What is key features of democracy in Australia?

Key features of democracy in Australia was 0.844 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Australia?

The highest recorded value was 0.896 in 2010.

What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Australia?

The lowest recorded value was 0.117 in 1789.

How does Australia rank for key features of democracy?

Australia ranks 15th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Australia?

Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Australia data come from?

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

Key features of democracy in Australia

Name: Key features of democracy in Australia
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Australia: Key features of democracy was 0.844 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.844

Change on year

down 0.5%

World rank

15th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.896

in 2010

All-time low

0.117

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Key features of democracy in Australia, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, key features of democracy in Australia stood at 0.844.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Australia peaked at 0.896 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.117, in 1789.

That places Australia 15th out of 176 countries 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.

Key features of democracy in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Key features of democracy in Australia, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.117	—
1790	0.117	+0.0%
1791	0.117	+0.0%
1792	0.117	+0.0%
1793	0.117	+0.0%
1794	0.117	+0.0%
1795	0.117	+0.0%
1796	0.117	+0.0%
1797	0.117	+0.0%
1798	0.117	+0.0%
1799	0.117	+0.0%
1800	0.117	+0.0%
1801	0.117	+0.0%
1802	0.117	+0.0%
1803	0.117	+0.0%
1804	0.117	+0.0%
1805	0.117	+0.0%
1806	0.117	+0.0%
1807	0.117	+0.0%
1808	0.117	+0.0%
1809	0.117	+0.0%
1810	0.117	+0.0%
1811	0.117	+0.0%
1812	0.117	+0.0%
1813	0.117	+0.0%
1814	0.117	+0.0%
1815	0.117	+0.0%
1816	0.117	+0.0%
1817	0.117	+0.0%
1818	0.117	+0.0%
1819	0.117	+0.0%
1820	0.117	+0.0%
1821	0.117	+0.0%
1822	0.117	+0.0%
1823	0.137	+17.1%
1824	0.204	+48.9%
1825	0.204	+0.0%
1826	0.204	+0.0%
1827	0.204	+0.0%
1828	0.204	+0.0%
1829	0.204	+0.0%
1830	0.204	+0.0%
1831	0.204	+0.0%
1832	0.204	+0.0%
1833	0.204	+0.0%
1834	0.204	+0.0%
1835	0.204	+0.0%
1836	0.204	+0.0%
1837	0.204	+0.0%
1838	0.204	+0.0%
1839	0.204	+0.0%
1840	0.204	+0.0%
1841	0.204	+0.0%
1842	0.204	+0.0%
1843	0.266	+30.4%
1844	0.313	+17.7%
1845	0.313	+0.0%
1846	0.313	+0.0%
1847	0.313	+0.0%
1848	0.314	+0.3%
1849	0.317	+1.0%
1850	0.317	+0.0%
1851	0.317	+0.0%
1852	0.316	-0.3%
1853	0.316	+0.0%
1854	0.316	+0.0%
1855	0.316	+0.0%
1856	0.339	+7.3%
1857	0.491	+44.8%
1858	0.581	+18.3%
1859	0.582	+0.2%
1860	0.582	+0.0%
1861	0.58	-0.3%
1862	0.58	+0.0%
1863	0.58	+0.0%
1864	0.58	+0.0%
1865	0.582	+0.3%
1866	0.582	+0.0%
1867	0.582	+0.0%
1868	0.582	+0.0%
1869	0.582	+0.0%
1870	0.583	+0.2%
1871	0.583	+0.0%
1872	0.58	-0.5%
1873	0.58	+0.0%
1874	0.58	+0.0%
1875	0.581	+0.2%
1876	0.581	+0.0%
1877	0.581	+0.0%
1878	0.581	+0.0%
1879	0.581	+0.0%
1880	0.582	+0.2%
1881	0.584	+0.3%
1882	0.584	+0.0%
1883	0.583	-0.2%
1884	0.583	+0.0%
1885	0.582	-0.2%
1886	0.581	-0.2%
1887	0.582	+0.2%
1888	0.582	+0.0%
1889	0.579	-0.5%
1890	0.579	+0.0%
1891	0.581	+0.3%
1892	0.582	+0.2%
1893	0.582	+0.0%
1894	0.582	+0.0%
1895	0.58	-0.3%
1896	0.58	+0.0%
1897	0.58	+0.0%
1898	0.575	-0.9%
1899	0.577	+0.3%
1900	0.634	+9.9%
1901	0.654	+3.2%
1902	0.768	+17.4%
1903	0.765	-0.4%
1904	0.777	+1.6%
1905	0.777	+0.0%
1906	0.777	+0.0%
1907	0.782	+0.6%
1908	0.782	+0.0%
1909	0.782	+0.0%
1910	0.775	-0.9%
1911	0.775	+0.0%
1912	0.775	+0.0%
1913	0.777	+0.3%
1914	0.754	-3.0%
1915	0.743	-1.5%
1916	0.735	-1.1%
1917	0.719	-2.2%
1918	0.74	+2.9%
1919	0.764	+3.2%
1920	0.796	+4.2%
1921	0.796	+0.0%
1922	0.796	+0.0%
1923	0.797	+0.1%
1924	0.797	+0.0%
1925	0.797	+0.0%
1926	0.797	+0.0%
1927	0.797	+0.0%
1928	0.797	+0.0%
1929	0.796	-0.1%
1930	0.799	+0.4%
1931	0.799	+0.0%
1932	0.799	+0.0%
1933	0.799	+0.0%
1934	0.799	+0.0%
1935	0.8	+0.1%
1936	0.8	+0.0%
1937	0.8	+0.0%
1938	0.8	+0.0%
1939	0.763	-4.6%
1940	0.739	-3.1%
1941	0.745	+0.8%
1942	0.771	+3.5%
1943	0.771	+0.0%
1944	0.777	+0.8%
1945	0.777	+0.0%
1946	0.817	+5.1%
1947	0.818	+0.1%
1948	0.818	+0.0%
1949	0.818	+0.0%
1950	0.804	-1.7%
1951	0.802	-0.2%
1952	0.808	+0.7%
1953	0.822	+1.7%
1954	0.826	+0.5%
1955	0.83	+0.5%
1956	0.834	+0.5%
1957	0.834	+0.0%
1958	0.835	+0.1%
1959	0.835	+0.0%
1960	0.834	-0.1%
1961	0.834	+0.0%
1962	0.837	+0.4%
1963	0.845	+1.0%
1964	0.842	-0.4%
1965	0.842	+0.0%
1966	0.842	+0.0%
1967	0.847	+0.6%
1968	0.847	+0.0%
1969	0.846	-0.1%
1970	0.86	+1.7%
1971	0.86	+0.0%
1972	0.861	+0.1%
1973	0.873	+1.4%
1974	0.87	-0.3%
1975	0.868	-0.2%
1976	0.862	-0.7%
1977	0.862	+0.0%
1978	0.863	+0.1%
1979	0.863	+0.0%
1980	0.871	+0.9%
1981	0.877	+0.7%
1982	0.877	+0.0%
1983	0.877	+0.0%
1984	0.884	+0.8%
1985	0.886	+0.2%
1986	0.886	+0.0%
1987	0.885	-0.1%
1988	0.885	+0.0%
1989	0.885	+0.0%
1990	0.892	+0.8%
1991	0.892	+0.0%
1992	0.892	+0.0%
1993	0.89	-0.2%
1994	0.889	-0.1%
1995	0.889	+0.0%
1996	0.891	+0.2%
1997	0.882	-1.0%
1998	0.882	+0.0%
1999	0.883	+0.1%
2000	0.888	+0.6%
2001	0.885	-0.3%
2002	0.879	-0.7%
2003	0.879	+0.0%
2004	0.879	+0.0%
2005	0.878	-0.1%
2006	0.878	+0.0%
2007	0.88	+0.2%
2008	0.889	+1.0%
2009	0.889	+0.0%
2010	0.896	+0.8%
2011	0.896	+0.0%
2012	0.896	+0.0%
2013	0.862	-3.8%
2014	0.855	-0.8%
2015	0.865	+1.2%
2016	0.871	+0.7%
2017	0.871	+0.0%
2018	0.86	-1.3%
2019	0.825	-4.1%
2020	0.837	+1.5%
2021	0.828	-1.1%
2022	0.846	+2.2%
2023	0.851	+0.6%
2024	0.848	-0.4%
2025	0.844	-0.5%

