Liberal democracy in Germany
Germany: Liberal democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Liberal democracy in Germany, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Germany recorded 3 for liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 191 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in Germany peaked at 3 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
Germany ranks 1st 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.2 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1920s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 1 Australia 3 compare
- 1 Austria 3 compare
- 1 Barbados 3 compare
- 1 Belgium 3 compare
- 1 Chile 3 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 3 compare
- 1 Cyprus 3 compare
- 1 Czechia 3 compare
- 1 Denmark 3 compare
- 1 Estonia 3 compare
- 1 Finland 3 compare
- 1 France 3 compare
- 1 Iceland 3 compare
- 1 Italy 3 compare
- 1 Japan 3 compare
- 1 Latvia 3 compare
- 1 Lithuania 3 compare
- 1 Netherlands 3 compare
- 1 New Zealand 3 compare
- 1 Norway 3 compare
- 1 Seychelles 3 compare
- 1 South Korea 3 compare
- 1 Spain 3 compare
- 1 Sweden 3 compare
- 1 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Taiwan 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
More social development data for Germany
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 2.66 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 327 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.828 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.782 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.94 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.94 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.828 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in Germany?
- Liberal democracy in Germany was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1991.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Germany rank for liberal democracy?
- Germany ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Germany 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 — 191 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.