Egalitarian Democracy Index in United States
United States: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.472 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Egalitarian Democracy Index in United States, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, egalitarian democracy index in United States stood at 0.472.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 22.9% on the previous year and down 35.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in United States peaked at 0.734 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.179, in 1917.
That places United States 57th out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.184 | — |
| 1901 | 0.184 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.184 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.185 | +0.5% |
| 1904 | 0.184 | -0.5% |
| 1905 | 0.183 | -0.5% |
| 1906 | 0.183 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.184 | +0.5% |
| 1908 | 0.184 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.185 | +0.5% |
| 1910 | 0.185 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.186 | +0.5% |
| 1912 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.187 | +0.5% |
| 1914 | 0.186 | -0.5% |
| 1915 | 0.188 | +1.1% |
| 1916 | 0.186 | -1.1% |
| 1917 | 0.179 | -3.8% |
| 1918 | 0.18 | +0.6% |
| 1919 | 0.183 | +1.7% |
| 1920 | 0.233 | +27.3% |
| 1921 | 0.237 | +1.7% |
| 1922 | 0.238 | +0.4% |
| 1923 | 0.243 | +2.1% |
| 1924 | 0.243 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.245 | +0.8% |
| 1926 | 0.246 | +0.4% |
| 1927 | 0.245 | -0.4% |
| 1928 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.243 | -0.8% |
| 1930 | 0.246 | +1.2% |
| 1931 | 0.254 | +3.3% |
| 1932 | 0.266 | +4.7% |
| 1933 | 0.287 | +7.9% |
| 1934 | 0.289 | +0.7% |
| 1935 | 0.292 | +1.0% |
| 1936 | 0.293 | +0.3% |
| 1937 | 0.294 | +0.3% |
| 1938 | 0.294 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.291 | -1.0% |
| 1940 | 0.307 | +5.5% |
| 1941 | 0.304 | -1.0% |
| 1942 | 0.296 | -2.6% |
| 1943 | 0.294 | -0.7% |
| 1944 | 0.294 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.305 | +3.7% |
| 1946 | 0.322 | +5.6% |
| 1947 | 0.326 | +1.2% |
| 1948 | 0.323 | -0.9% |
| 1949 | 0.311 | -3.7% |
| 1950 | 0.32 | +2.9% |
| 1951 | 0.336 | +5.0% |
| 1952 | 0.335 | -0.3% |
| 1953 | 0.328 | -2.1% |
| 1954 | 0.326 | -0.6% |
| 1955 | 0.332 | +1.8% |
| 1956 | 0.337 | +1.5% |
| 1957 | 0.339 | +0.6% |
| 1958 | 0.343 | +1.2% |
| 1959 | 0.343 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.367 | +7.0% |
| 1961 | 0.374 | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 0.377 | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 0.388 | +2.9% |
| 1964 | 0.411 | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 0.418 | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 0.454 | +8.6% |
| 1967 | 0.459 | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 0.46 | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 0.489 | +6.3% |
| 1970 | 0.552 | +12.9% |
| 1971 | 0.556 | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 0.567 | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 0.584 | +3.0% |
| 1974 | 0.59 | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 0.605 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 0.614 | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 0.647 | +5.4% |
| 1978 | 0.653 | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 0.652 | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 0.667 | +2.3% |
| 1981 | 0.681 | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 0.677 | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.677 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.676 | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 0.673 | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 0.677 | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 0.681 | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 0.68 | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 0.675 | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 0.692 | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 0.703 | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 0.706 | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 0.705 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.706 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 0.708 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 0.708 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.706 | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 0.691 | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 0.65 | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 0.651 | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 0.681 | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 0.681 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.675 | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 0.681 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 0.718 | +5.4% |
| 2008 | 0.726 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 0.721 | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 0.728 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 0.726 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.726 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.734 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.73 | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.728 | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.708 | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 0.653 | -7.8% |
| 2018 | 0.635 | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 0.631 | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 0.625 | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6 | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 0.606 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.61 | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 0.612 | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 0.472 | -22.9% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.472 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.671, 70% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Egalitarian Democracy Index in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | +27.3% | 0.183 | 0.233 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.184 | 0.183 | 0.185 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.1846 | 0.179 | 0.188 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2418 | 0.233 | 0.246 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2806 | 0.246 | 0.294 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.3082 | 0.294 | 0.326 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.3339 | 0.32 | 0.343 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4197 | 0.367 | 0.489 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.602 | 0.552 | 0.653 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6764 | 0.667 | 0.681 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7044 | 0.692 | 0.708 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6875 | 0.65 | 0.726 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6999 | 0.631 | 0.734 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5875 | 0.472 | 0.625 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (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 3,667 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 United States?
- Egalitarian democracy index in United States was 0.472 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.734 in 2013.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.179 in 1917.
- How does United States rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- United States ranks 57th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.