Democracy index polity in North Korea
North Korea: Democracy index polity was -10 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
-10
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
164th
of 167 countries
All-time high
-7
in 1948
All-time low
-10
in 1994
Years of data
71
1948–2018
Democracy index polity in North Korea, 1948–2018
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
North Korea recorded -10 for democracy index polity in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 71 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy index polity in North Korea peaked at -7 in 1948 and was at its lowest, -10, in 1994.
North Korea ranks 164th of 167 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 71 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 2 |
| 1950s | -7.4 | -8 | -7 | 10 |
| 1960s | -8.4 | -9 | -8 | 10 |
| 1970s | -9 | -9 | -9 | 10 |
| 1980s | -9 | -9 | -9 | 10 |
| 1990s | -9.6 | -10 | -9 | 10 |
| 2000s | -10 | -10 | -10 | 10 |
| 2010s | -10 | -10 | -10 | 9 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More social development data for North Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 263 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 7 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 0 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.024 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.014 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.083 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.025 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.013 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.044 (2025)
- Varieties democracy vdem 0.083 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy index polity in North Korea?
- Democracy index polity in North Korea was -10 in 2018, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy index polity recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was -7 in 1948.
- What is the lowest democracy index polity recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was -10 in 1994.
- How does North Korea rank for democracy index polity?
- North Korea ranks 164th out of 167 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy index polity rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy index polity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 71 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).