Electoral democracy in Tonga
Tonga: Electoral democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electoral democracy in Tonga, 1845–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for electoral democracy in Tonga is 1, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 181 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy in Tonga peaked at 1 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1845.
Tonga 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
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- 1 Botswana 1 compare
- 1 Brazil 1 compare
- 1 Bulgaria 1 compare
- 1 Canada 1 compare
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- 1 Dominica 1 compare
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- 1 East Timor 1 compare
- 1 Ecuador 1 compare
- 1 Estonia 1 compare
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- 1 France 1 compare
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- 1 Germany 1 compare
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More social development data for Tonga
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 65 (2025)
- Physical Integrity Rights Score 2.73 (2019)
- Asylum-seekers by country or territory of origin 1,324 (2025)
- Political Rights Score 29 (2025)
- Freedom Score 79 (2025)
- Sovereign state 1 (2025)
- States involved in state-based conflicts 0 (2025)
- Full democracy 1 (2025)
- Number of armed conflicts 0 conflicts (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy in Tonga?
- Electoral democracy in Tonga was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 2010.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1845.
- How does Tonga rank for electoral democracy?
- Tonga ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 181 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).