Which has higher varieties of democracy, Netherlands or Portugal?

Netherlands, at 0.832 against 0.822 in Portugal as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Portugal?

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.

Netherlands vs Portugal: Varieties of democracy

Netherlands

0.832

in 2025

Portugal

0.822

in 2025

Netherlands rank

20th

Portugal rank

22nd

Varieties of democracy over time

Netherlands
Portugal

How they compare

Netherlands currently reports 0.832 against 0.822 in Portugal, a difference of 0.01.

The two have swapped places 10 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Netherlands ahead.

Netherlands ranks 20th and Portugal ranks 22nd of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Netherlands averaged higher in 20 and Portugal in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Netherlands	Portugal	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.077	0.015	0.062	Netherlands
1790s	0.1107	0.015	0.0957	Netherlands
1800s	0.1052	0.015	0.0902	Netherlands
1810s	0.0884	0.015	0.0734	Netherlands
1820s	0.098	0.1536	0.0556	Portugal
1830s	0.1083	0.0884	0.0199	Netherlands
1840s	0.1423	0.129	0.0133	Netherlands
1850s	0.3704	0.139	0.2314	Netherlands
1860s	0.3733	0.1621	0.2112	Netherlands
1870s	0.3749	0.1663	0.2086	Netherlands
1880s	0.3837	0.178	0.2057	Netherlands
1890s	0.4248	0.1696	0.2552	Netherlands
1900s	0.4504	0.1478	0.3026	Netherlands
1910s	0.4787	0.2286	0.2501	Netherlands
1920s	0.7316	0.1862	0.5454	Netherlands
1930s	0.7346	0.1134	0.6212	Netherlands
1940s	0.3816	0.1169	0.2647	Netherlands
1950s	0.7751	0.1206	0.6545	Netherlands
1960s	0.8066	0.1255	0.6811	Netherlands
1970s	0.8447	0.3886	0.4561	Netherlands
1980s	0.8608	0.8574	0.0034	Netherlands
1990s	0.8598	0.8638	0.004	Portugal
2000s	0.8624	0.883	0.0206	Portugal
2010s	0.8755	0.8893	0.0138	Portugal
2020s	0.847	0.8548	0.0078	Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher varieties of democracy, Netherlands or Portugal?: Netherlands, at 0.832 against 0.822 in Portugal as of 2025.
What is the difference in varieties of democracy between Netherlands and Portugal?: 0.01, with Netherlands ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Portugal?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Netherlands and Portugal rank globally for varieties of democracy?: Netherlands ranks 20th and Portugal ranks 22nd 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.