Key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.142 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.142
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
121st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.325
in 1998
All-time low
0.139
in 2023
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong stood at 0.142.
That represents a change of down 53.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong peaked at 0.325 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.139, in 2023.
Hong Kong ranks 121st of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.163 | — |
| 1901 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.164 | +0.6% |
| 1921 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.164 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.166 | +1.2% |
| 1933 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.163 | -1.8% |
| 1941 | 0.148 | -9.2% |
| 1942 | 0.143 | -3.4% |
| 1943 | 0.143 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.145 | +1.4% |
| 1945 | 0.148 | +2.1% |
| 1946 | 0.173 | +16.9% |
| 1947 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.174 | +0.6% |
| 1951 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.181 | +4.0% |
| 1961 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.18 | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.179 | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 0.182 | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 0.182 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.188 | +3.3% |
| 1971 | 0.188 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.188 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.188 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.194 | +3.2% |
| 1975 | 0.194 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.195 | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 0.195 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.196 | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 0.196 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.204 | +4.1% |
| 1981 | 0.204 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.204 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.204 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.205 | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 0.211 | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 0.215 | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 0.215 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.216 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.252 | +16.7% |
| 1991 | 0.275 | +9.1% |
| 1992 | 0.317 | +15.3% |
| 1993 | 0.318 | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 0.318 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.32 | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 0.32 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.322 | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 0.325 | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.325 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.324 | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 0.324 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.324 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.324 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.324 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.323 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.322 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.316 | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.314 | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 0.311 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 0.303 | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 0.294 | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 0.289 | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 0.281 | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 0.267 | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 0.204 | -23.6% |
| 2021 | 0.168 | -17.6% |
| 2022 | 0.149 | -11.3% |
| 2023 | 0.139 | -6.7% |
| 2024 | 0.142 | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 0.142 | +0.0% |
Hong Kong compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong's 0.142 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.689, 21% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong's 0.142 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.3575, 40% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.163 | 0.163 | 0.163 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.163 | 0.163 | 0.163 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.164 | 0.164 | 0.164 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1656 | 0.164 | 0.166 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1582 | 0.143 | 0.173 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.174 | 0.174 | 0.174 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1808 | 0.179 | 0.182 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1922 | 0.188 | 0.196 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2094 | 0.204 | 0.216 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3092 | 0.252 | 0.325 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3245 | 0.324 | 0.325 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.302 | 0.267 | 0.323 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1573 | 0.139 | 0.204 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong
More social development data for Hong Kong
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 236 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 245 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (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 245 (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)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -9.23 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong?
- Key features of liberal democracy in Hong Kong was 0.142 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 0.325 in 1998.
- What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.139 in 2023.
- How does Hong Kong rank for key features of liberal democracy?
- Hong Kong ranks 121st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Hong Kong 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 — 126 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.