Key features of electoral democracy in South Korea
South Korea: Key features of electoral 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 electoral democracy in South Korea, 1789–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, key features of electoral democracy in South Korea stood at 0.819.
That represents a change of up 13.1% on the previous year and up 16.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of electoral 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.
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
More social development data for South Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 117 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.912 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.739 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.819 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.839 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.933 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.551 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of electoral democracy in South Korea?
- Key features of electoral democracy in South Korea was 0.819 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.857 in 2018.
- What is the lowest key features of electoral democracy recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.012 in 1911.
- How does South Korea rank for key features of electoral democracy?
- South Korea ranks 24th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of electoral 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).