Statizoid

Liberal Democracy Index in Finland

Finland: Liberal Democracy Index was 0.808 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.808
Change on year
up 3.3%
World rank
8th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.858
in 2013
All-time low
0.135
in 1863
Years of data
183
1789–2025

Liberal Democracy Index in Finland, 1789–2025

0.20.40.60.8178919072025

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

Analysis

Finland recorded 0.808 for liberal democracy index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 3.3% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, liberal democracy index in Finland peaked at 0.858 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.135, in 1863.

Finland ranks 8th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Liberal Democracy Index in Finland, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.207 —
1790 0.223 +7.7%
1791 0.223 +0.0%
1792 0.231 +3.6%
1793 0.224 -3.0%
1794 0.224 +0.0%
1795 0.224 +0.0%
1796 0.224 +0.0%
1797 0.224 +0.0%
1798 0.224 +0.0%
1799 0.224 +0.0%
1800 0.224 +0.0%
1801 0.224 +0.0%
1802 0.224 +0.0%
1803 0.224 +0.0%
1804 0.224 +0.0%
1805 0.224 +0.0%
1806 0.224 +0.0%
1807 0.224 +0.0%
1808 0.224 +0.0%
1863 0.135 -39.7%
1864 0.159 +17.8%
1865 0.159 +0.0%
1866 0.159 +0.0%
1867 0.158 -0.6%
1868 0.158 +0.0%
1869 0.159 +0.6%
1870 0.159 +0.0%
1871 0.159 +0.0%
1872 0.159 +0.0%
1873 0.159 +0.0%
1874 0.159 +0.0%
1875 0.159 +0.0%
1876 0.159 +0.0%
1877 0.159 +0.0%
1878 0.159 +0.0%
1879 0.159 +0.0%
1880 0.159 +0.0%
1881 0.159 +0.0%
1882 0.159 +0.0%
1883 0.159 +0.0%
1884 0.159 +0.0%
1885 0.16 +0.6%
1886 0.16 +0.0%
1887 0.16 +0.0%
1888 0.159 -0.6%
1889 0.16 +0.6%
1890 0.16 +0.0%
1891 0.161 +0.6%
1892 0.161 +0.0%
1893 0.161 +0.0%
1894 0.165 +2.5%
1895 0.165 +0.0%
1896 0.165 +0.0%
1897 0.165 +0.0%
1898 0.162 -1.8%
1899 0.162 +0.0%
1900 0.166 +2.5%
1901 0.166 +0.0%
1902 0.166 +0.0%
1903 0.166 +0.0%
1904 0.164 -1.2%
1905 0.166 +1.2%
1906 0.181 +9.0%
1907 0.227 +25.4%
1908 0.225 -0.9%
1909 0.223 -0.9%
1910 0.228 +2.2%
1911 0.229 +0.4%
1912 0.254 +10.9%
1913 0.254 +0.0%
1914 0.246 -3.1%
1915 0.246 +0.0%
1916 0.246 +0.0%
1917 0.283 +15.0%
1918 0.401 +41.7%
1919 0.525 +30.9%
1920 0.549 +4.6%
1921 0.553 +0.7%
1922 0.552 -0.2%
1923 0.545 -1.3%
1924 0.545 +0.0%
1925 0.544 -0.2%
1926 0.546 +0.4%
1927 0.546 +0.0%
1928 0.546 +0.0%
1929 0.543 -0.5%
1930 0.496 -8.7%
1931 0.496 +0.0%
1932 0.496 +0.0%
1933 0.509 +2.6%
1934 0.513 +0.8%
1935 0.513 +0.0%
1936 0.518 +1.0%
1937 0.528 +1.9%
1938 0.53 +0.4%
1939 0.456 -14.0%
1940 0.439 -3.7%
1941 0.44 +0.2%
1942 0.436 -0.9%
1943 0.436 +0.0%
1944 0.437 +0.2%
1945 0.582 +33.2%
1946 0.65 +11.7%
1947 0.643 -1.1%
1948 0.659 +2.5%
1949 0.747 +13.4%
1950 0.761 +1.9%
1951 0.762 +0.1%
1952 0.762 +0.0%
1953 0.767 +0.7%
1954 0.767 +0.0%
1955 0.767 +0.0%
1956 0.757 -1.3%
1957 0.756 -0.1%
1958 0.761 +0.7%
1959 0.765 +0.5%
1960 0.766 +0.1%
1961 0.766 +0.0%
1962 0.758 -1.0%
1963 0.758 +0.0%
1964 0.757 -0.1%
1965 0.762 +0.7%
1966 0.758 -0.5%
1967 0.768 +1.3%
1968 0.77 +0.3%
1969 0.763 -0.9%
1970 0.764 +0.1%
1971 0.764 +0.0%
1972 0.761 -0.4%
1973 0.758 -0.4%
1974 0.76 +0.3%
1975 0.762 +0.3%
1976 0.769 +0.9%
1977 0.769 +0.0%
1978 0.768 -0.1%
1979 0.767 -0.1%
1980 0.769 +0.3%
1981 0.773 +0.5%
1982 0.787 +1.8%
1983 0.796 +1.1%
1984 0.797 +0.1%
1985 0.797 +0.0%
1986 0.799 +0.3%
1987 0.804 +0.6%
1988 0.804 +0.0%
1989 0.804 +0.0%
1990 0.819 +1.9%
1991 0.823 +0.5%
1992 0.822 -0.1%
1993 0.831 +1.1%
1994 0.831 +0.0%
1995 0.832 +0.1%
1996 0.832 +0.0%
1997 0.832 +0.0%
1998 0.832 +0.0%
1999 0.833 +0.1%
2000 0.834 +0.1%
2001 0.834 +0.0%
2002 0.834 +0.0%
2003 0.831 -0.4%
2004 0.83 -0.1%
2005 0.83 +0.0%
2006 0.842 +1.4%
2007 0.842 +0.0%
2008 0.842 +0.0%
2009 0.842 +0.0%
2010 0.842 +0.0%
2011 0.843 +0.1%
2012 0.844 +0.1%
2013 0.858 +1.7%
2014 0.858 +0.0%
2015 0.827 -3.6%
2016 0.827 +0.0%
2017 0.836 +1.1%
2018 0.849 +1.6%
2019 0.842 -0.8%
2020 0.844 +0.2%
2021 0.835 -1.1%
2022 0.827 -1.0%
2023 0.812 -1.8%
2024 0.782 -3.7%
2025 0.808 +3.3%

