Deliberative Democracy Index in United States
United States: Deliberative Democracy Index was 0.481 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Deliberative Democracy Index in United States, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, deliberative democracy index in United States stood at 0.481.
The figure is down 35.4% on the previous year and down 43.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, deliberative democracy index in United States peaked at 0.865 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.335, in 1905.
United States ranks 58th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Deliberative Democracy Index in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.338 | — |
| 1901 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.337 | -0.3% |
| 1905 | 0.335 | -0.6% |
| 1906 | 0.336 | +0.3% |
| 1907 | 0.337 | +0.3% |
| 1908 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.336 | -0.3% |
| 1910 | 0.337 | +0.3% |
| 1911 | 0.341 | +1.2% |
| 1912 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.361 | +5.9% |
| 1914 | 0.356 | -1.4% |
| 1915 | 0.358 | +0.6% |
| 1916 | 0.357 | -0.3% |
| 1917 | 0.347 | -2.8% |
| 1918 | 0.345 | -0.6% |
| 1919 | 0.351 | +1.7% |
| 1920 | 0.411 | +17.1% |
| 1921 | 0.394 | -4.1% |
| 1922 | 0.396 | +0.5% |
| 1923 | 0.406 | +2.5% |
| 1924 | 0.414 | +2.0% |
| 1925 | 0.416 | +0.5% |
| 1926 | 0.418 | +0.5% |
| 1927 | 0.417 | -0.2% |
| 1928 | 0.417 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.42 | +0.7% |
| 1930 | 0.42 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.432 | +2.9% |
| 1932 | 0.448 | +3.7% |
| 1933 | 0.465 | +3.8% |
| 1934 | 0.476 | +2.4% |
| 1935 | 0.481 | +1.1% |
| 1936 | 0.483 | +0.4% |
| 1937 | 0.484 | +0.2% |
| 1938 | 0.484 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.478 | -1.2% |
| 1940 | 0.49 | +2.5% |
| 1941 | 0.487 | -0.6% |
| 1942 | 0.476 | -2.3% |
| 1943 | 0.47 | -1.3% |
| 1944 | 0.47 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.481 | +2.3% |
| 1946 | 0.506 | +5.2% |
| 1947 | 0.491 | -3.0% |
| 1948 | 0.484 | -1.4% |
| 1949 | 0.469 | -3.1% |
| 1950 | 0.491 | +4.7% |
| 1951 | 0.511 | +4.1% |
| 1952 | 0.51 | -0.2% |
| 1953 | 0.507 | -0.6% |
| 1954 | 0.508 | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 0.513 | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 0.517 | +0.8% |
| 1957 | 0.519 | +0.4% |
| 1958 | 0.531 | +2.3% |
| 1959 | 0.531 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.555 | +4.5% |
| 1961 | 0.573 | +3.2% |
| 1962 | 0.581 | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 0.6 | +3.3% |
| 1964 | 0.605 | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 0.608 | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 0.609 | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 0.616 | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 0.618 | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 0.61 | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 0.64 | +4.9% |
| 1971 | 0.645 | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 0.655 | +1.6% |
| 1973 | 0.675 | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 0.68 | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 0.712 | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 0.735 | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 0.779 | +6.0% |
| 1978 | 0.785 | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 0.783 | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 0.794 | +1.4% |
| 1981 | 0.777 | -2.1% |
| 1982 | 0.768 | -1.2% |
| 1983 | 0.773 | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.772 | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 0.767 | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 0.767 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.77 | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 0.77 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.764 | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 0.782 | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 0.789 | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 0.796 | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 0.829 | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 0.83 | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 0.826 | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 0.826 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.827 | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 0.826 | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 0.821 | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 0.808 | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 0.737 | -8.8% |
| 2002 | 0.739 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 0.771 | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 0.773 | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 0.782 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 0.788 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.826 | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 0.849 | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 0.863 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.859 | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 0.857 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.856 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 0.865 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.86 | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.854 | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 0.812 | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 0.625 | -23.0% |
| 2018 | 0.625 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.623 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 0.587 | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 0.722 | +23.0% |
| 2022 | 0.737 | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 0.752 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 0.745 | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 0.481 | -35.4% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.481 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.665, 72% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Deliberative Democracy Index in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | -35.4% | 0.745 | 0.481 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.337 | 0.335 | 0.338 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.3494 | 0.337 | 0.361 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.4109 | 0.394 | 0.42 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.4651 | 0.42 | 0.484 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.4824 | 0.469 | 0.506 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.5138 | 0.491 | 0.531 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.5975 | 0.555 | 0.618 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7089 | 0.64 | 0.785 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7722 | 0.764 | 0.794 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8152 | 0.782 | 0.83 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7936 | 0.737 | 0.863 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7836 | 0.623 | 0.865 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6707 | 0.481 | 0.752 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 3,667 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 United States?
- Deliberative democracy index in United States was 0.481 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest deliberative democracy index recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.865 in 2013.
- What is the lowest deliberative democracy index recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.335 in 1905.
- How does United States rank for deliberative democracy index?
- United States ranks 58th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is deliberative democracy index rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 — 126 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.