Key features of democracy in Guyana
Guyana: Key features of democracy was 0.515 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.515
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
82nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.664
in 2018
All-time low
0.121
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of democracy in Guyana, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for key features of democracy in Guyana is 0.515, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and down 20.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Guyana peaked at 0.664 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.121, in 1900.
That places Guyana 82nd 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 126 years of available data.
Key features of democracy in Guyana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.121 | — |
| 1901 | 0.219 | +81.0% |
| 1902 | 0.219 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.219 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.219 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.219 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.218 | -0.5% |
| 1907 | 0.218 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.218 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.218 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.221 | +1.4% |
| 1911 | 0.22 | -0.5% |
| 1912 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.222 | +0.9% |
| 1917 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.221 | -0.5% |
| 1922 | 0.22 | -0.5% |
| 1923 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.219 | -0.5% |
| 1927 | 0.216 | -1.4% |
| 1928 | 0.215 | -0.5% |
| 1929 | 0.221 | +2.8% |
| 1930 | 0.222 | +0.5% |
| 1931 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.224 | +0.9% |
| 1937 | 0.224 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.225 | +0.4% |
| 1939 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.237 | +5.3% |
| 1946 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.239 | +0.8% |
| 1948 | 0.238 | -0.4% |
| 1949 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.239 | +0.4% |
| 1951 | 0.239 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.276 | +15.5% |
| 1953 | 0.266 | -3.6% |
| 1954 | 0.2 | -24.8% |
| 1955 | 0.2 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.2 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.233 | +16.5% |
| 1958 | 0.301 | +29.2% |
| 1959 | 0.301 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.299 | -0.7% |
| 1961 | 0.296 | -1.0% |
| 1962 | 0.289 | -2.4% |
| 1963 | 0.289 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.288 | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 0.274 | -4.9% |
| 1966 | 0.286 | +4.4% |
| 1967 | 0.421 | +47.2% |
| 1968 | 0.407 | -3.3% |
| 1969 | 0.338 | -17.0% |
| 1970 | 0.321 | -5.0% |
| 1971 | 0.321 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.315 | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 0.305 | -3.2% |
| 1974 | 0.294 | -3.6% |
| 1975 | 0.294 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.292 | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 0.286 | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 0.282 | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 0.282 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.269 | -4.6% |
| 1981 | 0.248 | -7.8% |
| 1982 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.249 | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 0.245 | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 0.284 | +15.9% |
| 1987 | 0.292 | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 0.297 | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 0.3 | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 0.314 | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 0.309 | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 0.358 | +15.9% |
| 1993 | 0.444 | +24.0% |
| 1994 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.452 | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 0.523 | +15.7% |
| 1999 | 0.522 | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 0.519 | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.553 | +6.6% |
| 2002 | 0.572 | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 0.588 | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 0.588 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.588 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.583 | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 0.579 | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 0.576 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.583 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.582 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.579 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.608 | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 0.607 | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 0.65 | +7.1% |
| 2016 | 0.657 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 0.66 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.664 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.64 | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 0.555 | -13.3% |
| 2021 | 0.498 | -10.3% |
| 2022 | 0.491 | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 0.484 | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 0.491 | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 0.515 | +4.9% |
Guyana compared with similar countries
- Guyana's 0.515 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 66% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Guyana's 0.515 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.667, 77% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Key features of democracy in Guyana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | +81.0% | 0.121 | 0.219 |
| 1967 | +47.2% | 0.286 | 0.421 |
| 1958 | +29.2% | 0.233 | 0.301 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.2088 | 0.121 | 0.219 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.2209 | 0.22 | 0.222 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2194 | 0.215 | 0.222 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.223 | 0.222 | 0.225 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2314 | 0.225 | 0.239 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.2455 | 0.2 | 0.301 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3187 | 0.274 | 0.421 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2992 | 0.282 | 0.321 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.268 | 0.245 | 0.3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4254 | 0.309 | 0.523 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5729 | 0.519 | 0.588 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.623 | 0.579 | 0.664 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5057 | 0.484 | 0.555 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guyana
More social development data for Guyana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 342 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 50 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 342 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of democracy in Guyana?
- Key features of democracy in Guyana was 0.515 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Guyana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.664 in 2018.
- What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Guyana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.121 in 1900.
- How does Guyana rank for key features of democracy?
- Guyana ranks 82nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Guyana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Guyana 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 — 126 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.