What is key features of democracy in South Korea?

Key features of democracy in South Korea was 0.819 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in South Korea?

The highest recorded value was 0.857 in 2018.

What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in South Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 0.012 in 1911.

How does South Korea rank for key features of democracy?

South Korea ranks 24th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is key features of democracy rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is up 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this South Korea 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 South Korea

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

South Korea: Key features of democracy was 0.819 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.819

Change on year

up 13.1%

World rank

24th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.857

in 2018

All-time low

0.012

in 1911

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Key features of democracy in South Korea, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

South Korea recorded 0.819 for key features of democracy in 2025.

The figure is up 13.1% on the previous year and up 16.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of democracy in South Korea peaked at 0.857 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.012, in 1911.

South Korea ranks 24th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Key features of democracy in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Key features of democracy in South Korea, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.015	—
1790	0.015	+0.0%
1791	0.015	+0.0%
1792	0.015	+0.0%
1793	0.015	+0.0%
1794	0.015	+0.0%
1795	0.015	+0.0%
1796	0.015	+0.0%
1797	0.015	+0.0%
1798	0.015	+0.0%
1799	0.015	+0.0%
1800	0.015	+0.0%
1801	0.015	+0.0%
1802	0.015	+0.0%
1803	0.015	+0.0%
1804	0.015	+0.0%
1805	0.015	+0.0%
1806	0.015	+0.0%
1807	0.015	+0.0%
1808	0.015	+0.0%
1809	0.015	+0.0%
1810	0.015	+0.0%
1811	0.015	+0.0%
1812	0.015	+0.0%
1813	0.015	+0.0%
1814	0.015	+0.0%
1815	0.015	+0.0%
1816	0.015	+0.0%
1817	0.015	+0.0%
1818	0.015	+0.0%
1819	0.015	+0.0%
1820	0.015	+0.0%
1821	0.015	+0.0%
1822	0.015	+0.0%
1823	0.015	+0.0%
1824	0.015	+0.0%
1825	0.015	+0.0%
1826	0.015	+0.0%
1827	0.015	+0.0%
1828	0.015	+0.0%
1829	0.015	+0.0%
1830	0.015	+0.0%
1831	0.015	+0.0%
1832	0.015	+0.0%
1833	0.015	+0.0%
1834	0.015	+0.0%
1835	0.015	+0.0%
1836	0.015	+0.0%
1837	0.015	+0.0%
1838	0.015	+0.0%
1839	0.015	+0.0%
1840	0.015	+0.0%
1841	0.015	+0.0%
1842	0.015	+0.0%
1843	0.015	+0.0%
1844	0.015	+0.0%
1845	0.015	+0.0%
1846	0.015	+0.0%
1847	0.015	+0.0%
1848	0.015	+0.0%
1849	0.015	+0.0%
1850	0.015	+0.0%
1851	0.015	+0.0%
1852	0.015	+0.0%
1853	0.015	+0.0%
1854	0.015	+0.0%
1855	0.015	+0.0%
1856	0.015	+0.0%
1857	0.015	+0.0%
1858	0.015	+0.0%
1859	0.015	+0.0%
1860	0.015	+0.0%
1861	0.015	+0.0%
1862	0.015	+0.0%
1863	0.015	+0.0%
1864	0.015	+0.0%
1865	0.015	+0.0%
1866	0.015	+0.0%
1867	0.015	+0.0%
1868	0.015	+0.0%
1869	0.015	+0.0%
1870	0.015	+0.0%
1871	0.015	+0.0%
1872	0.015	+0.0%
1873	0.015	+0.0%
1874	0.015	+0.0%
1875	0.015	+0.0%
1876	0.015	+0.0%
1877	0.015	+0.0%
1878	0.015	+0.0%
1879	0.015	+0.0%
1880	0.015	+0.0%
1881	0.017	+13.3%
1882	0.017	+0.0%
1883	0.017	+0.0%
1884	0.017	+0.0%
1885	0.017	+0.0%
1886	0.017	+0.0%
1887	0.017	+0.0%
1888	0.017	+0.0%
1889	0.017	+0.0%
1890	0.017	+0.0%
1891	0.017	+0.0%
1892	0.017	+0.0%
1893	0.017	+0.0%
1894	0.017	+0.0%
1895	0.018	+5.9%
1896	0.05	+177.8%
1897	0.036	-28.0%
1898	0.033	-8.3%
1899	0.027	-18.2%
1900	0.027	+0.0%
1901	0.027	+0.0%
1902	0.027	+0.0%
1903	0.027	+0.0%
1904	0.02	-25.9%
1905	0.018	-10.0%
1906	0.017	-5.6%
1907	0.017	+0.0%
1908	0.017	+0.0%
1909	0.017	+0.0%
1910	0.013	-23.5%
1911	0.012	-7.7%
1912	0.012	+0.0%
1913	0.012	+0.0%
1914	0.012	+0.0%
1915	0.012	+0.0%
1916	0.012	+0.0%
1917	0.012	+0.0%
1918	0.012	+0.0%
1919	0.014	+16.7%
1920	0.014	+0.0%
1921	0.014	+0.0%
1922	0.014	+0.0%
1923	0.014	+0.0%
1924	0.014	+0.0%
1925	0.014	+0.0%
1926	0.014	+0.0%
1927	0.014	+0.0%
1928	0.014	+0.0%
1929	0.014	+0.0%
1930	0.014	+0.0%
1931	0.014	+0.0%
1932	0.014	+0.0%
1933	0.014	+0.0%
1934	0.014	+0.0%
1935	0.014	+0.0%
1936	0.014	+0.0%
1937	0.014	+0.0%
1938	0.014	+0.0%
1939	0.014	+0.0%
1940	0.014	+0.0%
1941	0.013	-7.1%
1942	0.013	+0.0%
1943	0.013	+0.0%
1944	0.013	+0.0%
1945	0.076	+484.6%
1946	0.088	+15.8%
1947	0.081	-8.0%
1948	0.137	+69.1%
1949	0.26	+89.8%
1950	0.253	-2.7%
1951	0.252	-0.4%
1952	0.252	+0.0%
1953	0.253	+0.4%
1954	0.261	+3.2%
1955	0.261	+0.0%
1956	0.257	-1.5%
1957	0.257	+0.0%
1958	0.261	+1.6%
1959	0.261	+0.0%
1960	0.331	+26.8%
1961	0.216	-34.7%
1962	0.163	-24.5%
1963	0.175	+7.4%
1964	0.273	+56.0%
1965	0.273	+0.0%
1966	0.273	+0.0%
1967	0.276	+1.1%
1968	0.278	+0.7%
1969	0.278	+0.0%
1970	0.276	-0.7%
1971	0.274	-0.7%
1972	0.231	-15.7%
1973	0.208	-10.0%
1974	0.211	+1.4%
1975	0.211	+0.0%
1976	0.209	-0.9%
1977	0.209	+0.0%
1978	0.209	+0.0%
1979	0.208	-0.5%
1980	0.199	-4.3%
1981	0.21	+5.5%
1982	0.22	+4.8%
1983	0.228	+3.6%
1984	0.245	+7.5%
1985	0.303	+23.7%
1986	0.312	+3.0%
1987	0.38	+21.8%
1988	0.616	+62.1%
1989	0.646	+4.9%
1990	0.647	+0.2%
1991	0.647	+0.0%
1992	0.651	+0.6%
1993	0.724	+11.2%
1994	0.731	+1.0%
1995	0.731	+0.0%
1996	0.736	+0.7%
1997	0.743	+1.0%
1998	0.804	+8.2%
1999	0.811	+0.9%
2000	0.829	+2.2%
2001	0.833	+0.5%
2002	0.833	+0.0%
2003	0.835	+0.2%
2004	0.834	-0.1%
2005	0.834	+0.0%
2006	0.834	+0.0%
2007	0.834	+0.0%
2008	0.759	-9.0%
2009	0.759	+0.0%
2010	0.762	+0.4%
2011	0.762	+0.0%
2012	0.753	-1.2%
2013	0.716	-4.9%
2014	0.705	-1.5%
2015	0.705	+0.0%
2016	0.718	+1.8%
2017	0.852	+18.7%
2018	0.857	+0.6%
2019	0.842	-1.8%
2020	0.85	+1.0%
2021	0.852	+0.2%
2022	0.802	-5.9%
2023	0.722	-10.0%
2024	0.724	+0.3%
2025	0.819	+13.1%

