Legislative Corruption Score in Australia
Australia: Legislative Corruption Score was 1.72 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Legislative Corruption Score in Australia, 1825–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1.72 for legislative corruption score in 2025. That is the highest value across all 200 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, legislative corruption score in Australia peaked at 1.72 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.09, in 1825.
That places Australia 16th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 200 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 5 |
| 1830s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1840s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1850s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1860s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1890s | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 10 |
| 1900s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 9 |
| 1910s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.59 | 1.53 | 1.72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.72 | 1.72 | 1.72 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 13 New Zealand 1.89 compare
- 14 Finland 1.82 compare
- 15 Burkina Faso 1.73 compare
- 17 Germany 1.71 compare
- 18 United Kingdom 1.7 compare
- 19 Canada 1.68 compare
More social development data for Australia
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 41 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.844 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.915 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.876 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.844 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.648 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.793 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is legislative corruption score in Australia?
- Legislative corruption score in Australia was 1.72 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest legislative corruption score recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.72 in 2017.
- What is the lowest legislative corruption score recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.09 in 1825.
- How does Australia rank for legislative corruption score?
- Australia ranks 16th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is legislative corruption score rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Legislative Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 200 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which members of the legislature abuse their position for financial gain, such as bribes, government contracts, future employment, or stealing from the state. Higher scores mean less corruption. A score of 0 is approximately the average across all countries and years.