Democracy Index in India
India: Democracy Index was 9 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Democracy Index in India, 1952–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded 9 for democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 67 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy index in India peaked at 9 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 5, in 1952.
That places India 33rd out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 67 years of available data.
Democracy Index in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 5 | — |
| 1953 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 8 | +60.0% |
| 1968 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 | -25.0% |
| 1976 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 8 | +33.3% |
| 1978 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 1999 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 9 | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 9 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5, 1.8× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- India's 9 is above the median for South Asia, which is 7, 1.3× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 1960s | 5.9 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.6 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 1980s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.2 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Countries ranked near India
- 33 Albania 9 compare
- 33 Argentina 9 compare
- 33 Bulgaria 9 compare
- 33 Croatia 9 compare
- 33 Czechia 9 compare
- 33 Estonia 9 compare
- 33 Indonesia 9 compare
- 33 Jamaica 9 compare
- 33 Kenya 9 compare
- 33 Moldova 9 compare
- 33 Montenegro 9 compare
- 33 North Macedonia 9 compare
- 33 Panama 9 compare
- 33 Paraguay 9 compare
- 33 Peru 9 compare
- 33 Romania 9 compare
- 33 South Africa 9 compare
- 33 Trinidad and Tobago 9 compare
More social development data for India
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 238,643 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 42,610 (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 42,610 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 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 India?
- Democracy index in India was 9 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 1998.
- What is the lowest democracy index recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 in 1952.
- How does India rank for democracy index?
- India ranks 33rd out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy index rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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 — 67 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).