Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland

Ireland: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.822 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.822
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
6th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.833
in 2021
All-time low
0.229
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland, 1789–2025

0.20.40.60.8178919072025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for key features of liberal democracy in Ireland is 0.822, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in Ireland peaked at 0.833 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.229, in 1789.

Ireland ranks 6th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland, 1789 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1789 0.229 —
1790 0.239 +4.4%
1791 0.244 +2.1%
1792 0.243 -0.4%
1793 0.243 +0.0%
1794 0.243 +0.0%
1795 0.242 -0.4%
1796 0.248 +2.5%
1797 0.246 -0.8%
1798 0.246 +0.0%
1799 0.246 +0.0%
1800 0.246 +0.0%
1801 0.249 +1.2%
1802 0.249 +0.0%
1803 0.247 -0.8%
1804 0.247 +0.0%
1805 0.247 +0.0%
1806 0.249 +0.8%
1807 0.249 +0.0%
1808 0.246 -1.2%
1809 0.246 +0.0%
1810 0.249 +1.2%
1811 0.247 -0.8%
1812 0.249 +0.8%
1813 0.247 -0.8%
1814 0.247 +0.0%
1815 0.247 +0.0%
1816 0.245 -0.8%
1817 0.245 +0.0%
1818 0.247 +0.8%
1819 0.242 -2.0%
1820 0.245 +1.2%
1821 0.243 -0.8%
1822 0.243 +0.0%
1823 0.243 +0.0%
1824 0.243 +0.0%
1825 0.25 +2.9%
1826 0.255 +2.0%
1827 0.252 -1.2%
1828 0.252 +0.0%
1829 0.251 -0.4%
1830 0.261 +4.0%
1831 0.261 +0.0%
1832 0.265 +1.5%
1833 0.272 +2.6%
1834 0.275 +1.1%
1835 0.285 +3.6%
1836 0.282 -1.1%
1837 0.285 +1.1%
1838 0.283 -0.7%
1839 0.286 +1.1%
1840 0.289 +1.0%
1841 0.292 +1.0%
1842 0.289 -1.0%
1843 0.289 +0.0%
1844 0.29 +0.3%
1845 0.29 +0.0%
1846 0.29 +0.0%
1847 0.294 +1.4%
1848 0.291 -1.0%
1849 0.291 +0.0%
1850 0.292 +0.3%
1851 0.293 +0.3%
1852 0.296 +1.0%
1853 0.292 -1.4%
1854 0.292 +0.0%
1855 0.292 +0.0%
1856 0.292 +0.0%
1857 0.295 +1.0%
1858 0.293 -0.7%
1859 0.296 +1.0%
1860 0.293 -1.0%
1861 0.298 +1.7%
1862 0.298 +0.0%
1863 0.298 +0.0%
1864 0.298 +0.0%
1865 0.305 +2.3%
1866 0.305 +0.0%
1867 0.314 +3.0%
1868 0.318 +1.3%
1869 0.314 -1.3%
1870 0.318 +1.3%
1871 0.319 +0.3%
1872 0.319 +0.0%
1873 0.321 +0.6%
1874 0.33 +2.8%
1875 0.328 -0.6%
1876 0.328 +0.0%
1877 0.328 +0.0%
1878 0.328 +0.0%
1879 0.328 +0.0%
1880 0.339 +3.4%
1881 0.339 +0.0%
1882 0.339 +0.0%
1883 0.348 +2.7%
1884 0.368 +5.7%
1885 0.37 +0.5%
1886 0.386 +4.3%
1887 0.388 +0.5%
1888 0.388 +0.0%
1889 0.388 +0.0%
1890 0.388 +0.0%
1891 0.388 +0.0%
1892 0.393 +1.3%
1893 0.402 +2.3%
1894 0.402 +0.0%
1895 0.399 -0.7%
1896 0.402 +0.8%
1897 0.402 +0.0%
1898 0.405 +0.7%
1899 0.405 +0.0%
1900 0.412 +1.7%
1901 0.416 +1.0%
1902 0.416 +0.0%
1903 0.416 +0.0%
1904 0.416 +0.0%
1905 0.416 +0.0%
1906 0.415 -0.2%
1907 0.415 +0.0%
1908 0.415 +0.0%
1909 0.415 +0.0%
1910 0.416 +0.2%
1911 0.417 +0.2%
1912 0.417 +0.0%
1913 0.417 +0.0%
1914 0.406 -2.6%
1915 0.405 -0.2%
1916 0.403 -0.5%
1917 0.403 +0.0%
1918 0.403 +0.0%
1919 0.231 -42.7%
1920 0.233 +0.9%
1921 0.32 +37.3%
1922 0.451 +40.9%
1923 0.518 +14.9%
1924 0.6 +15.8%
1925 0.606 +1.0%
1926 0.61 +0.7%
1927 0.614 +0.7%
1928 0.625 +1.8%
1929 0.626 +0.2%
1930 0.626 +0.0%
1931 0.626 +0.0%
1932 0.636 +1.6%
1933 0.638 +0.3%
1934 0.638 +0.0%
1935 0.641 +0.5%
1936 0.649 +1.2%
1937 0.651 +0.3%
1938 0.646 -0.8%
1939 0.634 -1.9%
1940 0.634 +0.0%
1941 0.634 +0.0%
1942 0.634 +0.0%
1943 0.637 +0.5%
1944 0.639 +0.3%
1945 0.641 +0.3%
1946 0.657 +2.5%
1947 0.657 +0.0%
1948 0.655 -0.3%
1949 0.663 +1.2%
1950 0.666 +0.5%
1951 0.666 +0.0%
1952 0.67 +0.6%
1953 0.67 +0.0%
1954 0.669 -0.1%
1955 0.669 +0.0%
1956 0.669 +0.0%
1957 0.67 +0.1%
1958 0.672 +0.3%
1959 0.673 +0.1%
1960 0.677 +0.6%
1961 0.683 +0.9%
1962 0.695 +1.8%
1963 0.696 +0.1%
1964 0.706 +1.4%
1965 0.703 -0.4%
1966 0.704 +0.1%
1967 0.706 +0.3%
1968 0.706 +0.0%
1969 0.703 -0.4%
1970 0.711 +1.1%
1971 0.711 +0.0%
1972 0.711 +0.0%
1973 0.711 +0.0%
1974 0.728 +2.4%
1975 0.728 +0.0%
1976 0.728 +0.0%
1977 0.728 +0.0%
1978 0.728 +0.0%
1979 0.728 +0.0%
1980 0.728 +0.0%
1981 0.734 +0.8%
1982 0.73 -0.5%
1983 0.734 +0.5%
1984 0.738 +0.5%
1985 0.742 +0.5%
1986 0.746 +0.5%
1987 0.754 +1.1%
1988 0.755 +0.1%
1989 0.752 -0.4%
1990 0.76 +1.1%
1991 0.779 +2.5%
1992 0.782 +0.4%
1993 0.788 +0.8%
1994 0.788 +0.0%
1995 0.789 +0.1%
1996 0.793 +0.5%
1997 0.802 +1.1%
1998 0.804 +0.2%
1999 0.804 +0.0%
2000 0.809 +0.6%
2001 0.809 +0.0%
2002 0.807 -0.2%
2003 0.806 -0.1%
2004 0.806 +0.0%
2005 0.806 +0.0%
2006 0.806 +0.0%
2007 0.815 +1.1%
2008 0.82 +0.6%
2009 0.82 +0.0%
2010 0.82 +0.0%
2011 0.821 +0.1%
2012 0.822 +0.1%
2013 0.823 +0.1%
2014 0.824 +0.1%
2015 0.825 +0.1%
2016 0.815 -1.2%
2017 0.821 +0.7%
2018 0.821 +0.0%
2019 0.822 +0.1%
2020 0.824 +0.2%
2021 0.833 +1.1%
2022 0.827 -0.7%
2023 0.829 +0.2%
2024 0.83 +0.1%
2025 0.822 -1.0%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 0.822 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.689, 1.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 0.822 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.591, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland 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.

