Egalitarian Democracy Index in China
China: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.078 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.078
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
167th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.149
in 1977
All-time low
0.013
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Egalitarian Democracy Index in China, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, egalitarian democracy index in China stood at 0.078.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in China peaked at 0.149 in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.013, in 1900.
That places China 167th out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.013 | — |
| 1901 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.014 | +7.7% |
| 1906 | 0.014 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.014 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.016 | +14.3% |
| 1909 | 0.016 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.015 | -6.3% |
| 1911 | 0.016 | +6.7% |
| 1912 | 0.04 | +150.0% |
| 1913 | 0.056 | +40.0% |
| 1914 | 0.053 | -5.4% |
| 1915 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.054 | +1.9% |
| 1917 | 0.054 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.055 | +1.9% |
| 1919 | 0.055 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.054 | -1.8% |
| 1921 | 0.056 | +3.7% |
| 1922 | 0.054 | -3.6% |
| 1923 | 0.054 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.054 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.054 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.056 | +3.7% |
| 1927 | 0.056 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.056 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.066 | +17.9% |
| 1930 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.067 | +1.5% |
| 1934 | 0.066 | -1.5% |
| 1935 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.065 | -1.5% |
| 1937 | 0.068 | +4.6% |
| 1938 | 0.069 | +1.5% |
| 1939 | 0.067 | -2.9% |
| 1940 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.068 | +1.5% |
| 1944 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.067 | -1.5% |
| 1947 | 0.077 | +14.9% |
| 1948 | 0.081 | +5.2% |
| 1949 | 0.09 | +11.1% |
| 1950 | 0.142 | +57.8% |
| 1951 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.14 | -1.4% |
| 1958 | 0.137 | -2.1% |
| 1959 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.14 | +2.2% |
| 1962 | 0.143 | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 0.143 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.143 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.142 | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 0.145 | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 0.145 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.147 | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.149 | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 0.132 | -11.4% |
| 1979 | 0.12 | -9.1% |
| 1980 | 0.125 | +4.2% |
| 1981 | 0.126 | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 0.126 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.126 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.125 | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 0.126 | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 0.123 | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 0.123 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.122 | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 0.123 | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 0.114 | -7.3% |
| 1991 | 0.116 | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 0.117 | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 0.113 | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 0.112 | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 0.112 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.112 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.112 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.109 | -2.7% |
| 1999 | 0.11 | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 0.106 | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 0.106 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.107 | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 0.112 | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 0.107 | -4.5% |
| 2005 | 0.105 | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 0.104 | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 0.105 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 0.106 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 0.108 | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 0.106 | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 0.107 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 0.105 | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.097 | -7.6% |
| 2014 | 0.094 | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 0.095 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.098 | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 0.094 | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 0.094 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.09 | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 0.091 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.082 | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.08 | -2.4% |
| 2025 | 0.078 | -2.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.078 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.306, 25% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- China's 0.078 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.311, 25% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Egalitarian Democracy Index in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | +150.0% | 0.016 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | +57.8% | 0.09 | 0.142 |
| 1913 | +40.0% | 0.04 | 0.056 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0139 | 0.013 | 0.016 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0451 | 0.015 | 0.056 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.056 | 0.054 | 0.066 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0666 | 0.065 | 0.069 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.072 | 0.067 | 0.09 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1408 | 0.137 | 0.142 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1432 | 0.137 | 0.147 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.143 | 0.12 | 0.149 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1245 | 0.122 | 0.126 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1127 | 0.109 | 0.117 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1066 | 0.104 | 0.112 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0985 | 0.094 | 0.107 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0838 | 0.078 | 0.091 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More social development data for China
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (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 153,962 (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 egalitarian democracy index in China?
- Egalitarian democracy index in China was 0.078 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.149 in 1977.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.013 in 1900.
- How does China rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- China ranks 167th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Egalitarian Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which the protection of rights, access to power, and distribution of resources is equal.