Electoral Democracy Index in Malaysia
Malaysia: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.504 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electoral Democracy Index in Malaysia, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, electoral democracy index in Malaysia stood at 0.504.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 55.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy index in Malaysia peaked at 0.513 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.035, in 1942.
That places Malaysia 86th out of 176 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.046 | 0.046 | 0.046 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.046 | 0.046 | 0.046 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.046 | 0.046 | 0.046 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.046 | 0.046 | 0.046 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.05 | 0.035 | 0.069 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1794 | 0.069 | 0.315 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2945 | 0.209 | 0.311 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2318 | 0.146 | 0.276 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2685 | 0.257 | 0.278 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2591 | 0.257 | 0.266 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.303 | 0.277 | 0.331 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3527 | 0.321 | 0.47 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4735 | 0.425 | 0.513 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More social development data for Malaysia
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 2,477 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.504 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.355 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.739 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.303 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.739 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.504 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy index in Malaysia?
- Electoral democracy index in Malaysia was 0.504 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.513 in 2024.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.035 in 1942.
- How does Malaysia rank for electoral democracy index?
- Malaysia ranks 86th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral 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 to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.