Participatory Democracy Index in Iran
Iran: Participatory Democracy Index was 0.042 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.042
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
167th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.088
in 1952
All-time low
0.008
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Participatory Democracy Index in Iran, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, participatory democracy index in Iran stood at 0.042.
That represents a change of down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, participatory democracy index in Iran peaked at 0.088 in 1952 and was at its lowest, 0.008, in 1900.
That places Iran 167th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Participatory Democracy Index in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.008 | — |
| 1901 | 0.008 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.008 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.008 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.008 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.008 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.013 | +62.5% |
| 1907 | 0.028 | +115.4% |
| 1908 | 0.027 | -3.6% |
| 1909 | 0.022 | -18.5% |
| 1910 | 0.026 | +18.2% |
| 1911 | 0.026 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.024 | -7.7% |
| 1913 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.019 | -20.8% |
| 1922 | 0.027 | +42.1% |
| 1923 | 0.022 | -18.5% |
| 1924 | 0.034 | +54.5% |
| 1925 | 0.029 | -14.7% |
| 1926 | 0.022 | -24.1% |
| 1927 | 0.029 | +31.8% |
| 1928 | 0.029 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.029 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.029 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.021 | -27.6% |
| 1932 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.025 | +19.0% |
| 1942 | 0.034 | +36.0% |
| 1943 | 0.036 | +5.9% |
| 1944 | 0.04 | +11.1% |
| 1945 | 0.045 | +12.5% |
| 1946 | 0.048 | +6.7% |
| 1947 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.068 | +41.7% |
| 1951 | 0.074 | +8.8% |
| 1952 | 0.088 | +18.9% |
| 1953 | 0.06 | -31.8% |
| 1954 | 0.029 | -51.7% |
| 1955 | 0.034 | +17.2% |
| 1956 | 0.024 | -29.4% |
| 1957 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.028 | +16.7% |
| 1961 | 0.028 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.027 | -3.6% |
| 1963 | 0.031 | +14.8% |
| 1964 | 0.044 | +41.9% |
| 1965 | 0.045 | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.044 | -2.2% |
| 1976 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.062 | +40.9% |
| 1980 | 0.047 | -24.2% |
| 1981 | 0.037 | -21.3% |
| 1982 | 0.035 | -5.4% |
| 1983 | 0.035 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.04 | +14.3% |
| 1985 | 0.039 | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 0.038 | -2.6% |
| 1987 | 0.047 | +23.7% |
| 1988 | 0.047 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.062 | +31.9% |
| 1990 | 0.062 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.061 | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 0.059 | -3.3% |
| 1993 | 0.059 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.058 | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 0.056 | -3.4% |
| 1996 | 0.058 | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 0.072 | +24.1% |
| 1998 | 0.065 | -9.7% |
| 1999 | 0.073 | +12.3% |
| 2000 | 0.067 | -8.2% |
| 2001 | 0.067 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.066 | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 0.062 | -6.1% |
| 2004 | 0.058 | -6.5% |
| 2005 | 0.05 | -13.8% |
| 2006 | 0.043 | -14.0% |
| 2007 | 0.042 | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 0.041 | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 0.043 | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 0.036 | -16.3% |
| 2011 | 0.037 | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 0.041 | +10.8% |
| 2013 | 0.043 | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 0.045 | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 0.048 | +6.7% |
| 2016 | 0.049 | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 0.048 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 0.046 | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 0.044 | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 0.041 | -6.8% |
| 2021 | 0.038 | -7.3% |
| 2022 | 0.034 | -10.5% |
| 2023 | 0.035 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 0.042 | +20.0% |
| 2025 | 0.042 | +0.0% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 0.042 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.294, 14% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Iran's 0.042 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.087, 48% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Participatory Democracy Index in Iran 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | +115.4% | 0.013 | 0.028 |
| 1906 | +62.5% | 0.008 | 0.013 |
| 1924 | +54.5% | 0.022 | 0.034 |
| 1954 | -51.7% | 0.06 | 0.029 |
| 1922 | +42.1% | 0.019 | 0.027 |
| 1964 | +41.9% | 0.031 | 0.044 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0138 | 0.008 | 0.028 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0244 | 0.024 | 0.026 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0264 | 0.019 | 0.034 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0218 | 0.021 | 0.029 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0393 | 0.021 | 0.048 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0449 | 0.024 | 0.088 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0383 | 0.027 | 0.045 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.0463 | 0.044 | 0.062 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0427 | 0.035 | 0.062 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0623 | 0.056 | 0.073 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0539 | 0.041 | 0.067 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0437 | 0.036 | 0.049 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0387 | 0.034 | 0.042 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iran
- 164 South Sudan 0.047 compare
- 165 North Korea 0.044 compare
- 166 Azerbaijan 0.043 compare
- 168 Equatorial Guinea 0.041 compare
- 168 Myanmar 0.041 compare
- 170 China 0.036 compare
More social development data for Iran
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 770,514 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0083 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is participatory democracy index in Iran?
- Participatory democracy index in Iran was 0.042 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 0.088 in 1952.
- What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.008 in 1900.
- How does Iran rank for participatory democracy index?
- Iran ranks 167th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.