Democracy Index in Canada
Canada: Democracy Index was 10 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Latest (2018)
10
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 168 countries
All-time high
10
in 1921
All-time low
4
in 1867
Years of data
152
1867–2018
Democracy Index in Canada, 1867–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Canada recorded 10 for democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 152 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy index in Canada peaked at 10 in 1921 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1867.
That places Canada 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 152 years of available data.
Democracy Index in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1867 | 4 | — |
| 1868 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1870 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1871 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1872 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1873 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1874 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1875 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1877 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1878 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1879 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1881 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1886 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1887 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1888 | 9 | +125.0% |
| 1889 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1891 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1892 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1893 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1894 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1896 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1898 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1899 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1901 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 10 | +11.1% |
| 1922 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10 | +0.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 10 is above the median for high income countries, which is 10, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 1870s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1880s | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| 1890s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1900s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1910s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 1920s | 9.9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| 1930s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1940s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1950s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1960s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1970s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1980s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 1990s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2000s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 1 Australia 10 compare
- 1 Austria 10 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 10 compare
- 1 Chile 10 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 10 compare
- 1 Cyprus 10 compare
- 1 Denmark 10 compare
- 1 Finland 10 compare
- 1 France 10 compare
- 1 Germany 10 compare
- 1 Greece 10 compare
- 1 Hungary 10 compare
- 1 Ireland 10 compare
- 1 Italy 10 compare
- 1 Japan 10 compare
- 1 Lithuania 10 compare
- 1 Luxembourg 10 compare
- 1 Mauritius 10 compare
- 1 Mongolia 10 compare
- 1 Netherlands 10 compare
- 1 New Zealand 10 compare
- 1 Norway 10 compare
- 1 Poland 10 compare
- 1 Portugal 10 compare
- 1 Slovakia 10 compare
- 1 Slovenia 10 compare
- 1 Spain 10 compare
- 1 Sweden 10 compare
- 1 Switzerland 10 compare
- 1 Taiwan 10 compare
- 1 Uruguay 10 compare
More social development data for Canada
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 360 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 360 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.01 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 democracy index in Canada?
- Democracy index in Canada was 10 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy index recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 10 in 1921.
- What is the lowest democracy index recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1867.
- How does Canada rank for democracy index?
- Canada ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy index rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 152 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
It combines information on the extent to which open, multi-party, and competitive elections choose a chief executive who faces comprehensive institutional constraints, and political participation is competitive. It ranges from -10 to 10 (fully democratic).