Key features of democracy in Iceland
Iceland: Key features of democracy was 0.807 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Key features of democracy in Iceland, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for key features of democracy in Iceland is 0.807, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.2% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Iceland peaked at 0.882 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.346, in 1900.
Iceland ranks 26th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.4663 | 0.346 | 0.554 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.6412 | 0.551 | 0.775 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.7719 | 0.77 | 0.776 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7793 | 0.768 | 0.789 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7847 | 0.771 | 0.797 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8049 | 0.798 | 0.808 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8138 | 0.807 | 0.824 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8254 | 0.823 | 0.827 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8507 | 0.843 | 0.859 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8645 | 0.862 | 0.869 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8703 | 0.865 | 0.882 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8667 | 0.856 | 0.881 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8362 | 0.807 | 0.859 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More social development data for Iceland
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 0 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Public Sector Corruption Index 0.011 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.846 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.917 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.807 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.565 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.72 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of democracy in Iceland?
- Key features of democracy in Iceland was 0.807 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.882 in 2009.
- What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.346 in 1900.
- How does Iceland rank for key features of democracy?
- Iceland ranks 26th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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.