Age of electoral democracy in South Korea
South Korea: Age of electoral democracy was 38 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
38
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
38th
of 111 countries
All-time high
38
in 2025
All-time low
1
in 1988
Years of data
38
1988–2025
Age of electoral democracy in South Korea, 1988–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, age of electoral democracy in South Korea stood at 38. That is the highest value across all 38 years on record.
The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 35.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in South Korea peaked at 38 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1988.
South Korea ranks 38th of 111 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1990s | 7.5 | 3 | 12 | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.5 | 13 | 22 | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.5 | 23 | 32 | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.5 | 33 | 38 | 6 |
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 electoral democracy in South Korea?
- Age of electoral democracy in South Korea was 38 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 38 in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1988.
- How does South Korea rank for age of electoral democracy?
- South Korea ranks 38th out of 111 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.7%. 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 electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).