What is electoral democracy index in Spain?

Electoral democracy index in Spain was 0.822 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Spain?

The highest recorded value was 0.894 in 1997.

What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Spain?

The lowest recorded value was 0.019 in 1789.

How does Spain rank for electoral democracy index?

Spain ranks 22nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Spain?

Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Spain 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.

Electoral Democracy Index in Spain

Name: Electoral Democracy Index in Spain
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Spain: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.822 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.822

Change on year

down 0.5%

World rank

22nd

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.894

in 1997

All-time low

0.019

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Electoral Democracy Index in Spain, 1789–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Spain recorded 0.822 for electoral democracy index in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, electoral democracy index in Spain peaked at 0.894 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.019, in 1789.

That places Spain 22nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Electoral Democracy Index in Spain, year by year

Annual values for Electoral Democracy Index in Spain, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.019	—
1790	0.019	+0.0%
1791	0.019	+0.0%
1792	0.019	+0.0%
1793	0.019	+0.0%
1794	0.019	+0.0%
1795	0.019	+0.0%
1796	0.019	+0.0%
1797	0.019	+0.0%
1798	0.019	+0.0%
1799	0.019	+0.0%
1800	0.019	+0.0%
1801	0.019	+0.0%
1802	0.019	+0.0%
1803	0.019	+0.0%
1804	0.019	+0.0%
1805	0.019	+0.0%
1806	0.019	+0.0%
1807	0.019	+0.0%
1808	0.057	+200.0%
1809	0.069	+21.1%
1810	0.069	+0.0%
1811	0.069	+0.0%
1812	0.1	+44.9%
1813	0.121	+21.0%
1814	0.079	-34.7%
1815	0.033	-58.2%
1816	0.033	+0.0%
1817	0.033	+0.0%
1818	0.033	+0.0%
1819	0.033	+0.0%
1820	0.166	+403.0%
1821	0.18	+8.4%
1822	0.18	+0.0%
1823	0.158	-12.2%
1824	0.038	-75.9%
1825	0.038	+0.0%
1826	0.038	+0.0%
1827	0.038	+0.0%
1828	0.038	+0.0%
1829	0.038	+0.0%
1830	0.038	+0.0%
1831	0.038	+0.0%
1832	0.038	+0.0%
1833	0.039	+2.6%
1834	0.063	+61.5%
1835	0.063	+0.0%
1836	0.144	+128.6%
1837	0.155	+7.6%
1838	0.16	+3.2%
1839	0.16	+0.0%
1840	0.177	+10.6%
1841	0.13	-26.6%
1842	0.13	+0.0%
1843	0.129	-0.8%
1844	0.129	+0.0%
1845	0.129	+0.0%
1846	0.125	-3.1%
1847	0.126	+0.8%
1848	0.119	-5.6%
1849	0.119	+0.0%
1850	0.119	+0.0%
1851	0.119	+0.0%
1852	0.119	+0.0%
1853	0.119	+0.0%
1854	0.135	+13.4%
1855	0.144	+6.7%
1856	0.144	+0.0%
1857	0.124	-13.9%
1858	0.127	+2.4%
1859	0.13	+2.4%
1860	0.13	+0.0%
1861	0.13	+0.0%
1862	0.13	+0.0%
1863	0.13	+0.0%
1864	0.129	-0.8%
1865	0.131	+1.6%
1866	0.129	-1.5%
1867	0.125	-3.1%
1868	0.148	+18.4%
1869	0.268	+81.1%
1870	0.268	+0.0%
1871	0.268	+0.0%
1872	0.268	+0.0%
1873	0.268	+0.0%
1874	0.191	-28.7%
1875	0.161	-15.7%
1876	0.162	+0.6%
1877	0.162	+0.0%
1878	0.162	+0.0%
1879	0.137	-15.4%
1880	0.141	+2.9%
1881	0.146	+3.5%
1882	0.159	+8.9%
1883	0.159	+0.0%
1884	0.158	-0.6%
1885	0.158	+0.0%
1886	0.159	+0.6%
1887	0.159	+0.0%
1888	0.159	+0.0%
1889	0.159	+0.0%
1890	0.159	+0.0%
1891	0.186	+17.0%
1892	0.186	+0.0%
1893	0.186	+0.0%
1894	0.184	-1.1%
1895	0.184	+0.0%
1896	0.185	+0.5%
1897	0.185	+0.0%
1898	0.184	-0.5%
1899	0.184	+0.0%
1900	0.185	+0.5%
1901	0.183	-1.1%
1902	0.181	-1.1%
1903	0.182	+0.6%
1904	0.182	+0.0%
1905	0.183	+0.5%
1906	0.184	+0.5%
1907	0.183	-0.5%
1908	0.182	-0.5%
1909	0.182	+0.0%
1910	0.181	-0.5%
1911	0.18	-0.6%
1912	0.18	+0.0%
1913	0.18	+0.0%
1914	0.179	-0.6%
1915	0.179	+0.0%
1916	0.179	+0.0%
1917	0.179	+0.0%
1918	0.178	-0.6%
1919	0.179	+0.6%
1920	0.179	+0.0%
1921	0.18	+0.6%
1922	0.176	-2.2%
1923	0.093	-47.2%
1924	0.061	-34.4%
1925	0.061	+0.0%
1926	0.061	+0.0%
1927	0.061	+0.0%
1928	0.061	+0.0%
1929	0.061	+0.0%
1930	0.063	+3.3%
1931	0.274	+334.9%
1932	0.559	+104.0%
1933	0.558	-0.2%
1934	0.551	-1.3%
1935	0.551	+0.0%
1936	0.497	-9.8%
1937	0.358	-28.0%
1938	0.343	-4.2%
1939	0.171	-50.1%
1940	0.07	-59.1%
1941	0.069	-1.4%
1942	0.069	+0.0%
1943	0.069	+0.0%
1944	0.069	+0.0%
1945	0.069	+0.0%
1946	0.069	+0.0%
1947	0.069	+0.0%
1948	0.069	+0.0%
1949	0.069	+0.0%
1950	0.069	+0.0%
1951	0.069	+0.0%
1952	0.069	+0.0%
1953	0.069	+0.0%
1954	0.069	+0.0%
1955	0.069	+0.0%
1956	0.069	+0.0%
1957	0.069	+0.0%
1958	0.069	+0.0%
1959	0.07	+1.4%
1960	0.07	+0.0%
1961	0.07	+0.0%
1962	0.07	+0.0%
1963	0.072	+2.9%
1964	0.072	+0.0%
1965	0.072	+0.0%
1966	0.077	+6.9%
1967	0.086	+11.7%
1968	0.104	+20.9%
1969	0.104	+0.0%
1970	0.104	+0.0%
1971	0.106	+1.9%
1972	0.112	+5.7%
1973	0.112	+0.0%
1974	0.113	+0.9%
1975	0.118	+4.4%
1976	0.145	+22.9%
1977	0.403	+177.9%
1978	0.766	+90.1%
1979	0.859	+12.1%
1980	0.867	+0.9%
1981	0.867	+0.0%
1982	0.881	+1.6%
1983	0.889	+0.9%
1984	0.889	+0.0%
1985	0.889	+0.0%
1986	0.89	+0.1%
1987	0.891	+0.1%
1988	0.891	+0.0%
1989	0.891	+0.0%
1990	0.892	+0.1%
1991	0.892	+0.0%
1992	0.892	+0.0%
1993	0.892	+0.0%
1994	0.892	+0.0%
1995	0.892	+0.0%
1996	0.893	+0.1%
1997	0.894	+0.1%
1998	0.894	+0.0%
1999	0.894	+0.0%
2000	0.893	-0.1%
2001	0.893	+0.0%
2002	0.893	+0.0%
2003	0.875	-2.0%
2004	0.875	+0.0%
2005	0.879	+0.5%
2006	0.879	+0.0%
2007	0.876	-0.3%
2008	0.886	+1.1%
2009	0.888	+0.2%
2010	0.892	+0.5%
2011	0.893	+0.1%
2012	0.889	-0.4%
2013	0.875	-1.6%
2014	0.871	-0.5%
2015	0.856	-1.7%
2016	0.847	-1.1%
2017	0.835	-1.4%
2018	0.851	+1.9%
2019	0.871	+2.4%
2020	0.874	+0.3%
2021	0.85	-2.7%
2022	0.867	+2.0%
2023	0.846	-2.4%
2024	0.826	-2.4%
2025	0.822	-0.5%

