Liberal democracy in Sweden
Sweden: Liberal democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Liberal democracy in Sweden, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for liberal democracy in Sweden is 3, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in Sweden peaked at 3 in 1922 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.
Sweden 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 | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 2.6 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3 | 3 | 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 Sweden
- 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 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 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Taiwan 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
More social development data for Sweden
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 144,116 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 128 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.889 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.853 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.96 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.96 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.889 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in Sweden?
- Liberal democracy in Sweden was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1922.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
- How does Sweden rank for liberal democracy?
- Sweden ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 237 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.