Full democracy in Samoa
Samoa: Full democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Full democracy in Samoa, 1902–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Samoa recorded 1 for full democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 124 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, full democracy in Samoa peaked at 1 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1902.
Samoa ranks 1st of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
- 1 Andorra 1 compare
- 1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 compare
- 1 Argentina 1 compare
- 1 Australia 1 compare
- 1 Austria 1 compare
- 1 Bahamas 1 compare
- 1 Barbados 1 compare
- 1 Belgium 1 compare
- 1 Belize 1 compare
- 1 Brazil 1 compare
- 1 Bulgaria 1 compare
- 1 Canada 1 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 1 compare
- 1 Chile 1 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 1 compare
- 1 Croatia 1 compare
- 1 Cyprus 1 compare
- 1 Czechia 1 compare
- 1 Denmark 1 compare
- 1 Dominica 1 compare
- 1 Dominican Republic 1 compare
- 1 Estonia 1 compare
- 1 Fiji 1 compare
- 1 Finland 1 compare
- 1 France 1 compare
- 1 Germany 1 compare
- 1 Ghana 1 compare
- 1 Greece 1 compare
- 1 Grenada 1 compare
- 1 Guyana 1 compare
- 1 Iceland 1 compare
- 1 Italy 1 compare
- 1 Jamaica 1 compare
- 1 Japan 1 compare
- 1 Kiribati 1 compare
- 1 Latvia 1 compare
- 1 Lithuania 1 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 1 compare
- 1 Mauritius 1 compare
- 1 Micronesia (country) 1 compare
- 1 Mongolia 1 compare
- 1 Namibia 1 compare
- 1 Nauru 1 compare
- 1 Netherlands 1 compare
- 1 New Zealand 1 compare
- 1 Norway 1 compare
- 1 Palau 1 compare
- 1 Panama 1 compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 1 Poland 1 compare
- 1 Portugal 1 compare
- 1 Romania 1 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 1 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 compare
- 1 San Marino 1 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 1 compare
- 1 Seychelles 1 compare
- 1 Slovenia 1 compare
- 1 South Africa 1 compare
- 1 South Korea 1 compare
- 1 Spain 1 compare
- 1 Suriname 1 compare
- 1 Sweden 1 compare
- 1 Switzerland 1 compare
- 1 Taiwan 1 compare
- 1 Tonga 1 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 1 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 1 compare
- 1 United States 1 compare
- 1 Uruguay 1 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 1 compare
More social development data for Samoa
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 17 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Physical Integrity Rights Score 2.92 (2019)
- Asylum-seekers by country or territory of origin 496 (2025)
- Political Rights Score 32 (2025)
- Freedom Score 84 (2025)
- Sovereign state 1 (2025)
- States involved in state-based conflicts 0 (2025)
- Number of state-based conflicts 0 conflicts (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is full democracy in Samoa?
- Full democracy in Samoa was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest full democracy recorded in Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1990.
- What is the lowest full democracy recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1902.
- How does Samoa rank for full democracy?
- Samoa ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is full democracy rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Samoa data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Full democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 124 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies if a country is a full democracy using the extended Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy (LIED+).