Distribution democracy index polity in South Africa
South Africa: Distribution democracy index polity was 19 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Distribution democracy index polity in South Africa, 1910–2018
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for distribution democracy index polity in South Africa is 19, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 109 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution democracy index polity in South Africa peaked at 19 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 14, in 1910.
South Africa ranks 33rd of 167 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 109 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1920s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1930s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1940s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1950s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1960s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1970s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1980s | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.8 | 15 | 19 | 10 |
| 2000s | 19 | 19 | 19 | 10 |
| 2010s | 19 | 19 | 19 | 9 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 33 Albania 19 compare
- 33 Argentina 19 compare
- 33 Bulgaria 19 compare
- 33 Croatia 19 compare
- 33 Czechia 19 compare
- 33 Estonia 19 compare
- 33 India 19 compare
- 33 Indonesia 19 compare
- 33 Jamaica 19 compare
- 33 Kenya 19 compare
- 33 Moldova 19 compare
- 33 Montenegro 19 compare
- 33 North Macedonia 19 compare
- 33 Panama 19 compare
- 33 Paraguay 19 compare
- 33 Peru 19 compare
- 33 Romania 19 compare
- 33 Trinidad and Tobago 19 compare
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.857 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.633 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.87 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.837 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.47 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is distribution democracy index polity in South Africa?
- Distribution democracy index polity in South Africa was 19 in 2018, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution democracy index polity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 19 in 1994.
- What is the lowest distribution democracy index polity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 14 in 1910.
- How does South Africa rank for distribution democracy index polity?
- South Africa ranks 33rd out of 167 groups with data for 2018.
- Is distribution democracy index polity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Distribution democracy index polity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 109 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).