Electoral democracy in Portugal
Portugal: Electoral democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electoral democracy in Portugal, 1789–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, electoral democracy in Portugal stood at 1. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy in Portugal peaked at 1 in 1976 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
Portugal ranks 1st of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
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More social development data for Portugal
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 70,349 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 109 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.822 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.899 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.874 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.822 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.529 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.717 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.822 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy in Portugal?
- Electoral democracy in Portugal was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1976.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Portugal rank for electoral democracy?
- Portugal ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Portugal data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country using the reduced Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies, one-party autocracies, multi-party autocracies without elected executive, multi-party autocracies, exclusive democracies, male democracies, and electoral democracies (including full democracies or polyarchies).