YearChange FromTo
1919 -42.7% 0.403 0.231
1922 +40.9% 0.32 0.451
1921 +37.3% 0.233 0.32

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.229 0.229 0.229 1
1790s 0.244 0.239 0.248 10
1800s 0.2475 0.246 0.249 10
1810s 0.2465 0.242 0.249 10
1820s 0.2477 0.243 0.255 10
1830s 0.2755 0.261 0.286 10
1840s 0.2905 0.289 0.294 10
1850s 0.2933 0.292 0.296 10
1860s 0.3041 0.293 0.318 10
1870s 0.3247 0.318 0.33 10
1880s 0.3653 0.339 0.388 10
1890s 0.3986 0.388 0.405 10
1900s 0.4152 0.412 0.416 10
1910s 0.3918 0.231 0.417 10
1920s 0.5203 0.233 0.626 10
1930s 0.6385 0.626 0.651 10
1940s 0.6451 0.634 0.663 10
1950s 0.6694 0.666 0.673 10
1960s 0.6979 0.677 0.706 10
1970s 0.7212 0.711 0.728 10
1980s 0.7413 0.728 0.755 10
1990s 0.7889 0.76 0.804 10
2000s 0.8104 0.806 0.82 10
2010s 0.8214 0.815 0.825 10
2020s 0.8275 0.822 0.833 6

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 3 Norway 0.847 compare
  2. 4 Switzerland 0.843 compare
  3. 5 Estonia 0.837 compare
  4. 7 Costa Rica 0.809 compare
  5. 8 Finland 0.808 compare
  6. 9 France 0.8 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of liberal democracy in Ireland?
Key features of liberal democracy in Ireland was 0.822 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 0.833 in 2021.
What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.229 in 1789.
How does Ireland rank for key features of liberal democracy?
Ireland ranks 6th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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 Ireland. 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/ireland/

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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.