What is electoral democracy in Ireland?

Electoral democracy in Ireland was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?

The highest recorded value was 2 in 1922.

What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?

The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.

How does Ireland rank for electoral democracy?

Ireland ranks 1st out of 176 regions with data for 2025.

Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Ireland?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Ireland data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Electoral democracy in Ireland

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

Ireland: Electoral democracy was 2 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

Change on year

unchanged

Rank

1st

of 176 regions

All-time high

in 1922

All-time low

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Electoral democracy in Ireland, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for electoral democracy in Ireland is 2, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, electoral democracy in Ireland peaked at 2 in 1922 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

That places Ireland 1st out of 176 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0	0	0	1
1790s	1	1	1	10
1800s	1	1	1	10
1810s	1	1	1	10
1820s	1	1	1	10
1830s	1	1	1	10
1840s	1	1	1	10
1850s	1	1	1	10
1860s	1	1	1	10
1870s	1	1	1	10
1880s	1	1	1	10
1890s	1	1	1	10
1900s	1	1	1	10
1910s	0.9	0	1	10
1920s	1.7	0	2	10
1930s	2	2	2	10
1940s	2	2	2	10
1950s	2	2	2	10
1960s	2	2	2	10
1970s	2	2	2	10
1980s	2	2	2	10
1990s	2	2	2	10
2000s	2	2	2	10
2010s	2	2	2	10
2020s	2	2	2	6

Countries ranked near Ireland

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Ireland

Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 137,869 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 69 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Key features of democracy 0.887 (2025)
Freedom of Expression Index 0.97 (2025)
Freedom of Association Index 0.912 (2025)
Electoral Democracy Index 0.887 (2025)
Participatory Democracy Index 0.619 (2025)
Liberal Democracy Index 0.822 (2025)

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy in Ireland?: Electoral democracy in Ireland was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?: The highest recorded value was 2 in 1922.
What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?: The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does Ireland rank for electoral democracy?: Ireland ranks 1st out of 176 regions with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Ireland?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. 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).

About this data

Indicator: Electoral democracy
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,594 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Identifies the political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg.