Statizoid

Participatory Democracy Index in Finland

Finland: Participatory Democracy Index was 0.597 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.597
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
12th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.642
in 1995
All-time low
0.049
in 1789
Years of data
183
1789–2025

Participatory Democracy Index in Finland, 1789–2025

00.20.40.6178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, participatory democracy index in Finland stood at 0.597.

The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, participatory democracy index in Finland peaked at 0.642 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.049, in 1789.

Finland ranks 12th 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 Finland, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.049 —
1790 0.049 +0.0%
1791 0.049 +0.0%
1792 0.053 +8.2%
1793 0.049 -7.5%
1794 0.049 +0.0%
1795 0.049 +0.0%
1796 0.049 +0.0%
1797 0.049 +0.0%
1798 0.049 +0.0%
1799 0.049 +0.0%
1800 0.049 +0.0%
1801 0.049 +0.0%
1802 0.049 +0.0%
1803 0.049 +0.0%
1804 0.049 +0.0%
1805 0.049 +0.0%
1806 0.049 +0.0%
1807 0.049 +0.0%
1808 0.049 +0.0%
1863 0.139 +183.7%
1864 0.162 +16.5%
1865 0.164 +1.2%
1866 0.165 +0.6%
1867 0.165 +0.0%
1868 0.165 +0.0%
1869 0.165 +0.0%
1870 0.165 +0.0%
1871 0.165 +0.0%
1872 0.165 +0.0%
1873 0.165 +0.0%
1874 0.165 +0.0%
1875 0.165 +0.0%
1876 0.165 +0.0%
1877 0.165 +0.0%
1878 0.165 +0.0%
1879 0.165 +0.0%
1880 0.179 +8.5%
1881 0.179 +0.0%
1882 0.179 +0.0%
1883 0.179 +0.0%
1884 0.179 +0.0%
1885 0.179 +0.0%
1886 0.179 +0.0%
1887 0.179 +0.0%
1888 0.179 +0.0%
1889 0.179 +0.0%
1890 0.179 +0.0%
1891 0.179 +0.0%
1892 0.179 +0.0%
1893 0.179 +0.0%
1894 0.189 +5.6%
1895 0.189 +0.0%
1896 0.189 +0.0%
1897 0.189 +0.0%
1898 0.189 +0.0%
1899 0.189 +0.0%
1900 0.186 -1.6%
1901 0.186 +0.0%
1902 0.187 +0.5%
1903 0.187 +0.0%
1904 0.187 +0.0%
1905 0.189 +1.1%
1906 0.213 +12.7%
1907 0.241 +13.1%
1908 0.238 -1.2%
1909 0.216 -9.2%
1910 0.216 +0.0%
1911 0.216 +0.0%
1912 0.216 +0.0%
1913 0.216 +0.0%
1914 0.212 -1.9%
1915 0.212 +0.0%
1916 0.221 +4.2%
1917 0.251 +13.6%
1918 0.339 +35.1%
1919 0.406 +19.8%
1920 0.424 +4.4%
1921 0.427 +0.7%
1922 0.424 -0.7%
1923 0.417 -1.7%
1924 0.413 -1.0%
1925 0.415 +0.5%
1926 0.415 +0.0%
1927 0.414 -0.2%
1928 0.414 +0.0%
1929 0.412 -0.5%
1930 0.372 -9.7%
1931 0.394 +5.9%
1932 0.394 +0.0%
1933 0.399 +1.3%
1934 0.4 +0.3%
1935 0.4 +0.0%
1936 0.403 +0.8%
1937 0.406 +0.7%
1938 0.404 -0.5%
1939 0.335 -17.1%
1940 0.32 -4.5%
1941 0.319 -0.3%
1942 0.315 -1.3%
1943 0.314 -0.3%
1944 0.323 +2.9%
1945 0.45 +39.3%
1946 0.487 +8.2%
1947 0.481 -1.2%
1948 0.496 +3.1%
1949 0.547 +10.3%
1950 0.555 +1.5%
1951 0.557 +0.4%
1952 0.558 +0.2%
1953 0.561 +0.5%
1954 0.561 +0.0%
1955 0.561 +0.0%
1956 0.551 -1.8%
1957 0.545 -1.1%
1958 0.548 +0.6%
1959 0.551 +0.5%
1960 0.551 +0.0%
1961 0.551 +0.0%
1962 0.546 -0.9%
1963 0.546 +0.0%
1964 0.545 -0.2%
1965 0.549 +0.7%
1966 0.546 -0.5%
1967 0.561 +2.7%
1968 0.568 +1.2%
1969 0.562 -1.1%
1970 0.564 +0.4%
1971 0.564 +0.0%
1972 0.562 -0.4%
1973 0.562 +0.0%
1974 0.562 +0.0%
1975 0.563 +0.2%
1976 0.568 +0.9%
1977 0.568 +0.0%
1978 0.566 -0.4%
1979 0.568 +0.4%
1980 0.568 +0.0%
1981 0.572 +0.7%
1982 0.583 +1.9%
1983 0.587 +0.7%
1984 0.588 +0.2%
1985 0.588 +0.0%
1986 0.588 +0.0%
1987 0.591 +0.5%
1988 0.591 +0.0%
1989 0.591 +0.0%
1990 0.601 +1.7%
1991 0.607 +1.0%
1992 0.607 +0.0%
1993 0.613 +1.0%
1994 0.641 +4.6%
1995 0.642 +0.2%
1996 0.642 +0.0%
1997 0.642 +0.0%
1998 0.642 +0.0%
1999 0.641 -0.2%
2000 0.639 -0.3%
2001 0.637 -0.3%
2002 0.635 -0.3%
2003 0.632 -0.5%
2004 0.629 -0.5%
2005 0.627 -0.3%
2006 0.635 +1.3%
2007 0.633 -0.3%
2008 0.631 -0.3%
2009 0.629 -0.3%
2010 0.625 -0.6%
2011 0.626 +0.2%
2012 0.625 -0.2%
2013 0.627 +0.3%
2014 0.627 +0.0%
2015 0.61 -2.7%
2016 0.609 -0.2%
2017 0.615 +1.0%
2018 0.625 +1.6%
2019 0.624 -0.2%
2020 0.624 +0.0%
2021 0.617 -1.1%
2022 0.615 -0.3%
2023 0.595 -3.3%
2024 0.582 -2.2%
2025 0.597 +2.6%

