Liberal democracy in El Salvador
El Salvador: Liberal democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
87th
of 176 countries
All-time high
2
in 1999
All-time low
0
in 1838
Years of data
187
1838–2025
Liberal democracy in El Salvador, 1838–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 1 for liberal democracy in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in El Salvador peaked at 2 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1838.
That places El Salvador 87th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Liberal democracy in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1838 | 0 | — |
| 1839 | 0 | — |
| 1840 | 0 | — |
| 1841 | 0 | — |
| 1842 | 1 | — |
| 1843 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1850 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1853 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1856 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1857 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1864 | 0 | — |
| 1865 | 0 | — |
| 1866 | 0 | — |
| 1867 | 0 | — |
| 1868 | 0 | — |
| 1869 | 0 | — |
| 1870 | 1 | — |
| 1871 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1872 | 1 | — |
| 1873 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1874 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1875 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1877 | 0 | — |
| 1878 | 0 | — |
| 1879 | 0 | — |
| 1880 | 1 | — |
| 1881 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1886 | 0 | — |
| 1887 | 0 | — |
| 1888 | 1 | — |
| 1889 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1891 | 0 | — |
| 1892 | 1 | — |
| 1893 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1894 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1895 | 1 | — |
| 1896 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1898 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1899 | 1 | — |
| 1900 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1901 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1904 | 0 | — |
| 1905 | 0 | — |
| 1906 | 0 | — |
| 1907 | 0 | — |
| 1908 | 1 | — |
| 1909 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1916 | 0 | — |
| 1917 | 0 | — |
| 1918 | 0 | — |
| 1919 | 0 | — |
| 1920 | 1 | — |
| 1921 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1928 | 0 | — |
| 1929 | 0 | — |
| 1930 | 0 | — |
| 1931 | 1 | — |
| 1932 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1936 | 0 | — |
| 1937 | 0 | — |
| 1938 | 0 | — |
| 1939 | 0 | — |
| 1940 | 0 | — |
| 1941 | 0 | — |
| 1942 | 0 | — |
| 1943 | 0 | — |
| 1944 | 0 | — |
| 1945 | 0 | — |
| 1946 | 1 | — |
| 1947 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 0 | — |
| 1951 | 0 | — |
| 1952 | 0 | — |
| 1953 | 0 | — |
| 1954 | 0 | — |
| 1955 | 0 | — |
| 1956 | 1 | — |
| 1957 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1962 | 1 | — |
| 1963 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1980 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 1 | — |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 2000 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 1 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 1 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2, 50% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.8 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1850s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.7 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.6 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.7 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5556 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.17 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
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More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in El Salvador?
- Liberal democracy in El Salvador was 1 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1999.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1838.
- How does El Salvador rank for liberal democracy?
- El Salvador ranks 87th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 187 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.