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Korea, Rep. and Latvia rank globally for liberal democracy index?: Korea, Rep. ranks 22nd and Latvia ranks 20th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Liberal Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Liberal Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 28,671 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, individual and minority rights, equality before the law, and executive constraints.