Which has higher varieties of democracy, Estonia or Sweden?

Sweden, at 0.889 against 0.887 in Estonia as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Estonia and Sweden?

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 Varieties of democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Estonia vs Sweden: Varieties of democracy

Estonia

0.887

in 2025

Sweden

0.889

in 2025

Estonia rank

5th

Sweden rank

3rd

Varieties of democracy over time

Estonia
Sweden

How they compare

Sweden currently reports 0.889 against 0.887 in Estonia, a difference of 0.002.

The two have swapped places 8 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Sweden ahead.

Estonia ranks 5th and Sweden ranks 3rd of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Estonia averaged higher in 2 and Sweden in 23.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Estonia	Sweden	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.029	0.187	0.158	Sweden
1790s	0.019	0.1898	0.1708	Sweden
1800s	0.019	0.1952	0.1762	Sweden
1810s	0.019	0.261	0.242	Sweden
1820s	0.0186	0.2708	0.2522	Sweden
1830s	0.018	0.2748	0.2568	Sweden
1840s	0.0176	0.3065	0.2889	Sweden
1850s	0.0222	0.3078	0.2856	Sweden
1860s	0.032	0.3095	0.2775	Sweden
1870s	0.0329	0.3133	0.2804	Sweden
1880s	0.0344	0.3135	0.2791	Sweden
1890s	0.0356	0.3147	0.2791	Sweden
1900s	0.0735	0.3129	0.2394	Sweden
1910s	0.1574	0.3682	0.2108	Sweden
1920s	0.6805	0.661	0.0195	Estonia
1930s	0.3939	0.7	0.3061	Sweden
1940s	0.0959	0.7107	0.6148	Sweden
1950s	0.1043	0.7719	0.6676	Sweden
1960s	0.0951	0.7756	0.6805	Sweden
1970s	0.1068	0.8891	0.7823	Sweden
1980s	0.1225	0.9074	0.7849	Sweden
1990s	0.795	0.9115	0.1165	Sweden
2000s	0.8706	0.9115	0.0409	Sweden
2010s	0.8929	0.9126	0.0197	Sweden
2020s	0.8943	0.891	0.0033	Estonia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher varieties of democracy, Estonia or Sweden?: Sweden, at 0.889 against 0.887 in Estonia as of 2025.
What is the difference in varieties of democracy between Estonia and Sweden?: 0.002, with Sweden ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Estonia and Sweden?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Estonia and Sweden rank globally for varieties of democracy?: Estonia ranks 5th and Sweden ranks 3rd of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Varieties of democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Varieties of democracy
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.