Key features of democracy in Canada
Canada: Key features of democracy was 0.84 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Key features of democracy in Canada, 1841–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Canada recorded 0.84 for key features of democracy in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Canada peaked at 0.85 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.3, in 1861.
Canada ranks 16th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 185 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0.3067 | 0.303 | 0.309 | 9 |
| 1850s | 0.3025 | 0.301 | 0.304 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.3254 | 0.3 | 0.401 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.4079 | 0.401 | 0.436 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.4397 | 0.436 | 0.449 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.4645 | 0.448 | 0.478 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.4793 | 0.471 | 0.482 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.4668 | 0.431 | 0.482 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.6351 | 0.463 | 0.671 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.6658 | 0.651 | 0.694 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.678 | 0.652 | 0.716 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.7504 | 0.744 | 0.754 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8094 | 0.776 | 0.817 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.825 | 0.82 | 0.832 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8321 | 0.828 | 0.835 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8371 | 0.831 | 0.846 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8282 | 0.824 | 0.836 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8248 | 0.807 | 0.85 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8447 | 0.84 | 0.849 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More social development data for Canada
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 360 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Public Sector Corruption Index 0.009 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.933 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.865 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.84 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.589 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.736 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of democracy in Canada?
- Key features of democracy in Canada was 0.84 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 0.85 in 2019.
- What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3 in 1861.
- How does Canada rank for key features of democracy?
- Canada ranks 16th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 185 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.