Human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa
South Africa: Human rights index vs electoral democracy index was 0.857 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.857
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
54th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.867
in 2010
All-time low
0.121
in 1980
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa, 1900–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa is 0.857, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa peaked at 0.867 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.121, in 1980.
That places South Africa 54th 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.
Human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.285 | — |
| 1901 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.29 | +1.8% |
| 1911 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.292 | +0.7% |
| 1932 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.282 | -3.4% |
| 1948 | 0.195 | -30.9% |
| 1949 | 0.181 | -7.2% |
| 1950 | 0.174 | -3.9% |
| 1951 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.148 | -14.9% |
| 1961 | 0.148 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.142 | -4.1% |
| 1963 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.137 | -3.5% |
| 1965 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.136 | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 0.136 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.136 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.136 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.134 | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 0.134 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.131 | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 0.126 | -3.8% |
| 1978 | 0.126 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.126 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.121 | -4.0% |
| 1981 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.125 | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 0.126 | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 0.126 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.128 | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 0.135 | +5.5% |
| 1990 | 0.248 | +83.7% |
| 1991 | 0.291 | +17.3% |
| 1992 | 0.291 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.304 | +4.5% |
| 1994 | 0.584 | +92.1% |
| 1995 | 0.85 | +45.5% |
| 1996 | 0.859 | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.86 | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.86 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.858 | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.859 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 0.867 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 0.866 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.861 | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 0.859 | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 0.857 | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 0.867 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 0.867 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.843 | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 0.851 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.836 | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 0.826 | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.838 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 0.828 | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 0.85 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 0.867 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 0.857 | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.285 | 0.285 | 0.285 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2918 | 0.29 | 0.292 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2702 | 0.181 | 0.292 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.174 | 0.174 | 0.174 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1402 | 0.137 | 0.148 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1321 | 0.126 | 0.136 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1245 | 0.121 | 0.135 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6004 | 0.248 | 0.859 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8591 | 0.858 | 0.86 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8574 | 0.836 | 0.867 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8443 | 0.826 | 0.867 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa?
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index in South Africa was 0.857 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human rights index vs electoral democracy index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.867 in 2010.
- What is the lowest human rights index vs electoral democracy index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.121 in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for human rights index vs electoral democracy index?
- South Africa ranks 54th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is human rights index vs electoral democracy index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Human rights index vs 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).