Finland compared with similar countries

  • Finland's 0.808 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.689, 1.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Finland's 0.808 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 Liberal Democracy Index in Finland 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
1918 +41.7% 0.283 0.401
1863 -39.7% 0.224 0.135
1945 +33.2% 0.437 0.582
1919 +30.9% 0.401 0.525
1907 +25.4% 0.181 0.227

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.207 0.207 0.207 1
1790s 0.2245 0.223 0.231 10
1800s 0.224 0.224 0.224 9
1860s 0.1553 0.135 0.159 7
1870s 0.159 0.159 0.159 10
1880s 0.1594 0.159 0.16 10
1890s 0.1627 0.16 0.165 10
1900s 0.185 0.164 0.227 10
1910s 0.2912 0.228 0.525 10
1920s 0.5469 0.543 0.553 10
1930s 0.5055 0.456 0.53 10
1940s 0.5469 0.436 0.747 10
1950s 0.7625 0.756 0.767 10
1960s 0.7626 0.757 0.77 10
1970s 0.7642 0.758 0.769 10
1980s 0.793 0.769 0.804 10
1990s 0.8287 0.819 0.833 10
2000s 0.8361 0.83 0.842 10
2010s 0.8426 0.827 0.858 10
2020s 0.818 0.782 0.844 6

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 5 Estonia 0.837 compare
  2. 6 Ireland 0.822 compare
  3. 7 Costa Rica 0.809 compare
  4. 9 France 0.8 compare
  5. 10 Belgium 0.794 compare
  6. 10 Czechia 0.794 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is liberal democracy index in Finland?
Liberal democracy index in Finland was 0.808 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest liberal democracy index recorded in Finland?
The highest recorded value was 0.858 in 2013.
What is the lowest liberal democracy index recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.135 in 1863.
How does Finland rank for liberal democracy index?
Finland ranks 8th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is liberal democracy index rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Finland data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 183 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Liberal Democracy Index in Finland. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/liberal-democracy-index/finland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/liberal-democracy-index/finland/">Liberal Democracy Index in Finland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Liberal Democracy Index
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.