Which has higher varieties of democracy, Poland or United Kingdom?

United Kingdom, at 0.772 against 0.768 in Poland as of 2025.

What is the difference in varieties of democracy between Poland and United Kingdom?

0.004, with United Kingdom ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Poland and United Kingdom?

169 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.

Poland vs United Kingdom: Varieties of democracy

Poland

0.768

in 2025

United Kingdom

0.772

in 2025

Poland rank

38th

United Kingdom rank

37th

Varieties of democracy over time

Poland
United Kingdom

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 0.772 against 0.768 in Poland, a difference of 0.004.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 169 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United Kingdom ahead.

Poland ranks 38th and United Kingdom ranks 37th of 176 countries.

Across the 21 decades both report, Poland averaged higher in 2 and United Kingdom in 19.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Poland	United Kingdom	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.199	0.243	0.044	United Kingdom
1790s	0.16	0.2723	0.1123	United Kingdom
1800s	0.121	0.27	0.149	United Kingdom
1810s	0.1062	0.2697	0.1635	United Kingdom
1820s	0.0542	0.2722	0.218	United Kingdom
1830s	0.0382	0.2981	0.2599	United Kingdom
1840s	0.012	0.3125	0.3005	United Kingdom
1850s	0.014	0.3163	0.3023	United Kingdom
1860s	0.0132	0.3224	0.3091	United Kingdom
1910s	0.3045	0.58	0.2755	United Kingdom
1920s	0.4947	0.712	0.2173	United Kingdom
1930s	0.2471	0.7239	0.4768	United Kingdom
1940s	0.1692	0.761	0.5918	United Kingdom
1950s	0.1782	0.8058	0.6276	United Kingdom
1960s	0.1871	0.8158	0.6287	United Kingdom
1970s	0.1881	0.8234	0.6353	United Kingdom
1980s	0.2122	0.8035	0.5913	United Kingdom
1990s	0.8665	0.8163	0.0502	Poland
2000s	0.8823	0.8618	0.0205	Poland
2010s	0.8131	0.8627	0.0496	United Kingdom
2020s	0.6462	0.838	0.1918	United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher varieties of democracy, Poland or United Kingdom?: United Kingdom, at 0.772 against 0.768 in Poland as of 2025.
What is the difference in varieties of democracy between Poland and United Kingdom?: 0.004, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Poland and United Kingdom?: 169 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Poland and United Kingdom rank globally for varieties of democracy?: Poland ranks 38th and United Kingdom ranks 37th 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.