Age of democracy polity in South Korea
South Korea: Age of democracy polity was 31 in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2018)
31
Change on year
up 3.3%
World rank
38th
of 110 countries
All-time high
31
in 2018
All-time low
1
in 1960
Years of data
32
1960–2018
Age of democracy polity in South Korea, 1960–2018
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2018, age of democracy polity in South Korea stood at 31. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 47.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy polity in South Korea peaked at 31 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1960.
South Korea ranks 38th of 110 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1990s | 7.5 | 3 | 12 | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.5 | 13 | 22 | 10 |
| 2010s | 27 | 23 | 31 | 9 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More social development data for South Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 117 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.912 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.739 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.819 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.839 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.933 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.551 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of democracy polity in South Korea?
- Age of democracy polity in South Korea was 31 in 2018, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy polity recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 31 in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy polity recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1960.
- How does South Korea rank for age of democracy polity?
- South Korea ranks 38th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy polity rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Age of democracy polity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).