Finland compared with similar countries

  • Finland's 0.597 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.529, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Finland's 0.597 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.4995, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Participatory Democracy Index in Finland 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.

YearChange FromTo
1863 +183.7% 0.049 0.139
1945 +39.3% 0.323 0.45
1918 +35.1% 0.251 0.339

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.049 0.049 0.049 1
1790s 0.0494 0.049 0.053 10
1800s 0.049 0.049 0.049 9
1860s 0.1607 0.139 0.165 7
1870s 0.165 0.165 0.165 10
1880s 0.179 0.179 0.179 10
1890s 0.185 0.179 0.189 10
1900s 0.203 0.186 0.241 10
1910s 0.2505 0.212 0.406 10
1920s 0.4175 0.412 0.427 10
1930s 0.3907 0.335 0.406 10
1940s 0.4052 0.314 0.547 10
1950s 0.5548 0.545 0.561 10
1960s 0.5525 0.545 0.568 10
1970s 0.5647 0.562 0.568 10
1980s 0.5847 0.568 0.591 10
1990s 0.6278 0.601 0.642 10
2000s 0.6327 0.627 0.639 10
2010s 0.6213 0.609 0.627 10
2020s 0.605 0.582 0.624 6

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 9 Estonia 0.621 compare
  2. 10 Ireland 0.619 compare
  3. 11 Costa Rica 0.606 compare
  4. 12 France 0.597 compare
  5. 14 Latvia 0.595 compare
  6. 15 Germany 0.593 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is participatory democracy index in Finland?
Participatory democracy index in Finland was 0.597 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in Finland?
The highest recorded value was 0.642 in 1995.
What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.049 in 1789.
How does Finland rank for participatory democracy index?
Finland ranks 12th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Finland 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 Finland. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/participatory-democracy-index/finland/

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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

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.