What is participatory democracy index in Australia?

Participatory democracy index in Australia was 0.648 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in Australia?

The highest recorded value was 0.682 in 1981.

What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in Australia?

The lowest recorded value was 0.028 in 1789.

How does Australia rank for participatory democracy index?

Australia ranks 5th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in Australia?

Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Australia data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Participatory Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Participatory Democracy Index in Australia

Name: Participatory Democracy Index in Australia
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Australia: Participatory Democracy Index was 0.648 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.648

Change on year

up 2.7%

World rank

5th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.682

in 1981

All-time low

0.028

in 1789

Years of data

234

1789–2025

Participatory Democracy Index in Australia, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, participatory democracy index in Australia stood at 0.648.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, participatory democracy index in Australia peaked at 0.682 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.028, in 1789.

Australia ranks 5th 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.

Participatory Democracy Index in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Participatory Democracy Index in Australia, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.028	—
1790	0.028	+0.0%
1791	0.028	+0.0%
1792	0.028	+0.0%
1793	0.028	+0.0%
1794	0.028	+0.0%
1795	0.028	+0.0%
1796	0.028	+0.0%
1797	0.028	+0.0%
1798	0.028	+0.0%
1799	0.028	+0.0%
1800	0.028	+0.0%
1801	0.028	+0.0%
1802	0.028	+0.0%
1803	0.028	+0.0%
1804	0.028	+0.0%
1805	0.028	+0.0%
1806	0.028	+0.0%
1807	0.028	+0.0%
1808	0.028	+0.0%
1809	0.028	+0.0%
1810	0.028	+0.0%
1814	0.028	+0.0%
1815	0.028	+0.0%
1816	0.028	+0.0%
1817	0.028	+0.0%
1818	0.028	+0.0%
1819	0.028	+0.0%
1820	0.028	+0.0%
1821	0.028	+0.0%
1822	0.028	+0.0%
1823	0.044	+57.1%
1824	0.056	+27.3%
1825	0.056	+0.0%
1826	0.056	+0.0%
1827	0.056	+0.0%
1828	0.056	+0.0%
1829	0.07	+25.0%
1830	0.07	+0.0%
1831	0.07	+0.0%
1832	0.07	+0.0%
1833	0.07	+0.0%
1834	0.07	+0.0%
1835	0.07	+0.0%
1836	0.07	+0.0%
1837	0.07	+0.0%
1838	0.07	+0.0%
1839	0.07	+0.0%
1840	0.07	+0.0%
1841	0.07	+0.0%
1842	0.07	+0.0%
1843	0.084	+20.0%
1844	0.095	+13.1%
1845	0.095	+0.0%
1846	0.11	+15.8%
1847	0.11	+0.0%
1848	0.11	+0.0%
1849	0.111	+0.9%
1850	0.111	+0.0%
1851	0.111	+0.0%
1852	0.111	+0.0%
1853	0.111	+0.0%
1854	0.111	+0.0%
1855	0.111	+0.0%
1856	0.248	+123.4%
1857	0.326	+31.5%
1858	0.38	+16.6%
1859	0.383	+0.8%
1860	0.383	+0.0%
1861	0.383	+0.0%
1862	0.383	+0.0%
1863	0.383	+0.0%
1864	0.383	+0.0%
1865	0.384	+0.3%
1866	0.384	+0.0%
1867	0.384	+0.0%
1868	0.384	+0.0%
1869	0.384	+0.0%
1870	0.384	+0.0%
1871	0.384	+0.0%
1872	0.382	-0.5%
1873	0.382	+0.0%
1874	0.382	+0.0%
1875	0.382	+0.0%
1876	0.382	+0.0%
1877	0.383	+0.3%
1878	0.383	+0.0%
1879	0.383	+0.0%
1880	0.384	+0.3%
1881	0.385	+0.3%
1882	0.385	+0.0%
1883	0.383	-0.5%
1884	0.383	+0.0%
1885	0.383	+0.0%
1886	0.383	+0.0%
1887	0.383	+0.0%
1888	0.384	+0.3%
1889	0.382	-0.5%
1890	0.38	-0.5%
1891	0.381	+0.3%
1892	0.381	+0.0%
1893	0.381	+0.0%
1894	0.381	+0.0%
1895	0.381	+0.0%
1896	0.38	-0.3%
1897	0.38	+0.0%
1898	0.377	-0.8%
1899	0.378	+0.3%
1900	0.414	+9.5%
1901	0.457	+10.4%
1902	0.541	+18.4%
1903	0.536	-0.9%
1904	0.543	+1.3%
1905	0.543	+0.0%
1906	0.571	+5.2%
1907	0.575	+0.7%
1908	0.573	-0.3%
1909	0.571	-0.3%
1910	0.561	-1.8%
1911	0.559	-0.4%
1912	0.557	-0.4%
1913	0.556	-0.2%
1914	0.537	-3.4%
1915	0.525	-2.2%
1916	0.532	+1.3%
1917	0.52	-2.3%
1918	0.531	+2.1%
1919	0.554	+4.3%
1920	0.579	+4.5%
1921	0.579	+0.0%
1922	0.577	-0.3%
1923	0.575	-0.3%
1924	0.569	-1.0%
1925	0.562	-1.2%
1926	0.566	+0.7%
1927	0.568	+0.4%
1928	0.568	+0.0%
1929	0.565	-0.5%
1930	0.567	+0.4%
1931	0.567	+0.0%
1932	0.567	+0.0%
1933	0.565	-0.4%
1934	0.563	-0.4%
1935	0.562	-0.2%
1936	0.56	-0.4%
1937	0.567	+1.2%
1938	0.567	+0.0%
1939	0.538	-5.1%
1940	0.519	-3.5%
1941	0.524	+1.0%
1942	0.541	+3.2%
1943	0.54	-0.2%
1944	0.544	+0.7%
1945	0.544	+0.0%
1946	0.583	+7.2%
1947	0.584	+0.2%
1948	0.584	+0.0%
1949	0.584	+0.0%
1950	0.579	-0.9%
1951	0.576	-0.5%
1952	0.58	+0.7%
1953	0.591	+1.9%
1954	0.594	+0.5%
1955	0.596	+0.3%
1956	0.599	+0.5%
1957	0.595	-0.7%
1958	0.592	-0.5%
1959	0.589	-0.5%
1960	0.583	-1.0%
1961	0.58	-0.5%
1962	0.578	-0.3%
1963	0.582	+0.7%
1964	0.579	-0.5%
1965	0.579	+0.0%
1966	0.583	+0.7%
1967	0.62	+6.3%
1968	0.62	+0.0%
1969	0.62	+0.0%
1970	0.631	+1.8%
1971	0.631	+0.0%
1972	0.639	+1.3%
1973	0.645	+0.9%
1974	0.644	-0.2%
1975	0.643	-0.2%
1976	0.638	-0.8%
1977	0.671	+5.2%
1978	0.672	+0.1%
1979	0.672	+0.0%
1980	0.68	+1.2%
1981	0.682	+0.3%
1982	0.678	-0.6%
1983	0.672	-0.9%
1984	0.676	+0.6%
1985	0.678	+0.3%
1986	0.681	+0.4%
1987	0.678	-0.4%
1988	0.676	-0.3%
1989	0.674	-0.3%
1990	0.678	+0.6%
1991	0.676	-0.3%
1992	0.676	+0.0%
1993	0.667	-1.3%
1994	0.661	-0.9%
1995	0.655	-0.9%
1996	0.637	-2.7%
1997	0.624	-2.0%
1998	0.62	-0.6%
1999	0.643	+3.7%
2000	0.647	+0.6%
2001	0.645	-0.3%
2002	0.641	-0.6%
2003	0.641	+0.0%
2004	0.636	-0.8%
2005	0.631	-0.8%
2006	0.627	-0.6%
2007	0.627	+0.0%
2008	0.64	+2.1%
2009	0.636	-0.6%
2010	0.639	+0.5%
2011	0.636	-0.5%
2012	0.636	+0.0%
2013	0.599	-5.8%
2014	0.594	-0.8%
2015	0.603	+1.5%
2016	0.606	+0.5%
2017	0.636	+5.0%
2018	0.627	-1.4%
2019	0.589	-6.1%
2020	0.602	+2.2%
2021	0.595	-1.2%
2022	0.606	+1.8%
2023	0.636	+5.0%
2024	0.631	-0.8%
2025	0.648	+2.7%

