Distribution of Democracy Index in Israel
Israel: Distribution of Democracy Index was 16 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Distribution of Democracy Index in Israel, 1948–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Israel recorded 16 for distribution of democracy index in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 71 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution of democracy index in Israel peaked at 20 in 1948 and was at its lowest, 16, in 1981.
Israel ranks 87th of 168 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 71 years of available data.
Distribution of Democracy Index in Israel, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 20 | — |
| 1949 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 1968 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 16 | -15.8% |
| 1982 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16 | +0.0% |
Israel compared with similar countries
- Israel's 16 is below the median for high income countries, which is 20, 80% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Israel's 16 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 7, 2.3× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 20 | 20 | 20 | 2 |
| 1950s | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 |
| 1960s | 19.7 | 19 | 20 | 10 |
| 1970s | 19 | 19 | 19 | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.3 | 16 | 19 | 10 |
| 1990s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 |
| 2000s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Israel
More social development data for Israel
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,274 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,265 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,265 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 distribution of democracy index in Israel?
- Distribution of democracy index in Israel was 16 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution of democracy index recorded in Israel?
- The highest recorded value was 20 in 1948.
- What is the lowest distribution of democracy index recorded in Israel?
- The lowest recorded value was 16 in 1981.
- How does Israel rank for distribution of democracy index?
- Israel ranks 87th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is distribution of democracy index rising or falling in Israel?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Israel data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Distribution of Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 71 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 0 to 20 (fully democratic).