Key features of liberal democracy in Poland
Poland: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.645 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Key features of liberal democracy in Poland, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Poland recorded 0.645 for key features of liberal democracy in 2025.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and down 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in Poland peaked at 0.827 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.019, in 1832.
That places Poland 36th 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 liberal democracy in Poland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 | 0.158 | — |
| 1790 | 0.163 | +3.2% |
| 1791 | 0.174 | +6.7% |
| 1792 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1793 | 0.114 | -34.5% |
| 1794 | 0.076 | -33.3% |
| 1795 | 0.057 | -25.0% |
| 1809 | 0.098 | +71.9% |
| 1810 | 0.111 | +13.3% |
| 1811 | 0.111 | +0.0% |
| 1812 | 0.111 | +0.0% |
| 1813 | 0.035 | -68.5% |
| 1814 | 0.035 | +0.0% |
| 1815 | 0.083 | +137.1% |
| 1816 | 0.083 | +0.0% |
| 1817 | 0.083 | +0.0% |
| 1818 | 0.095 | +14.5% |
| 1819 | 0.092 | -3.2% |
| 1820 | 0.092 | +0.0% |
| 1821 | 0.086 | -6.5% |
| 1822 | 0.072 | -16.3% |
| 1823 | 0.072 | +0.0% |
| 1824 | 0.072 | +0.0% |
| 1825 | 0.049 | -31.9% |
| 1826 | 0.045 | -8.2% |
| 1827 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1828 | 0.043 | -4.4% |
| 1829 | 0.043 | +0.0% |
| 1830 | 0.117 | +172.1% |
| 1831 | 0.189 | +61.5% |
| 1832 | 0.019 | -89.9% |
| 1833 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1834 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1835 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1836 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1837 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1838 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1839 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1840 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1841 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 1842 | 0.023 | +21.1% |
| 1843 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1850 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1853 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1856 | 0.027 | +17.4% |
| 1857 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 0.026 | -3.7% |
| 1862 | 0.026 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0.022 | -15.4% |
| 1864 | 0.026 | +18.2% |
| 1865 | 0.026 | +0.0% |
| 1866 | 0.026 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.206 | +692.3% |
| 1919 | 0.314 | +52.4% |
| 1920 | 0.498 | +58.6% |
| 1921 | 0.499 | +0.2% |
| 1922 | 0.512 | +2.6% |
| 1923 | 0.512 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.512 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.51 | -0.4% |
| 1926 | 0.337 | -33.9% |
| 1927 | 0.252 | -25.2% |
| 1928 | 0.236 | -6.3% |
| 1929 | 0.231 | -2.1% |
| 1930 | 0.221 | -4.3% |
| 1931 | 0.216 | -2.3% |
| 1932 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.215 | -0.5% |
| 1935 | 0.21 | -2.3% |
| 1936 | 0.218 | +3.8% |
| 1937 | 0.217 | -0.5% |
| 1938 | 0.214 | -1.4% |
| 1944 | 0.103 | -51.9% |
| 1945 | 0.103 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.104 | +1.0% |
| 1947 | 0.108 | +3.8% |
| 1948 | 0.106 | -1.9% |
| 1949 | 0.104 | -1.9% |
| 1950 | 0.104 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.106 | +1.9% |
| 1952 | 0.106 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.105 | -0.9% |
| 1954 | 0.105 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.105 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.11 | +4.8% |
| 1957 | 0.134 | +21.8% |
| 1958 | 0.135 | +0.7% |
| 1959 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.132 | -2.2% |
| 1962 | 0.131 | -0.8% |
| 1963 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.131 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.132 | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 0.133 | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 0.133 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.134 | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 0.134 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.134 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.136 | +1.5% |
| 1976 | 0.133 | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 0.133 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.135 | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.142 | +5.2% |
| 1981 | 0.131 | -7.7% |
| 1982 | 0.119 | -9.2% |
| 1983 | 0.123 | +3.4% |
| 1984 | 0.135 | +9.8% |
| 1985 | 0.139 | +3.0% |
| 1986 | 0.144 | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 0.15 | +4.2% |
| 1988 | 0.155 | +3.3% |
| 1989 | 0.291 | +87.7% |
| 1990 | 0.66 | +126.8% |
| 1991 | 0.783 | +18.6% |
| 1992 | 0.804 | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 0.808 | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 0.811 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 0.81 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 0.802 | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 0.792 | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.796 | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 0.798 | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 0.8 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.806 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 0.813 | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 0.813 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.813 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.815 | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.807 | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 0.803 | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 0.825 | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 0.825 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.827 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.825 | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 0.821 | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.812 | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 0.775 | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 0.598 | -22.8% |
| 2017 | 0.542 | -9.4% |
| 2018 | 0.524 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 0.505 | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 0.45 | -10.9% |
| 2021 | 0.424 | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 0.417 | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 0.457 | +9.6% |
| 2024 | 0.613 | +34.1% |
| 2025 | 0.645 | +5.2% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 0.645 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.689, 94% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Poland's 0.645 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.591, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Key features of liberal democracy in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | +692.3% | 0.026 | 0.206 |
| 1830 | +172.1% | 0.043 | 0.117 |
| 1815 | +137.1% | 0.035 | 0.083 |
| 1990 | +126.8% | 0.291 | 0.66 |
| 1832 | -89.9% | 0.189 | 0.019 |
| 1989 | +87.7% | 0.155 | 0.291 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0.158 | 0.158 | 0.158 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0.1263 | 0.057 | 0.174 | 6 |
| 1800s | 0.098 | 0.098 | 0.098 | 1 |
| 1810s | 0.0839 | 0.035 | 0.111 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0.0619 | 0.043 | 0.092 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0.0458 | 0.019 | 0.189 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.0222 | 0.019 | 0.023 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.0246 | 0.023 | 0.027 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.0256 | 0.022 | 0.027 | 7 |
| 1910s | 0.26 | 0.206 | 0.314 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.4099 | 0.231 | 0.512 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2159 | 0.21 | 0.221 | 9 |
| 1940s | 0.1047 | 0.103 | 0.108 | 6 |
| 1950s | 0.1145 | 0.104 | 0.135 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1316 | 0.131 | 0.135 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.134 | 0.133 | 0.136 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1529 | 0.119 | 0.291 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7864 | 0.66 | 0.811 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.812 | 0.8 | 0.825 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7056 | 0.505 | 0.827 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.501 | 0.417 | 0.645 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Poland
- 34 Trinidad and Tobago 0.668 compare
- 35 Cyprus 0.664 compare
- 37 Italy 0.642 compare
- 38 Mauritius 0.639 compare
- 39 South Africa 0.633 compare
More social development data for Poland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 990,469 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,368 (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 1,368 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0272 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 Poland?
- Key features of liberal democracy in Poland was 0.645 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.827 in 2010.
- What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.019 in 1832.
- How does Poland rank for key features of liberal democracy?
- Poland ranks 36th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Poland 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 — 168 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.