Distribution of Democracy Index in Suriname
Suriname: Distribution of Democracy Index was 15 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Distribution of Democracy Index in Suriname, 1975–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Suriname recorded 15 for distribution of democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 44 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution of democracy index in Suriname peaked at 15 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1982.
That places Suriname 99th out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Distribution of Democracy Index in Suriname, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 15 | — |
| 1976 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 9 | -40.0% |
| 1981 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 4 | -55.6% |
| 1983 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 9 | +125.0% |
| 1988 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 12 | +33.3% |
| 1991 | 15 | +25.0% |
| 1992 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15 | +0.0% |
Suriname compared with similar countries
- Suriname's 15 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17, 88% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Suriname's 15 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 18, 83% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15 | 15 | 15 | 5 |
| 1980s | 6.5 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.7 | 12 | 15 | 10 |
| 2000s | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 2010s | 15 | 15 | 15 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Suriname
More social development data for Suriname
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 24 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 56 (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 56 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 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 Suriname?
- Distribution of democracy index in Suriname was 15 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution of democracy index recorded in Suriname?
- The highest recorded value was 15 in 1975.
- What is the lowest distribution of democracy index recorded in Suriname?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1982.
- How does Suriname rank for distribution of democracy index?
- Suriname ranks 99th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is distribution of democracy index rising or falling in Suriname?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Suriname 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 — 44 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).