Key features of democracy in Poland
Poland: Key features of democracy was 0.768 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.768
Change on year
up 5.2%
World rank
38th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.893
in 2011
All-time low
0.011
in 1863
Years of data
169
1789–2025
Key features of democracy in Poland, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Poland recorded 0.768 for key features of democracy in 2025.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Poland peaked at 0.893 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.011, in 1863.
That places Poland 38th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Poland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 | 0.199 | — |
| 1790 | 0.199 | +0.0% |
| 1791 | 0.199 | +0.0% |
| 1792 | 0.199 | +0.0% |
| 1793 | 0.134 | -32.7% |
| 1794 | 0.161 | +20.1% |
| 1795 | 0.068 | -57.8% |
| 1809 | 0.121 | +77.9% |
| 1810 | 0.135 | +11.6% |
| 1811 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1812 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1813 | 0.029 | -78.5% |
| 1814 | 0.029 | +0.0% |
| 1815 | 0.123 | +324.1% |
| 1816 | 0.123 | +0.0% |
| 1817 | 0.123 | +0.0% |
| 1818 | 0.123 | +0.0% |
| 1819 | 0.107 | -13.0% |
| 1820 | 0.107 | +0.0% |
| 1821 | 0.067 | -37.4% |
| 1822 | 0.046 | -31.3% |
| 1823 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1824 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1825 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1826 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1827 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1828 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1829 | 0.046 | +0.0% |
| 1830 | 0.1 | +117.4% |
| 1831 | 0.186 | +86.0% |
| 1832 | 0.012 | -93.5% |
| 1833 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1834 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1835 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1836 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1837 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1838 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1839 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1840 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1841 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1842 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1843 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1850 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1853 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 0.012 | +0.0% |
| 1856 | 0.017 | +41.7% |
| 1857 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 0.017 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0.011 | -35.3% |
| 1864 | 0.011 | +0.0% |
| 1865 | 0.011 | +0.0% |
| 1866 | 0.011 | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 0.011 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.255 | +2218.2% |
| 1919 | 0.354 | +38.8% |
| 1920 | 0.616 | +74.0% |
| 1921 | 0.613 | -0.5% |
| 1922 | 0.62 | +1.1% |
| 1923 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.414 | -33.2% |
| 1927 | 0.297 | -28.3% |
| 1928 | 0.268 | -9.8% |
| 1929 | 0.259 | -3.4% |
| 1930 | 0.235 | -9.3% |
| 1931 | 0.22 | -6.4% |
| 1932 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.219 | -0.5% |
| 1935 | 0.263 | +20.1% |
| 1936 | 0.284 | +8.0% |
| 1937 | 0.284 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.279 | -1.8% |
| 1944 | 0.161 | -42.3% |
| 1945 | 0.16 | -0.6% |
| 1946 | 0.163 | +1.9% |
| 1947 | 0.18 | +10.4% |
| 1948 | 0.179 | -0.6% |
| 1949 | 0.172 | -3.9% |
| 1950 | 0.172 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.172 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.171 | -0.6% |
| 1953 | 0.168 | -1.8% |
| 1954 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.17 | +1.2% |
| 1957 | 0.197 | +15.9% |
| 1958 | 0.198 | +0.5% |
| 1959 | 0.198 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.198 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.189 | -4.5% |
| 1962 | 0.186 | -1.6% |
| 1963 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.185 | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 0.185 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.185 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.185 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.186 | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.188 | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 0.19 | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 0.191 | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 0.191 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.191 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.186 | -2.6% |
| 1977 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.209 | +12.4% |
| 1981 | 0.207 | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 0.186 | -10.1% |
| 1983 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.191 | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 0.19 | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.191 | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 0.189 | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 0.194 | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 0.379 | +95.4% |
| 1990 | 0.74 | +95.3% |
| 1991 | 0.866 | +17.0% |
| 1992 | 0.888 | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 0.887 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 0.89 | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 0.889 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 0.882 | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 0.871 | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.876 | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 0.876 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.878 | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 0.882 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 0.882 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.882 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.882 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.884 | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.877 | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.874 | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 0.891 | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 0.891 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.892 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 0.893 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.893 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.89 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.882 | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.876 | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 0.731 | -16.6% |
| 2017 | 0.698 | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 0.694 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.682 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.616 | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 0.587 | -4.7% |
| 2022 | 0.578 | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 0.598 | +3.5% |
| 2024 | 0.73 | +22.1% |
| 2025 | 0.768 | +5.2% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 0.768 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 98% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Poland's 0.768 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.737, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Key features of democracy in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | +2218.2% | 0.011 | 0.255 |
| 1815 | +324.1% | 0.029 | 0.123 |
| 1830 | +117.4% | 0.046 | 0.1 |
| 1989 | +95.4% | 0.194 | 0.379 |
| 1990 | +95.3% | 0.379 | 0.74 |
| 1832 | -93.5% | 0.186 | 0.012 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0.199 | 0.199 | 0.199 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0.16 | 0.068 | 0.199 | 6 |
| 1800s | 0.121 | 0.121 | 0.121 | 1 |
| 1810s | 0.1062 | 0.029 | 0.135 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0.0542 | 0.046 | 0.107 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0.0382 | 0.012 | 0.186 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.012 | 0.012 | 0.012 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.014 | 0.012 | 0.017 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.0132 | 0.011 | 0.017 | 8 |
| 1910s | 0.3045 | 0.255 | 0.354 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.4947 | 0.259 | 0.62 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2471 | 0.219 | 0.284 | 9 |
| 1940s | 0.1692 | 0.16 | 0.18 | 6 |
| 1950s | 0.1782 | 0.168 | 0.198 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1871 | 0.185 | 0.198 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1881 | 0.186 | 0.191 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2122 | 0.186 | 0.379 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8665 | 0.74 | 0.89 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8823 | 0.874 | 0.891 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8131 | 0.682 | 0.893 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6462 | 0.578 | 0.768 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Poland
- 35 Suriname 0.781 compare
- 36 Cyprus 0.773 compare
- 37 United Kingdom 0.772 compare
- 39 Seychelles 0.76 compare
- 40 Cape Verde 0.745 compare
- 40 Italy 0.745 compare
More social development data for Poland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 990,469 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,368 (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 1,368 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0272 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 Poland?
- Key features of democracy in Poland was 0.768 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.893 in 2011.
- What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.011 in 1863.
- How does Poland rank for key features of democracy?
- Poland ranks 38th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Poland 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 — 169 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.