Key features of liberal democracy in France

France: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.8 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.822
in 2013
All-time low
0.059
in 1944
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Key features of liberal democracy in France, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.8178919072025

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

Analysis

France recorded 0.8 for key features of liberal democracy in 2025.

That represents a change of down 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in France peaked at 0.822 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.059, in 1944.

That places France 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Key features of liberal democracy in France, year by year

Annual values for Key features of liberal democracy in France, 1789 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1789 0.219 —
1790 0.225 +2.7%
1791 0.208 -7.6%
1792 0.163 -21.6%
1793 0.176 +8.0%
1794 0.18 +2.3%
1795 0.223 +23.9%
1796 0.224 +0.4%
1797 0.224 +0.0%
1798 0.224 +0.0%
1799 0.202 -9.8%
1800 0.101 -50.0%
1801 0.103 +2.0%
1802 0.103 +0.0%
1803 0.103 +0.0%
1804 0.103 +0.0%
1805 0.103 +0.0%
1806 0.103 +0.0%
1807 0.103 +0.0%
1808 0.103 +0.0%
1809 0.103 +0.0%
1810 0.103 +0.0%
1811 0.103 +0.0%
1812 0.103 +0.0%
1813 0.103 +0.0%
1814 0.099 -3.9%
1815 0.163 +64.6%
1816 0.168 +3.1%
1817 0.169 +0.6%
1818 0.169 +0.0%
1819 0.169 +0.0%
1820 0.154 -8.9%
1821 0.165 +7.1%
1822 0.163 -1.2%
1823 0.163 +0.0%
1824 0.163 +0.0%
1825 0.163 +0.0%
1826 0.163 +0.0%
1827 0.162 -0.6%
1828 0.162 +0.0%
1829 0.162 +0.0%
1830 0.195 +20.4%
1831 0.195 +0.0%
1832 0.195 +0.0%
1833 0.195 +0.0%
1834 0.195 +0.0%
1835 0.195 +0.0%
1836 0.195 +0.0%
1837 0.195 +0.0%
1838 0.195 +0.0%
1839 0.195 +0.0%
1840 0.195 +0.0%
1841 0.195 +0.0%
1842 0.195 +0.0%
1843 0.195 +0.0%
1844 0.195 +0.0%
1845 0.195 +0.0%
1846 0.195 +0.0%
1847 0.195 +0.0%
1848 0.338 +73.3%
1849 0.384 +13.6%
1850 0.384 +0.0%
1851 0.186 -51.6%
1852 0.145 -22.0%
1853 0.148 +2.1%
1854 0.148 +0.0%
1855 0.148 +0.0%
1856 0.148 +0.0%
1857 0.149 +0.7%
1858 0.149 +0.0%
1859 0.149 +0.0%
1860 0.149 +0.0%
1861 0.165 +10.7%
1862 0.166 +0.6%
1863 0.166 +0.0%
1864 0.166 +0.0%
1865 0.166 +0.0%
1866 0.166 +0.0%
1867 0.166 +0.0%
1868 0.166 +0.0%
1869 0.173 +4.2%
1870 0.242 +39.9%
1871 0.308 +27.3%
1872 0.365 +18.5%
1873 0.365 +0.0%
1874 0.382 +4.7%
1875 0.394 +3.1%
1876 0.396 +0.5%
1877 0.396 +0.0%
1878 0.43 +8.6%
1879 0.44 +2.3%
1880 0.449 +2.0%
1881 0.448 -0.2%
1882 0.447 -0.2%
1883 0.447 +0.0%
1884 0.447 +0.0%
1885 0.448 +0.2%
1886 0.449 +0.2%
1887 0.449 +0.0%
1888 0.449 +0.0%
1889 0.448 -0.2%
1890 0.446 -0.4%
1891 0.446 +0.0%
1892 0.446 +0.0%
1893 0.444 -0.4%
1894 0.447 +0.7%
1895 0.447 +0.0%
1896 0.447 +0.0%
1897 0.447 +0.0%
1898 0.453 +1.3%
1899 0.454 +0.2%
1900 0.456 +0.4%
1901 0.46 +0.9%
1902 0.46 +0.0%
1903 0.46 +0.0%
1904 0.46 +0.0%
1905 0.463 +0.7%
1906 0.463 +0.0%
1907 0.462 -0.2%
1908 0.462 +0.0%
1909 0.462 +0.0%
1910 0.466 +0.9%
1911 0.467 +0.2%
1912 0.467 +0.0%
1913 0.467 +0.0%
1914 0.42 -10.1%
1915 0.42 +0.0%
1916 0.419 -0.2%
1917 0.419 +0.0%
1918 0.424 +1.2%
1919 0.441 +4.0%
1920 0.465 +5.4%
1921 0.465 +0.0%
1922 0.465 +0.0%
1923 0.465 +0.0%
1924 0.465 +0.0%
1925 0.462 -0.6%
1926 0.462 +0.0%
1927 0.462 +0.0%
1928 0.462 +0.0%
1929 0.462 +0.0%
1930 0.462 +0.0%
1931 0.462 +0.0%
1932 0.462 +0.0%
1933 0.461 -0.2%
1934 0.461 +0.0%
1935 0.459 -0.4%
1936 0.456 -0.7%
1937 0.456 +0.0%
1938 0.456 +0.0%
1939 0.441 -3.3%
1940 0.121 -72.6%
1941 0.06 -50.4%
1942 0.06 +0.0%
1943 0.06 +0.0%
1944 0.059 -1.7%
1945 0.179 +203.4%
1946 0.267 +49.2%
1947 0.596 +123.2%
1948 0.621 +4.2%
1949 0.621 +0.0%
1950 0.629 +1.3%
1951 0.63 +0.2%
1952 0.63 +0.0%
1953 0.63 +0.0%
1954 0.601 -4.6%
1955 0.614 +2.2%
1956 0.62 +1.0%
1957 0.628 +1.3%
1958 0.63 +0.3%
1959 0.63 +0.0%
1960 0.633 +0.5%
1961 0.633 +0.0%
1962 0.636 +0.5%
1963 0.666 +4.7%
1964 0.666 +0.0%
1965 0.666 +0.0%
1966 0.666 +0.0%
1967 0.672 +0.9%
1968 0.672 +0.0%
1969 0.719 +7.0%
1970 0.75 +4.3%
1971 0.755 +0.7%
1972 0.748 -0.9%
1973 0.76 +1.6%
1974 0.763 +0.4%
1975 0.772 +1.2%
1976 0.772 +0.0%
1977 0.772 +0.0%
1978 0.773 +0.1%
1979 0.773 +0.0%
1980 0.773 +0.0%
1981 0.788 +1.9%
1982 0.793 +0.6%
1983 0.793 +0.0%
1984 0.793 +0.0%
1985 0.793 +0.0%
1986 0.79 -0.4%
1987 0.789 -0.1%
1988 0.8 +1.4%
1989 0.802 +0.3%
1990 0.802 +0.0%
1991 0.802 +0.0%
1992 0.803 +0.1%
1993 0.798 -0.6%
1994 0.801 +0.4%
1995 0.798 -0.4%
1996 0.802 +0.5%
1997 0.8 -0.2%
1998 0.798 -0.3%
1999 0.798 +0.0%
2000 0.798 +0.0%
2001 0.798 +0.0%
2002 0.801 +0.4%
2003 0.802 +0.1%
2004 0.802 +0.0%
2005 0.802 +0.0%
2006 0.802 +0.0%
2007 0.807 +0.6%
2008 0.816 +1.1%
2009 0.816 +0.0%
2010 0.816 +0.0%
2011 0.818 +0.2%
2012 0.82 +0.2%
2013 0.822 +0.2%
2014 0.821 -0.1%
2015 0.812 -1.1%
2016 0.812 +0.0%
2017 0.817 +0.6%
2018 0.802 -1.8%
2019 0.793 -1.1%
2020 0.789 -0.5%
2021 0.789 +0.0%
2022 0.807 +2.3%
2023 0.807 +0.0%
2024 0.8 -0.9%
2025 0.8 +0.0%

