Deliberative Democracy Index in El Salvador
El Salvador: Deliberative Democracy Index was 0.125 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Deliberative Democracy Index in El Salvador, 1903–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 0.125 for deliberative democracy index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 9.4% on the previous year and down 72.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, deliberative democracy index in El Salvador peaked at 0.46 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.014, in 1932.
El Salvador ranks 140th of 175 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Deliberative Democracy Index in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 0.052 | — |
| 1904 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.051 | -1.9% |
| 1916 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.049 | -3.9% |
| 1920 | 0.045 | -8.2% |
| 1921 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.046 | +2.2% |
| 1928 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.055 | +19.6% |
| 1931 | 0.051 | -7.3% |
| 1932 | 0.014 | -72.5% |
| 1933 | 0.02 | +42.9% |
| 1934 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.024 | +20.0% |
| 1941 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.023 | -4.2% |
| 1945 | 0.033 | +43.5% |
| 1946 | 0.036 | +9.1% |
| 1947 | 0.036 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.036 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.026 | -27.8% |
| 1950 | 0.037 | +42.3% |
| 1951 | 0.045 | +21.6% |
| 1952 | 0.044 | -2.2% |
| 1953 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.043 | -2.3% |
| 1957 | 0.043 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.044 | +2.3% |
| 1959 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.055 | +25.0% |
| 1961 | 0.045 | -18.2% |
| 1962 | 0.052 | +15.6% |
| 1963 | 0.057 | +9.6% |
| 1964 | 0.057 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.058 | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 0.066 | +13.8% |
| 1967 | 0.068 | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.065 | -4.4% |
| 1970 | 0.064 | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 0.064 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.055 | -14.1% |
| 1973 | 0.045 | -18.2% |
| 1974 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.044 | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 0.04 | -9.1% |
| 1978 | 0.041 | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 0.039 | -4.9% |
| 1980 | 0.033 | -15.4% |
| 1981 | 0.034 | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 0.037 | +8.8% |
| 1983 | 0.038 | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 0.047 | +23.7% |
| 1985 | 0.081 | +72.3% |
| 1986 | 0.085 | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 0.085 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.085 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.086 | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 0.088 | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 0.093 | +5.7% |
| 1992 | 0.155 | +66.7% |
| 1993 | 0.256 | +65.2% |
| 1994 | 0.303 | +18.4% |
| 1995 | 0.315 | +4.0% |
| 1996 | 0.32 | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 0.32 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.319 | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 0.326 | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 0.324 | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.329 | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.348 | +5.8% |
| 2003 | 0.344 | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 0.347 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 0.352 | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.357 | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 0.359 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.358 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.444 | +24.0% |
| 2010 | 0.457 | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 0.449 | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 0.454 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.429 | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 0.456 | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 0.46 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.441 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 0.444 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.41 | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 0.297 | -27.6% |
| 2020 | 0.227 | -23.6% |
| 2021 | 0.152 | -33.0% |
| 2022 | 0.144 | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 0.145 | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 0.138 | -4.8% |
| 2025 | 0.125 | -9.4% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 0.125 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3275, 38% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 0.125 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.41, 30% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Deliberative Democracy Index in El Salvador changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | -72.5% | 0.051 | 0.014 |
| 1985 | +72.3% | 0.047 | 0.081 |
| 1992 | +66.7% | 0.093 | 0.155 |
| 1993 | +65.2% | 0.155 | 0.256 |
| 1945 | +43.5% | 0.023 | 0.033 |
| 1933 | +42.9% | 0.014 | 0.02 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.052 | 0.052 | 0.052 | 7 |
| 1910s | 0.0513 | 0.049 | 0.052 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0453 | 0.045 | 0.046 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.026 | 0.014 | 0.055 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0286 | 0.023 | 0.036 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0432 | 0.037 | 0.045 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0591 | 0.045 | 0.068 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.0482 | 0.039 | 0.064 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0611 | 0.033 | 0.086 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2495 | 0.088 | 0.326 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3562 | 0.324 | 0.444 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4297 | 0.297 | 0.46 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1552 | 0.125 | 0.227 | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is deliberative democracy index in El Salvador?
- Deliberative democracy index in El Salvador was 0.125 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest deliberative democracy index recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 0.46 in 2015.
- What is the lowest deliberative democracy index recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.014 in 1932.
- How does El Salvador rank for deliberative democracy index?
- El Salvador ranks 140th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is deliberative democracy index rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Deliberative Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 123 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which political elites justify their positions, justify them with the common good, acknowledge counterarguments, consult elites in policy changes, and society deliberates policy changes.