What is varieties of democracy in South Africa?

Varieties of democracy in South Africa was 0.743 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 0.779 in 2006.

What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.156 in 1900.

How does South Africa rank for varieties of democracy?

South Africa ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

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 Varieties of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Varieties of democracy in South Africa

Name: Varieties of democracy in South Africa
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Africa: Varieties of democracy was 0.743 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.743

Change on year

up 1.2%

World rank

42nd

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.779

in 2006

All-time low

0.156

in 1900

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Varieties of democracy in South Africa, 1900–2025

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.743 for varieties of democracy in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, varieties of democracy in South Africa peaked at 0.779 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.156, in 1900.

That places South Africa 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Varieties of democracy in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Varieties of democracy in South Africa, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.156	—
1901	0.156	+0.0%
1902	0.156	+0.0%
1903	0.156	+0.0%
1904	0.156	+0.0%
1905	0.156	+0.0%
1906	0.156	+0.0%
1907	0.156	+0.0%
1908	0.156	+0.0%
1909	0.156	+0.0%
1910	0.186	+19.2%
1911	0.225	+21.0%
1912	0.225	+0.0%
1913	0.225	+0.0%
1914	0.225	+0.0%
1915	0.225	+0.0%
1916	0.224	-0.4%
1917	0.224	+0.0%
1918	0.224	+0.0%
1919	0.224	+0.0%
1920	0.225	+0.4%
1921	0.225	+0.0%
1922	0.225	+0.0%
1923	0.225	+0.0%
1924	0.225	+0.0%
1925	0.225	+0.0%
1926	0.225	+0.0%
1927	0.225	+0.0%
1928	0.225	+0.0%
1929	0.226	+0.4%
1930	0.227	+0.4%
1931	0.231	+1.8%
1932	0.236	+2.2%
1933	0.235	-0.4%
1934	0.234	-0.4%
1935	0.234	+0.0%
1936	0.234	+0.0%
1937	0.234	+0.0%
1938	0.235	+0.4%
1939	0.235	+0.0%
1940	0.235	+0.0%
1941	0.235	+0.0%
1942	0.235	+0.0%
1943	0.235	+0.0%
1944	0.235	+0.0%
1945	0.235	+0.0%
1946	0.235	+0.0%
1947	0.231	-1.7%
1948	0.207	-10.4%
1949	0.201	-2.9%
1950	0.199	-1.0%
1951	0.199	+0.0%
1952	0.199	+0.0%
1953	0.196	-1.5%
1954	0.195	-0.5%
1955	0.195	+0.0%
1956	0.195	+0.0%
1957	0.195	+0.0%
1958	0.195	+0.0%
1959	0.195	+0.0%
1960	0.191	-2.1%
1961	0.16	-16.2%
1962	0.167	+4.4%
1963	0.167	+0.0%
1964	0.163	-2.4%
1965	0.163	+0.0%
1966	0.164	+0.6%
1967	0.164	+0.0%
1968	0.164	+0.0%
1969	0.164	+0.0%
1970	0.165	+0.6%
1971	0.165	+0.0%
1972	0.165	+0.0%
1973	0.165	+0.0%
1974	0.165	+0.0%
1975	0.165	+0.0%
1976	0.165	+0.0%
1977	0.163	-1.2%
1978	0.161	-1.2%
1979	0.161	+0.0%
1980	0.16	-0.6%
1981	0.176	+10.0%
1982	0.176	+0.0%
1983	0.176	+0.0%
1984	0.177	+0.6%
1985	0.178	+0.6%
1986	0.178	+0.0%
1987	0.176	-1.1%
1988	0.175	-0.6%
1989	0.186	+6.3%
1990	0.224	+20.4%
1991	0.254	+13.4%
1992	0.254	+0.0%
1993	0.264	+3.9%
1994	0.392	+48.5%
1995	0.657	+67.6%
1996	0.663	+0.9%
1997	0.663	+0.0%
1998	0.668	+0.8%
1999	0.709	+6.1%
2000	0.743	+4.8%
2001	0.743	+0.0%
2002	0.743	+0.0%
2003	0.743	+0.0%
2004	0.764	+2.8%
2005	0.778	+1.8%
2006	0.779	+0.1%
2007	0.779	+0.0%
2008	0.775	-0.5%
2009	0.775	+0.0%
2010	0.778	+0.4%
2011	0.777	-0.1%
2012	0.779	+0.3%
2013	0.765	-1.8%
2014	0.758	-0.9%
2015	0.755	-0.4%
2016	0.752	-0.4%
2017	0.738	-1.9%
2018	0.747	+1.2%
2019	0.727	-2.7%
2020	0.719	-1.1%
2021	0.725	+0.8%
2022	0.718	-1.0%
2023	0.712	-0.8%
2024	0.734	+3.1%
2025	0.743	+1.2%

South Africa compared with similar countries

South Africa's 0.743 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.491, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
South Africa's 0.743 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.317, 2.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.156	0.156	0.156	10
1910s	0.2207	0.186	0.225	10
1920s	0.2251	0.225	0.226	10
1930s	0.2335	0.227	0.236	10
1940s	0.2284	0.201	0.235	10
1950s	0.1963	0.195	0.199	10
1960s	0.1667	0.16	0.191	10
1970s	0.164	0.161	0.165	10
1980s	0.1758	0.16	0.186	10
1990s	0.4748	0.224	0.709	10
2000s	0.7622	0.743	0.779	10
2010s	0.7576	0.727	0.779	10
2020s	0.7252	0.712	0.743	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

39 Seychelles 0.76 compare
40 Cape Verde 0.745 compare
40 Italy 0.745 compare
43 Greece 0.741 compare
44 Mauritius 0.738 compare
45 East Timor 0.736 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 varieties of democracy in South Africa?: Varieties of democracy in South Africa was 0.743 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.779 in 2006.
What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.156 in 1900.
How does South Africa rank for varieties of democracy?: South Africa ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
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 Varieties of democracy. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Varieties of democracy in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 12 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/varieties-democracy-vdem/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/varieties-democracy-vdem/south-africa/">Varieties of democracy in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Varieties of democracy
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 09 October 2026

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.