France compared with similar countries

  • France's 0.8 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.689, 1.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • France's 0.8 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.591, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.219 0.219 0.219 1
1790s 0.2049 0.163 0.225 10
1800s 0.1028 0.101 0.103 10
1810s 0.1349 0.099 0.169 10
1820s 0.162 0.154 0.165 10
1830s 0.195 0.195 0.195 10
1840s 0.2282 0.195 0.384 10
1850s 0.1754 0.145 0.384 10
1860s 0.1649 0.149 0.173 10
1870s 0.3718 0.242 0.44 10
1880s 0.4481 0.447 0.449 10
1890s 0.4477 0.444 0.454 10
1900s 0.4608 0.456 0.463 10
1910s 0.441 0.419 0.467 10
1920s 0.4635 0.462 0.465 10
1930s 0.4576 0.441 0.462 10
1940s 0.2644 0.059 0.621 10
1950s 0.6242 0.601 0.63 10
1960s 0.6629 0.633 0.719 10
1970s 0.7638 0.748 0.773 10
1980s 0.7914 0.773 0.802 10
1990s 0.8002 0.798 0.803 10
2000s 0.8044 0.798 0.816 10
2010s 0.8133 0.793 0.822 10
2020s 0.7987 0.789 0.807 6

Countries ranked near France

  1. 6 Ireland 0.822 compare
  2. 7 Costa Rica 0.809 compare
  3. 8 Finland 0.808 compare
  4. 10 Belgium 0.794 compare
  5. 10 Czechia 0.794 compare
  6. 12 Australia 0.793 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of liberal democracy in France?
Key features of liberal democracy in France was 0.8 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 0.822 in 2013.
What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 0.059 in 1944.
How does France rank for key features of liberal democracy?
France ranks 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this France 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.

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Key features of liberal democracy in France. 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-liberal-democracy/france/

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About this data

Indicator
Key features of liberal democracy
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 28,671 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

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.