What is equal rights protection index in United States?

Equal rights protection index in United States was 0.608 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest equal rights protection index recorded in United States?

The highest recorded value was 0.859 in 1977.

What is the lowest equal rights protection index recorded in United States?

The lowest recorded value was 0.338 in 1789.

How does United States rank for equal rights protection index?

United States ranks 101st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is equal rights protection index rising or falling in United States?

Over the last ten years it is down 26.7%. 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 Equal Rights Protection Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Equal Rights Protection Index in United States

Name: Equal Rights Protection Index in United States
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

United States: Equal Rights Protection Index was 0.608 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.608

Change on year

down 14.2%

World rank

101st

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.859

in 1977

All-time low

0.338

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Equal Rights Protection Index in United States, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

United States recorded 0.608 for equal rights protection index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 14.2% on the previous year and down 26.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, equal rights protection index in United States peaked at 0.859 in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.338, in 1789.

That places United States 101st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.338	0.338	0.338	1
1790s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1800s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1810s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1820s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1830s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1840s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1850s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1860s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1870s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1880s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1890s	0.338	0.338	0.338	10
1900s	0.373	0.373	0.373	10
1910s	0.373	0.373	0.373	10
1920s	0.372	0.372	0.372	10
1930s	0.372	0.372	0.372	10
1940s	0.4386	0.435	0.444	10
1950s	0.449	0.444	0.454	10
1960s	0.593	0.495	0.835	10
1970s	0.8569	0.856	0.859	10
1980s	0.859	0.859	0.859	10
1990s	0.851	0.851	0.851	10
2000s	0.8489	0.83	0.851	10
2010s	0.8283	0.823	0.834	10
2020s	0.684	0.608	0.802	6

Countries ranked near United States

98 Brazil 0.624 compare
99 Argentina 0.623 compare
100 Portugal 0.614 compare
102 Azerbaijan 0.604 compare
102 Uruguay 0.604 compare
104 Sri Lanka 0.602 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for United States

Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Liberal democracy 2 (2025)
Liberal Democracy Index 0.571 (2025)
Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
Human Rights Index 0.826 (2025)
Participatory Democracy Index 0.51 (2025)
Key features of human rights 0.826 (2025)

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is equal rights protection index in United States?: Equal rights protection index in United States was 0.608 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest equal rights protection index recorded in United States?: The highest recorded value was 0.859 in 1977.
What is the lowest equal rights protection index recorded in United States?: The lowest recorded value was 0.338 in 1789.
How does United States rank for equal rights protection index?: United States ranks 101st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is equal rights protection index rising or falling in United States?: Over the last ten years it is down 26.7%. 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 Equal Rights Protection 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).

About this data

Indicator: Equal Rights Protection Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,496 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which the state protects the rights and freedoms across social groups equally.