Egalitarian Democracy Index in India
India: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.201 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.201
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
118th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.501
in 1995
All-time low
0.067
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Egalitarian Democracy Index in India, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for egalitarian democracy index in India is 0.201, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 36.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in India peaked at 0.501 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.067, in 1900.
That places India 118th out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.067 | — |
| 1901 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.069 | +3.0% |
| 1910 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.073 | +5.8% |
| 1921 | 0.082 | +12.3% |
| 1922 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.083 | +1.2% |
| 1925 | 0.083 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.083 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.082 | -1.2% |
| 1928 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.082 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.087 | +6.1% |
| 1934 | 0.087 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.096 | +10.3% |
| 1936 | 0.097 | +1.0% |
| 1937 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.097 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.101 | +4.1% |
| 1946 | 0.104 | +3.0% |
| 1947 | 0.113 | +8.7% |
| 1948 | 0.172 | +52.2% |
| 1949 | 0.171 | -0.6% |
| 1950 | 0.201 | +17.5% |
| 1951 | 0.22 | +9.5% |
| 1952 | 0.366 | +66.4% |
| 1953 | 0.405 | +10.7% |
| 1954 | 0.405 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.407 | +0.5% |
| 1956 | 0.407 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.414 | +1.7% |
| 1958 | 0.415 | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.403 | -2.9% |
| 1963 | 0.401 | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.396 | -1.2% |
| 1966 | 0.397 | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 0.407 | +2.5% |
| 1968 | 0.41 | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.418 | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 0.388 | -7.2% |
| 1972 | 0.388 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.388 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.372 | -4.1% |
| 1975 | 0.27 | -27.4% |
| 1976 | 0.265 | -1.9% |
| 1977 | 0.32 | +20.8% |
| 1978 | 0.424 | +32.5% |
| 1979 | 0.425 | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 0.424 | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 0.421 | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 0.42 | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 0.421 | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 0.418 | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 0.429 | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 0.438 | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 0.438 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.437 | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 0.44 | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 0.46 | +4.5% |
| 1991 | 0.477 | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 0.484 | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.498 | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 0.5 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 0.501 | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 0.496 | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 0.497 | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 0.499 | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 0.491 | -1.6% |
| 2000 | 0.492 | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 0.482 | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.483 | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 0.481 | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.477 | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 0.471 | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 0.467 | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.467 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.467 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.438 | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 0.424 | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 0.424 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.409 | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.407 | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.374 | -8.1% |
| 2015 | 0.318 | -15.0% |
| 2016 | 0.311 | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 0.287 | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 0.277 | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 0.224 | -19.1% |
| 2020 | 0.221 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.234 | +5.9% |
| 2022 | 0.219 | -6.4% |
| 2023 | 0.205 | -6.4% |
| 2024 | 0.201 | -2.0% |
| 2025 | 0.201 | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 0.201 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2285, 88% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- India's 0.201 is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.3965, 51% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Egalitarian Democracy Index in India 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | +66.4% | 0.22 | 0.366 |
| 1948 | +52.2% | 0.113 | 0.172 |
| 1978 | +32.5% | 0.32 | 0.424 |
| 1975 | -27.4% | 0.372 | 0.27 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0672 | 0.067 | 0.069 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.069 | 0.069 | 0.069 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0814 | 0.073 | 0.083 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0904 | 0.082 | 0.097 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1146 | 0.097 | 0.172 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.3655 | 0.201 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4055 | 0.396 | 0.415 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3658 | 0.265 | 0.425 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4286 | 0.418 | 0.44 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4903 | 0.46 | 0.501 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4725 | 0.438 | 0.492 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3455 | 0.224 | 0.424 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2135 | 0.201 | 0.234 | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More social development data for India
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 238,643 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 42,610 (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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 42,610 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 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 India?
- Egalitarian democracy index in India was 0.201 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 0.501 in 1995.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.067 in 1900.
- How does India rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- India ranks 118th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India 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.