Distribution of Democracy Index in Malaysia
Malaysia: Distribution of Democracy Index was 17 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Distribution of Democracy Index in Malaysia, 1957–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 17 for distribution of democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 62 years on record.
That represents a change of up 13.3% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution of democracy index in Malaysia peaked at 17 in 1957 and was at its lowest, 11, in 1969.
That places Malaysia 70th out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Distribution of Democracy Index in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 17 | — |
| 1958 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 11 | -35.3% |
| 1970 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 14 | +27.3% |
| 1972 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 13 | -7.1% |
| 1997 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16 | +23.1% |
| 2009 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 15 | -6.2% |
| 2015 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 17 | +13.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 17 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 17 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 17.5, 97% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 17 | 17 | 17 | 3 |
| 1960s | 16.4 | 11 | 17 | 10 |
| 1970s | 13.7 | 11 | 14 | 10 |
| 1980s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.6 | 13 | 14 | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.6 | 13 | 16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.67 | 15 | 17 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 70 Armenia 17 compare
- 70 Benin 17 compare
- 70 Bhutan 17 compare
- 70 Bolivia 17 compare
- 70 Colombia 17 compare
- 70 Dominican Republic 17 compare
- 70 Georgia 17 compare
- 70 Guyana 17 compare
- 70 Honduras 17 compare
- 70 Liberia 17 compare
- 70 Nepal 17 compare
- 70 Nigeria 17 compare
- 70 Pakistan 17 compare
- 70 Senegal 17 compare
- 70 Sierra Leone 17 compare
- 70 Tunisia 17 compare
More social development data for Malaysia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (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 2,477 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 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 Malaysia?
- Distribution of democracy index in Malaysia was 17 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution of democracy index recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 17 in 1957.
- What is the lowest distribution of democracy index recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11 in 1969.
- How does Malaysia rank for distribution of democracy index?
- Malaysia ranks 70th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is distribution of democracy index rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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 — 62 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).