Democracy Index in Romania
Romania: Democracy Index was 9 in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2018)
9
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
33rd
of 168 countries
All-time high
9
in 2004
All-time low
-8
in 1977
Years of data
159
1859–2018
Democracy Index in Romania, 1859–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy index in Romania is 9, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 159 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy index in Romania peaked at 9 in 2004 and was at its lowest, -8, in 1977.
Romania ranks 33rd of 168 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Democracy Index in Romania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1859 | 0 | — |
| 1860 | 0 | — |
| 1861 | 0 | — |
| 1862 | 0 | — |
| 1863 | 0 | — |
| 1864 | -2 | — |
| 1865 | -2 | -0.0% |
| 1866 | -7 | +250.0% |
| 1867 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1868 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1869 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1870 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1871 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1872 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1873 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1874 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1875 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1876 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1877 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1878 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1879 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1880 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1881 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1882 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1883 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1884 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1885 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1886 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1887 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1888 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1889 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1890 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1891 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1892 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1893 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1894 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1895 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1896 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1897 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1898 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1899 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1900 | -6 | -14.3% |
| 1901 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1902 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1903 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1904 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1905 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1906 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1907 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1908 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1909 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1910 | -4 | -33.3% |
| 1911 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1912 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1913 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1914 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1915 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1917 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1918 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1919 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1920 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1921 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1922 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1923 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1924 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1925 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1926 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1927 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1928 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1929 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1930 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 1931 | -4 | -0.0% |
| 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 | -6 | +50.0% |
| 1939 | -6 | -0.0% |
| 1940 | -7 | +16.7% |
| 1941 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1942 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1943 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1944 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1945 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1946 | -3 | -57.1% |
| 1947 | -7 | +133.3% |
| 1948 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1949 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1950 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1951 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1952 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1953 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1954 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1955 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1956 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1957 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1958 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1959 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1960 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1961 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1962 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1963 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1964 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1965 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1966 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1967 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1968 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1969 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1970 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1971 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1972 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1973 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1974 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1975 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1976 | -7 | -0.0% |
| 1977 | -8 | +14.3% |
| 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 | -1 | -87.5% |
| 1990 | 5 | -600.0% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 8 | +60.0% |
| 1997 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 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% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 9 is below the median for high income countries, which is 10, 90% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Romania's 9 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 9, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1860s | -3.2 | -7 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 10 |
| 1880s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 10 |
| 1890s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 10 |
| 1900s | -6 | -6 | -6 | 10 |
| 1910s | -4 | -4 | -4 | 9 |
| 1920s | -4 | -4 | -4 | 10 |
| 1930s | -4.4 | -6 | -4 | 10 |
| 1940s | -6.6 | -7 | -3 | 10 |
| 1950s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 10 |
| 1960s | -7 | -7 | -7 | 10 |
| 1970s | -7.3 | -8 | -7 | 10 |
| 1980s | -7.3 | -8 | -1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.2 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.6 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Romania
- 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 India 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 South Africa 9 compare
- 33 Trinidad and Tobago 9 compare
More social development data for Romania
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 206,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,130 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,130 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0109 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 Romania?
- Democracy index in Romania 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 2004.
- What is the lowest democracy index recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was -8 in 1977.
- How does Romania rank for democracy index?
- Romania ranks 33rd out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy index rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Romania 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 — 159 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).