Australia compared with similar countries

Australia's 0.648 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.529, 1.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Australia's 0.648 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2725, 2.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Participatory Democracy Index in Australia 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.

Year	Change	From	To
1856	+123.4%	0.111	0.248
1823	+57.1%	0.028	0.044
1857	+31.5%	0.248	0.326
1824	+27.3%	0.044	0.056
1829	+25.0%	0.056	0.07

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.028	0.028	0.028	1
1790s	0.028	0.028	0.028	10
1800s	0.028	0.028	0.028	10
1810s	0.028	0.028	0.028	7
1820s	0.0478	0.028	0.07	10
1830s	0.07	0.07	0.07	10
1840s	0.0925	0.07	0.111	10
1850s	0.2003	0.111	0.383	10
1860s	0.3835	0.383	0.384	10
1870s	0.3827	0.382	0.384	10
1880s	0.3835	0.382	0.385	10
1890s	0.38	0.377	0.381	10
1900s	0.5324	0.414	0.575	10
1910s	0.5432	0.52	0.561	10
1920s	0.5708	0.562	0.579	10
1930s	0.5623	0.538	0.567	10
1940s	0.5547	0.519	0.584	10
1950s	0.5891	0.576	0.599	10
1960s	0.5924	0.578	0.62	10
1970s	0.6486	0.631	0.672	10
1980s	0.6775	0.672	0.682	10
1990s	0.6537	0.62	0.678	10
2000s	0.6371	0.627	0.647	10
2010s	0.6165	0.589	0.639	10
2020s	0.6197	0.595	0.648	6

Countries ranked near Australia

2 Uruguay 0.716 compare
3 Denmark 0.7 compare
4 Taiwan 0.652 compare
6 Norway 0.638 compare
7 Sweden 0.635 compare
8 Belgium 0.633 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Australia

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 41 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is participatory democracy index in Australia?: Participatory democracy index in Australia was 0.648 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in Australia?: The highest recorded value was 0.682 in 1981.
What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in Australia?: The lowest recorded value was 0.028 in 1789.
How does Australia rank for participatory democracy index?: Australia ranks 5th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in Australia?: Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Australia data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Participatory Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Participatory Democracy Index in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/participatory-democracy-index/australia/

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About this data

Indicator: Participatory Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,363 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which citizens can engage in regional and local government, civil society organizations, and direct democracy.