Democracy index polity in South Africa
South Africa: Democracy index polity was 9 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Latest (2018)
9
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
33rd
of 167 countries
All-time high
9
in 1994
All-time low
4
in 1910
Years of data
109
1910–2018
Democracy index polity in South Africa, 1910–2018
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2018, democracy index polity in South Africa stood at 9. That is the highest value across all 109 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy index polity in South Africa peaked at 9 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1910.
South Africa ranks 33rd of 167 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 109 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1920s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1930s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1940s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1950s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1960s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1970s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.8 | 5 | 9 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 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 Romania 9 compare
- 33 Trinidad and Tobago 9 compare
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.857 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.633 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.87 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.837 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.47 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy index polity in South Africa?
- Democracy index polity in South Africa was 9 in 2018, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy index polity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 1994.
- What is the lowest democracy index polity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1910.
- How does South Africa rank for democracy index polity?
- South Africa ranks 33rd out of 167 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy index polity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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 — 109 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).