Varieties of democracy in Guatemala
Guatemala: Varieties of democracy was 0.637 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Varieties of democracy in Guatemala, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Guatemala recorded 0.637 for varieties of democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 233 years on record.
The figure is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 8.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, varieties of democracy in Guatemala peaked at 0.637 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.026, in 1810.
That places Guatemala 63rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Varieties of democracy in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 | 0.027 | — |
| 1790 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1791 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1792 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1793 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1794 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1795 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1796 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1797 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1798 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1799 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1800 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1801 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1802 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1803 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1804 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1805 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1806 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1807 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1808 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1809 | 0.027 | +0.0% |
| 1810 | 0.026 | -3.7% |
| 1811 | 0.028 | +7.7% |
| 1812 | 0.028 | +0.0% |
| 1813 | 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 | 0.037 | +32.1% |
| 1823 | 0.088 | +137.8% |
| 1824 | 0.088 | +0.0% |
| 1825 | 0.116 | +31.8% |
| 1826 | 0.119 | +2.6% |
| 1827 | 0.119 | +0.0% |
| 1828 | 0.119 | +0.0% |
| 1829 | 0.127 | +6.7% |
| 1830 | 0.13 | +2.4% |
| 1831 | 0.119 | -8.5% |
| 1832 | 0.119 | +0.0% |
| 1833 | 0.119 | +0.0% |
| 1834 | 0.11 | -7.6% |
| 1835 | 0.129 | +17.3% |
| 1836 | 0.134 | +3.9% |
| 1837 | 0.134 | +0.0% |
| 1838 | 0.085 | -36.6% |
| 1839 | 0.055 | -35.3% |
| 1840 | 0.055 | +0.0% |
| 1841 | 0.057 | +3.6% |
| 1842 | 0.087 | +52.6% |
| 1843 | 0.087 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 0.073 | -16.1% |
| 1845 | 0.073 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 0.073 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 0.073 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.057 | -21.9% |
| 1852 | 0.105 | +84.2% |
| 1853 | 0.105 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 0.105 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 0.108 | +2.9% |
| 1856 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1857 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1864 | 0.108 | +0.0% |
| 1865 | 0.111 | +2.8% |
| 1866 | 0.111 | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 0.111 | +0.0% |
| 1868 | 0.111 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 0.115 | +3.6% |
| 1870 | 0.116 | +0.9% |
| 1871 | 0.077 | -33.6% |
| 1872 | 0.044 | -42.9% |
| 1873 | 0.08 | +81.8% |
| 1874 | 0.106 | +32.5% |
| 1875 | 0.106 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 0.107 | +0.9% |
| 1877 | 0.109 | +1.9% |
| 1878 | 0.109 | +0.0% |
| 1879 | 0.108 | -0.9% |
| 1880 | 0.107 | -0.9% |
| 1881 | 0.107 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 0.107 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 0.107 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 0.107 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.098 | -8.4% |
| 1886 | 0.112 | +14.3% |
| 1887 | 0.113 | +0.9% |
| 1888 | 0.113 | +0.0% |
| 1889 | 0.11 | -2.7% |
| 1890 | 0.114 | +3.6% |
| 1891 | 0.153 | +34.2% |
| 1892 | 0.162 | +5.9% |
| 1893 | 0.163 | +0.6% |
| 1894 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1896 | 0.164 | +0.6% |
| 1897 | 0.153 | -6.7% |
| 1898 | 0.086 | -43.8% |
| 1899 | 0.032 | -62.8% |
| 1900 | 0.095 | +196.9% |
| 1901 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.093 | -2.1% |
| 1905 | 0.092 | -1.1% |
| 1906 | 0.092 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.092 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.092 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.092 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.095 | +3.3% |
| 1911 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.096 | +1.1% |
| 1917 | 0.095 | -1.0% |
| 1918 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.095 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.11 | +15.8% |
| 1921 | 0.12 | +9.1% |
| 1922 | 0.125 | +4.2% |
| 1923 | 0.14 | +12.0% |
| 1924 | 0.136 | -2.9% |
| 1925 | 0.136 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.137 | +0.7% |
| 1927 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.137 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.129 | -5.8% |
| 1931 | 0.104 | -19.4% |
| 1932 | 0.102 | -1.9% |
| 1933 | 0.102 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.102 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.1 | -2.0% |
| 1936 | 0.099 | -1.0% |
| 1937 | 0.096 | -3.0% |
| 1938 | 0.096 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.096 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.098 | +2.1% |
| 1941 | 0.098 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.098 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.098 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.136 | +38.8% |
| 1945 | 0.292 | +114.7% |
| 1946 | 0.361 | +23.6% |
| 1947 | 0.389 | +7.8% |
| 1948 | 0.39 | +0.3% |
| 1949 | 0.381 | -2.3% |
| 1950 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.38 | -0.3% |
| 1953 | 0.373 | -1.8% |
| 1954 | 0.243 | -34.9% |
| 1955 | 0.079 | -67.5% |
| 1956 | 0.086 | +8.9% |
| 1957 | 0.101 | +17.4% |
| 1958 | 0.152 | +50.5% |