South Korea compared with similar countries

South Korea's 0.819 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
South Korea's 0.819 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	0.015	0.015	0.015	1
1790s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1800s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1810s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1820s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1830s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1840s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1850s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1860s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1870s	0.015	0.015	0.015	10
1880s	0.0168	0.015	0.017	10
1890s	0.0249	0.017	0.05	10
1900s	0.0214	0.017	0.027	10
1910s	0.0123	0.012	0.014	10
1920s	0.014	0.014	0.014	10
1930s	0.014	0.014	0.014	10
1940s	0.0708	0.013	0.26	10
1950s	0.2568	0.252	0.261	10
1960s	0.2536	0.163	0.331	10
1970s	0.2246	0.208	0.276	10
1980s	0.3359	0.199	0.646	10
1990s	0.7225	0.647	0.811	10
2000s	0.8184	0.759	0.835	10
2010s	0.7672	0.705	0.857	10
2020s	0.7948	0.722	0.852	6

Countries ranked near South Korea

21 Germany 0.828 compare
22 Portugal 0.822 compare
22 Spain 0.822 compare
24 Japan 0.819 compare
26 Iceland 0.807 compare
27 Jamaica 0.805 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Korea

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4,407 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 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 117 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of democracy in South Korea?: Key features of democracy in South Korea was 0.819 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 0.857 in 2018.
What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 0.012 in 1911.
How does South Korea rank for key features of democracy?: South Korea ranks 24th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of democracy rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is up 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea 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 South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-democracy/korea-rep/

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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.