🇨🇳 China: Politics & Democracy
By V-Dem's measure, no — China scores 3.9 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range.
Current leaders
Xi Jinping
Head of State · Chinese Communist Party
Li Qiang
Head of Government · Chinese Communist Party
Democracy trend
Voting alignment
China's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:
Frequently asked questions
Is China a democracy?
By V-Dem's measure, no — China scores 3.9 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range. It ranks #171 of 179 countries in 2025.
Is democracy in China improving or declining?
China's V-Dem liberal democracy score has declined by 1.3 points over the past decade, standing at 3.9 in 2025 (1-year change: +0.2).
Who leads China?
Xi Jinping is China's head of state (Chinese Communist Party); Li Qiang serves as head of government (Chinese Communist Party).