Statizoid

Democracy Index in Finland

Finland: 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 1919
All-time low
4
in 1931
Years of data
102
1917–2018

Democracy Index in Finland, 1917–2018

0246810191719672018

Source: Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Finland recorded 10 for democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 102 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy index in Finland peaked at 10 in 1919 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1931.

That places Finland 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 102 years of available data.

Democracy Index in Finland, year by year

Year Value Change
1917 8 —
1918 8 +0.0%
1919 10 +25.0%
1920 10 +0.0%
1921 10 +0.0%
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 7 -30.0%
1931 4 -42.9%
1932 4 +0.0%
1933 4 +0.0%
1934 4 +0.0%
1935 4 +0.0%
1936 4 +0.0%
1937 4 +0.0%
1938 4 +0.0%
1939 4 +0.0%
1940 4 +0.0%
1941 4 +0.0%
1942 4 +0.0%
1943 4 +0.0%
1944 10 +150.0%
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%

Finland compared with similar countries

  • Finland's 10 is above the median for high income countries, which is 10, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
  • Finland's 10 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 9, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 8.67 8 10 3
1920s 10 10 10 10
1930s 4.3 4 7 10
1940s 7.6 4 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 Finland

  1. 1 Australia 10 compare
  2. 1 Austria 10 compare
  3. 1 Canada 10 compare
  4. 1 Cape Verde 10 compare
  5. 1 Chile 10 compare
  6. 1 Costa Rica 10 compare
  7. 1 Cyprus 10 compare
  8. 1 Denmark 10 compare
  9. 1 France 10 compare
  10. 1 Germany 10 compare
  11. 1 Greece 10 compare
  12. 1 Hungary 10 compare
  13. 1 Ireland 10 compare
  14. 1 Italy 10 compare
  15. 1 Japan 10 compare
  16. 1 Lithuania 10 compare
  17. 1 Luxembourg 10 compare
  18. 1 Mauritius 10 compare
  19. 1 Mongolia 10 compare
  20. 1 Netherlands 10 compare
  21. 1 New Zealand 10 compare
  22. 1 Norway 10 compare
  23. 1 Poland 10 compare
  24. 1 Portugal 10 compare
  25. 1 Slovakia 10 compare
  26. 1 Slovenia 10 compare
  27. 1 Spain 10 compare
  28. 1 Sweden 10 compare
  29. 1 Switzerland 10 compare
  30. 1 Taiwan 10 compare
  31. 1 Uruguay 10 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More social development data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy index in Finland?
Democracy index in Finland 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 Finland?
The highest recorded value was 10 in 1919.
What is the lowest democracy index recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1931.
How does Finland rank for democracy index?
Finland ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Is democracy index rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Finland 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.

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Democracy Index in Finland. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/democracy-index-polity/finland/

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About this data

Indicator
Democracy Index
Source
Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 18,392 data points, 1776–2020
Last refreshed

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).