Electoral democracy in East Timor
East Timor: Electoral democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electoral democracy in East Timor, 1859–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
East Timor recorded 1 for electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 167 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy in East Timor peaked at 1 in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1859.
East Timor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
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More social development data for East Timor
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 0 (2015)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 15 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.736 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.838 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.844 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.736 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.462 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.549 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.736 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy in East Timor?
- Electoral democracy in East Timor was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 2001.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1859.
- How does East Timor rank for electoral democracy?
- East Timor ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this East Timor 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
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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).