Key features of electoral democracy in South Africa
South Africa: Key features of electoral democracy was 0.743 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.743
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
42nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.779
in 2006
All-time low
0.156
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of electoral democracy in South Africa, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.743 for key features of electoral democracy in 2025.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of electoral democracy in South Africa peaked at 0.779 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.156, in 1900.
That places South Africa 42nd 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 electoral democracy in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.156 | — |
| 1901 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.156 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.186 | +19.2% |
| 1911 | 0.225 | +21.0% |
| 1912 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.224 | -0.4% |
| 1917 | 0.224 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.224 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.224 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.225 | +0.4% |
| 1921 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.226 | +0.4% |
| 1930 | 0.227 | +0.4% |
| 1931 | 0.231 | +1.8% |
| 1932 | 0.236 | +2.2% |
| 1933 | 0.235 | -0.4% |
| 1934 | 0.234 | -0.4% |
| 1935 | 0.234 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.234 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.234 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.235 | +0.4% |
| 1939 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.231 | -1.7% |
| 1948 | 0.207 | -10.4% |
| 1949 | 0.201 | -2.9% |
| 1950 | 0.199 | -1.0% |
| 1951 | 0.199 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.199 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.196 | -1.5% |
| 1954 | 0.195 | -0.5% |
| 1955 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.191 | -2.1% |
| 1961 | 0.16 | -16.2% |
| 1962 | 0.167 | +4.4% |
| 1963 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.163 | -2.4% |
| 1965 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.164 | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.165 | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.165 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.163 | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 0.161 | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 0.161 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.16 | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 0.176 | +10.0% |
| 1982 | 0.176 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.176 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.177 | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 0.178 | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 0.178 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.176 | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 0.175 | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 0.186 | +6.3% |
| 1990 | 0.224 | +20.4% |
| 1991 | 0.254 | +13.4% |
| 1992 | 0.254 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.264 | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 0.392 | +48.5% |
| 1995 | 0.657 | +67.6% |
| 1996 | 0.663 | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.668 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 0.709 | +6.1% |
| 2000 | 0.743 | +4.8% |
| 2001 | 0.743 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.743 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.743 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.764 | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 0.778 | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 0.779 | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.779 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.775 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.775 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.778 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.777 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.779 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.765 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.758 | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.755 | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 0.752 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.738 | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 0.747 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.727 | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 0.719 | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.725 | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.718 | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.712 | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 0.734 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | 0.743 | +1.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.743 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.491, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.743 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.317, 2.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.156 | 0.156 | 0.156 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.2207 | 0.186 | 0.225 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2251 | 0.225 | 0.226 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2335 | 0.227 | 0.236 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2284 | 0.201 | 0.235 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1963 | 0.195 | 0.199 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1667 | 0.16 | 0.191 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.164 | 0.161 | 0.165 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1758 | 0.16 | 0.186 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4748 | 0.224 | 0.709 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7622 | 0.743 | 0.779 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7576 | 0.727 | 0.779 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7252 | 0.712 | 0.743 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 39 Seychelles 0.76 compare
- 40 Cape Verde 0.745 compare
- 40 Italy 0.745 compare
- 43 Greece 0.741 compare
- 44 Mauritius 0.738 compare
- 45 East Timor 0.736 compare
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (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 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 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 electoral democracy in South Africa?
- Key features of electoral democracy in South Africa was 0.743 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of electoral democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.779 in 2006.
- What is the lowest key features of electoral democracy recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.156 in 1900.
- How does South Africa rank for key features of electoral democracy?
- South Africa ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of electoral democracy rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by 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 — 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.