Liberal democracy in Iceland
Iceland: Liberal democracy was 3 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Liberal democracy in Iceland, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for liberal democracy in Iceland is 3, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in Iceland peaked at 3 in 1920 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
Iceland ranks 1st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1.2 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1910s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1920s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1940s | 2.6 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1960s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 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 Germany 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 Iceland
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 0 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.807 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.72 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.95 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.95 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.807 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in Iceland?
- Liberal democracy in Iceland was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1920.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Iceland rank for liberal democracy?
- Iceland ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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 — 126 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.