Spain compared with similar countries

Spain's 0.822 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Spain's 0.822 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.737, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.019	0.019	0.019	1
1790s	0.019	0.019	0.019	10
1800s	0.0278	0.019	0.069	10
1810s	0.0603	0.033	0.121	10
1820s	0.0912	0.038	0.18	10
1830s	0.0898	0.038	0.16	10
1840s	0.1313	0.119	0.177	10
1850s	0.128	0.119	0.144	10
1860s	0.145	0.125	0.268	10
1870s	0.2047	0.137	0.268	10
1880s	0.1557	0.141	0.159	10
1890s	0.1823	0.159	0.186	10
1900s	0.1827	0.181	0.185	10
1910s	0.1794	0.178	0.181	10
1920s	0.0994	0.061	0.18	10
1930s	0.3925	0.063	0.559	10
1940s	0.0691	0.069	0.07	10
1950s	0.0691	0.069	0.07	10
1960s	0.0797	0.07	0.104	10
1970s	0.2838	0.104	0.859	10
1980s	0.8845	0.867	0.891	10
1990s	0.8927	0.892	0.894	10
2000s	0.8837	0.875	0.893	10
2010s	0.868	0.835	0.893	10
2020s	0.8475	0.822	0.874	6

Countries ranked near Spain

19 Latvia 0.834 compare
20 Netherlands 0.832 compare
21 Germany 0.828 compare
22 Portugal 0.822 compare
24 Japan 0.819 compare
24 South Korea 0.819 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Spain

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 511,079 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 186 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 186 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0104 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy index in Spain?: Electoral democracy index in Spain was 0.822 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Spain?: The highest recorded value was 0.894 in 1997.
What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Spain?: The lowest recorded value was 0.019 in 1789.
How does Spain rank for electoral democracy index?: Spain ranks 22nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Spain?: Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Spain 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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Electoral Democracy Index in Spain. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/electoral-democracy-index/spain/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/electoral-democracy-index/spain/">Electoral Democracy Index in Spain</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Electoral Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

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.