| 1959 | 0.154 | +1.3% |
| 1960 | 0.154 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.157 | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 0.156 | -0.6% |
| 1963 | 0.102 | -34.6% |
| 1964 | 0.088 | -13.7% |
| 1965 | 0.086 | -2.3% |
| 1966 | 0.128 | +48.8% |
| 1967 | 0.184 | +43.7% |
| 1968 | 0.184 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.184 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.176 | -4.3% |
| 1971 | 0.171 | -2.8% |
| 1972 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.173 | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.174 | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 0.17 | -2.3% |
| 1977 | 0.17 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.165 | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 0.163 | -1.2% |
| 1980 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.163 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.109 | -33.1% |
| 1983 | 0.095 | -12.8% |
| 1984 | 0.125 | +31.6% |
| 1985 | 0.149 | +19.2% |
| 1986 | 0.345 | +131.5% |
| 1987 | 0.37 | +7.2% |
| 1988 | 0.37 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.37 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.371 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.382 | +3.0% |
| 1992 | 0.382 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.385 | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 0.396 | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 0.412 | +4.0% |
| 1996 | 0.454 | +10.2% |
| 1997 | 0.489 | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 0.489 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.491 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.542 | +10.4% |
| 2001 | 0.542 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.542 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.543 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 0.552 | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 0.552 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.552 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.563 | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 0.582 | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 0.58 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.583 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 0.581 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.576 | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 0.574 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.572 | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.587 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 0.626 | +6.6% |
| 2017 | 0.621 | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.602 | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 0.597 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.589 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.555 | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 0.509 | -8.3% |
| 2023 | 0.506 | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 0.609 | +20.4% |
| 2025 | 0.637 | +4.6% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 0.637 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.491, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 0.637 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.667, 96% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Varieties of democracy in Guatemala 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | +196.9% | 0.032 | 0.095 |
| 1823 | +137.8% | 0.037 | 0.088 |
| 1986 | +131.5% | 0.149 | 0.345 |
| 1945 | +114.7% | 0.136 | 0.292 |
| 1852 | +84.2% | 0.057 | 0.105 |
| 1873 | +81.8% | 0.044 | 0.08 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0.027 | 0.027 | 0.027 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0.027 | 0.027 | 0.027 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0.027 | 0.027 | 0.027 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0.0278 | 0.026 | 0.028 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0.0934 | 0.028 | 0.127 | 9 |
| 1830s | 0.1134 | 0.055 | 0.134 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.0706 | 0.055 | 0.087 | 9 |
| 1850s | 0.1069 | 0.105 | 0.108 | 8 |
| 1860s | 0.1099 | 0.108 | 0.115 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.0962 | 0.044 | 0.116 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.1081 | 0.098 | 0.113 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.1353 | 0.032 | 0.164 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.0933 | 0.092 | 0.095 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0951 | 0.095 | 0.096 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1315 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1026 | 0.096 | 0.129 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2341 | 0.098 | 0.39 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.233 | 0.079 | 0.381 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1423 | 0.086 | 0.184 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1706 | 0.163 | 0.176 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2259 | 0.095 | 0.37 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4251 | 0.371 | 0.491 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.555 | 0.542 | 0.582 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5919 | 0.572 | 0.626 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5675 | 0.506 | 0.637 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More social development data for Guatemala
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,586 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0019 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 varieties of democracy in Guatemala?
- Varieties of democracy in Guatemala was 0.637 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 0.637 in 2025.
- What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.026 in 1810.
- How does Guatemala rank for varieties of democracy?
- Guatemala ranks 63rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Guatemala data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Varieties of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 233 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.