Key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador
El Salvador: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.09 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador, 1838–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador is 0.09, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 80.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador peaked at 0.465 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.038, in 1932.
El Salvador ranks 149th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1838 | 0.053 | — |
| 1839 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1840 | 0.058 | +9.4% |
| 1841 | 0.064 | +10.3% |
| 1845 | 0.065 | +1.6% |
| 1846 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 0.066 | +1.5% |
| 1859 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0.057 | -13.6% |
| 1864 | 0.057 | +0.0% |
| 1865 | 0.057 | +0.0% |
| 1866 | 0.057 | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 0.066 | +15.8% |
| 1868 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 0.066 | +0.0% |
| 1871 | 0.059 | -10.6% |
| 1876 | 0.059 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.061 | +3.4% |
| 1890 | 0.063 | +3.3% |
| 1891 | 0.063 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.075 | +19.0% |
| 1904 | 0.075 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.076 | +1.3% |
| 1906 | 0.074 | -2.6% |
| 1907 | 0.075 | +1.4% |
| 1908 | 0.075 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.075 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.075 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.076 | +1.3% |
| 1912 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.078 | +2.6% |
| 1916 | 0.078 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.078 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.078 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.076 | -2.6% |
| 1920 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.076 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.079 | +3.9% |
| 1928 | 0.079 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.079 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.081 | +2.5% |
| 1931 | 0.067 | -17.3% |
| 1932 | 0.038 | -43.3% |
| 1933 | 0.045 | +18.4% |
| 1934 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.051 | +13.3% |
| 1941 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.05 | -2.0% |
| 1945 | 0.06 | +20.0% |
| 1946 | 0.063 | +5.0% |
| 1947 | 0.063 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.062 | -1.6% |
| 1949 | 0.054 | -12.9% |
| 1950 | 0.06 | +11.1% |
| 1951 | 0.069 | +15.0% |
| 1952 | 0.068 | -1.4% |
| 1953 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.067 | -1.5% |
| 1956 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.066 | -1.5% |
| 1961 | 0.052 | -21.2% |
| 1962 | 0.062 | +19.2% |
| 1963 | 0.068 | +9.7% |
| 1964 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.068 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.067 | -1.5% |
| 1969 | 0.066 | -1.5% |
| 1970 | 0.065 | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 0.065 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.06 | -7.7% |
| 1973 | 0.056 | -6.7% |
| 1974 | 0.055 | -1.8% |
| 1975 | 0.055 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.055 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.055 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.054 | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 0.052 | -3.7% |
| 1980 | 0.042 | -19.2% |
| 1981 | 0.042 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.046 | +9.5% |
| 1983 | 0.048 | +4.3% |
| 1984 | 0.052 | +8.3% |
| 1985 | 0.069 | +32.7% |
| 1986 | 0.08 | +15.9% |
| 1987 | 0.081 | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.081 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.08 | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 0.085 | +6.3% |
| 1991 | 0.089 | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 0.141 | +58.4% |
| 1993 | 0.207 | +46.8% |
| 1994 | 0.258 | +24.6% |
| 1995 | 0.274 | +6.2% |
| 1996 | 0.28 | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 0.282 | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 0.289 | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 0.297 | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 0.315 | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 0.326 | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 0.331 | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 0.332 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 0.336 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.338 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 0.348 | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 0.351 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 0.357 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.399 | +11.8% |
| 2010 | 0.422 | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 0.425 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 0.429 | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 0.437 | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 0.465 | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 0.462 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.461 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.465 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 0.428 | -8.0% |
| 2019 | 0.393 | -8.2% |
| 2020 | 0.316 | -19.6% |
| 2021 | 0.156 | -50.6% |
| 2022 | 0.118 | -24.4% |
| 2023 | 0.106 | -10.2% |
| 2024 | 0.09 | -15.1% |
| 2025 | 0.09 | +0.0% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 0.09 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.347, 26% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 0.09 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.506, 18% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +58.4% | 0.089 | 0.141 |
| 2021 | -50.6% | 0.316 | 0.156 |
| 1993 | +46.8% | 0.141 | 0.207 |
| 1932 | -43.3% | 0.067 | 0.038 |
| 1985 | +32.7% | 0.052 | 0.069 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0.053 | 0.053 | 0.053 | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.0637 | 0.058 | 0.065 | 6 |
| 1850s | 0.0655 | 0.065 | 0.066 | 4 |
| 1860s | 0.0609 | 0.057 | 0.066 | 7 |
| 1870s | 0.059 | 0.059 | 0.059 | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.061 | 0.061 | 0.061 | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.063 | 0.063 | 0.063 | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.075 | 0.074 | 0.076 | 7 |
| 1910s | 0.0767 | 0.075 | 0.078 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0769 | 0.076 | 0.079 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0501 | 0.038 | 0.081 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0556 | 0.05 | 0.063 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0668 | 0.06 | 0.069 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0653 | 0.052 | 0.068 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.0572 | 0.052 | 0.065 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0621 | 0.042 | 0.081 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2202 | 0.085 | 0.297 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3433 | 0.315 | 0.399 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4387 | 0.393 | 0.465 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.146 | 0.09 | 0.316 | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 146 Guinea 0.095 compare
- 146 Guinea-Bissau 0.095 compare
- 148 Qatar 0.091 compare
- 149 Rwanda 0.09 compare
- 151 Uzbekistan 0.079 compare
- 152 United Arab Emirates 0.077 compare
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador?
- Key features of liberal democracy in El Salvador was 0.09 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 0.465 in 2014.
- What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.038 in 1932.
- How does El Salvador rank for key features of liberal democracy?
- El Salvador ranks 149th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 80.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 147 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, individual and minority rights, equality before the law, and executive constraints.