How does South Africa rank for political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index?

South Africa ranks 86th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

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

Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa

Name: Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Africa: Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index was 0.538 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.538

Change on year

up 4.1%

World rank

86th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.538

in 2025

All-time low

0.389

in 1994

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa, 1900–2025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Africa is 0.538, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Africa peaked at 0.538 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.389, in 1994.

South Africa ranks 86th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.422	—
1901	0.422	+0.0%
1902	0.422	+0.0%
1903	0.422	+0.0%
1904	0.422	+0.0%
1905	0.422	+0.0%
1906	0.422	+0.0%
1907	0.422	+0.0%
1908	0.422	+0.0%
1909	0.422	+0.0%
1910	0.422	+0.0%
1911	0.422	+0.0%
1912	0.422	+0.0%
1913	0.422	+0.0%
1914	0.422	+0.0%
1915	0.422	+0.0%
1916	0.422	+0.0%
1917	0.422	+0.0%
1918	0.422	+0.0%
1919	0.422	+0.0%
1920	0.422	+0.0%
1921	0.422	+0.0%
1922	0.422	+0.0%
1923	0.422	+0.0%
1924	0.422	+0.0%
1925	0.422	+0.0%
1926	0.422	+0.0%
1927	0.422	+0.0%
1928	0.422	+0.0%
1929	0.422	+0.0%
1930	0.422	+0.0%
1931	0.422	+0.0%
1932	0.422	+0.0%
1933	0.422	+0.0%
1934	0.422	+0.0%
1935	0.422	+0.0%
1936	0.422	+0.0%
1937	0.422	+0.0%
1938	0.422	+0.0%
1939	0.422	+0.0%
1940	0.422	+0.0%
1941	0.422	+0.0%
1942	0.422	+0.0%
1943	0.422	+0.0%
1944	0.422	+0.0%
1945	0.422	+0.0%
1946	0.422	+0.0%
1947	0.422	+0.0%
1948	0.428	+1.4%
1949	0.428	+0.0%
1950	0.428	+0.0%
1951	0.428	+0.0%
1952	0.428	+0.0%
1953	0.428	+0.0%
1954	0.428	+0.0%
1955	0.428	+0.0%
1956	0.428	+0.0%
1957	0.428	+0.0%
1958	0.428	+0.0%
1959	0.428	+0.0%
1960	0.428	+0.0%
1961	0.428	+0.0%
1962	0.428	+0.0%
1963	0.428	+0.0%
1964	0.428	+0.0%
1965	0.428	+0.0%
1966	0.428	+0.0%
1967	0.428	+0.0%
1968	0.428	+0.0%
1969	0.428	+0.0%
1970	0.444	+3.7%
1971	0.444	+0.0%
1972	0.444	+0.0%
1973	0.441	-0.7%
1974	0.441	+0.0%
1975	0.441	+0.0%
1976	0.441	+0.0%
1977	0.441	+0.0%
1978	0.441	+0.0%
1979	0.441	+0.0%
1980	0.441	+0.0%
1981	0.441	+0.0%
1982	0.441	+0.0%
1983	0.441	+0.0%
1984	0.441	+0.0%
1985	0.441	+0.0%
1986	0.441	+0.0%
1987	0.441	+0.0%
1988	0.441	+0.0%
1989	0.441	+0.0%
1990	0.441	+0.0%
1991	0.441	+0.0%
1992	0.441	+0.0%
1993	0.441	+0.0%
1994	0.389	-11.8%
1995	0.416	+6.9%
1996	0.395	-5.0%
1997	0.395	+0.0%
1998	0.395	+0.0%
1999	0.395	+0.0%
2000	0.416	+5.3%
2001	0.416	+0.0%
2002	0.416	+0.0%
2003	0.416	+0.0%
2004	0.416	+0.0%
2005	0.443	+6.5%
2006	0.444	+0.2%
2007	0.444	+0.0%
2008	0.446	+0.5%
2009	0.475	+6.5%
2010	0.487	+2.5%
2011	0.487	+0.0%
2012	0.487	+0.0%
2013	0.479	-1.6%
2014	0.481	+0.4%
2015	0.492	+2.3%
2016	0.492	+0.0%
2017	0.5	+1.6%
2018	0.503	+0.6%
2019	0.461	-8.3%
2020	0.426	-7.6%
2021	0.443	+4.0%
2022	0.469	+5.9%
2023	0.522	+11.3%
2024	0.517	-1.0%
2025	0.538	+4.1%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.422	0.422	0.422	10
1910s	0.422	0.422	0.422	10
1920s	0.422	0.422	0.422	10
1930s	0.422	0.422	0.422	10
1940s	0.4232	0.422	0.428	10
1950s	0.428	0.428	0.428	10
1960s	0.428	0.428	0.428	10
1970s	0.4419	0.441	0.444	10
1980s	0.441	0.441	0.441	10
1990s	0.4149	0.389	0.441	10
2000s	0.4332	0.416	0.475	10
2010s	0.4869	0.461	0.503	10
2020s	0.4858	0.426	0.538	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

83 Nepal 0.561 compare
84 China 0.554 compare
84 Eswatini 0.554 compare
87 Ethiopia 0.529 compare
88 Guyana 0.507 compare
89 Hungary 0.488 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Africa

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 1,319 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 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 South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Africa?: Political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Africa was 0.538 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.538 in 2025.
What is the lowest political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.389 in 1994.
How does South Africa rank for political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index?: South Africa ranks 86th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/political-corruption-index-vs-electoral-democracy-index/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 25,295 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.