Australia compared with similar countries

Australia's 0.844 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Australia's 0.844 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.4645, 1.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.117	0.117	0.117	1
1790s	0.117	0.117	0.117	10
1800s	0.117	0.117	0.117	10
1810s	0.117	0.117	0.117	10
1820s	0.1712	0.117	0.204	10
1830s	0.204	0.204	0.204	10
1840s	0.2761	0.204	0.317	10
1850s	0.3891	0.316	0.582	10
1860s	0.5812	0.58	0.582	10
1870s	0.5811	0.58	0.583	10
1880s	0.5822	0.579	0.584	10
1890s	0.5798	0.575	0.582	10
1900s	0.7498	0.634	0.782	10
1910s	0.7557	0.719	0.777	10
1920s	0.7966	0.796	0.797	10
1930s	0.7958	0.763	0.8	10
1940s	0.7851	0.739	0.818	10
1950s	0.823	0.802	0.835	10
1960s	0.8416	0.834	0.847	10
1970s	0.8642	0.86	0.873	10
1980s	0.8813	0.871	0.886	10
1990s	0.8882	0.882	0.892	10
2000s	0.8824	0.878	0.889	10
2010s	0.8697	0.825	0.896	10
2020s	0.8423	0.828	0.851	6

Countries ranked near Australia

12 Finland 0.852 compare
13 Czechia 0.849 compare
13 New Zealand 0.849 compare
16 Canada 0.84 compare
17 Austria 0.839 compare
17 Chile 0.839 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Australia

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (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 41 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 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 Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of democracy in Australia?: Key features of democracy in Australia was 0.844 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Australia?: The highest recorded value was 0.896 in 2010.
What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Australia?: The lowest recorded value was 0.117 in 1789.
How does Australia rank for key features of democracy?: Australia ranks 15th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Australia?: Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of democracy in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-democracy/australia/

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About this data

Indicator: Key features of democracy
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.