Democracy Index 1952

V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 1952 — 154 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.

Liberal Democracy Index rankings, 1952 — 154 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	86.4	0.0	+32.4
2	🇫🇮 Finland	76.2	0.0	+32.6
3	🇩🇪 Germany	75.2	−1.3	+74.1
4	🇦🇺 Australia	74.9	+0.7	+5.7
5	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	73.5	+0.2	+68.7
6	🇸🇪 Sweden	72.1	+0.2	+9.7
7	🇳🇴 Norway	71.3	0.0	+63.1
8	🇳🇱 Netherlands	71.0	−0.6	+58.5
9	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	69.8	−0.1	+11.4
10	🇮🇸 Iceland	69.4	+0.2	+3.9
11	🇳🇿 New Zealand	68.9	+1.6	+1.0
12	🇮🇪 Ireland	67.0	+0.4	+3.6
13	🇺🇾 Uruguay	65.7	0.0	+20.1
14	🇨🇦 Canada	65.4	0.0	+10.6
15	🇧🇪 Belgium	64.0	0.0	+50.0
16	🇫🇷 France	63.0	0.0	+57.0
17	🇦🇹 Austria	62.3	+0.1	—
18	🇨🇭 Switzerland	56.1	−0.1	+1.9
19	🇯🇵 Japan	54.9	+18.3	+37.1
20	🇮🇹 Italy	54.8	0.0	+51.4
21	🇺🇸 United States of America	52.2	0.0	+6.6
22	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	51.0	−2.0	+22.1
23	🇲🇹 Malta	50.5	0.0	+33.6
24	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	50.3	+0.2	+25.1
25	🇮🇱 Israel	49.9	+0.3	—
26	🇮🇳 India	46.1	+17.5	+30.4
27	🇸🇷 Suriname	40.7	0.0	+25.3
28	🇲🇺 Mauritius	30.4	0.0	+17.2
29	🇨🇱 Chile	29.1	−0.3	+0.9
30	🇧🇧 Barbados	27.6	+5.3	+8.8
31	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	27.3	−0.1	+4.5
32	🇵🇭 Philippines	26.2	+0.2	+21.9
33	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	26.0	+10.5	+18.4
34	🇧🇷 Brazil	25.8	0.0	+20.8
35	🇬🇷 Greece	25.5	+1.1	+21.0
36	🇯🇲 Jamaica	23.6	+0.1	+5.8
37	🇹🇷 Türkiye	22.5	0.0	+12.4
38	🇬🇹 Guatemala	22.2	−0.2	+16.8
39	🇬🇭 Ghana	20.6	+0.4	+10.4
40	🇬🇾 Guyana	20.3	+1.4	+2.2
41	🇮🇩 Indonesia	19.5	0.0	+17.0
42	🇨🇺 Cuba	19.3	−9.8	−11.4
43	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	19.2	0.0	+14.1
44	🇱🇧 Lebanon	19.0	−0.1	+3.1
45	🇫🇯 Fiji	19.0	0.0	+0.3
46	🇦🇷 Argentina	18.7	−0.1	−6.4
47	🇪🇨 Ecuador	18.3	−0.5	+8.0
48	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	18.0	0.0	0.0
49	🇸🇬 Singapore	17.8	0.0	+11.4
50	🇯🇴 Jordan	17.6	+1.2	+2.2
51	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	17.4	0.0	+3.1
52	🇪🇬 Egypt	17.3	−1.5	+0.1
53	South Yemen	16.7	+0.1	+3.9
54	🇮🇶 Iraq	16.4	0.0	−0.1
55	🇵🇦 Panama	16.1	−0.4	−0.1
56	🇵🇰 Pakistan	16.0	−0.2	—
57	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	15.3	0.0	+0.1
58	🇸🇨 Seychelles	14.8	0.0	+6.1
59	🇰🇷 South Korea	14.2	0.0	+12.5
60	🇲🇾 Malaysia	14.0	0.0	+6.1
61	🇬🇲 The Gambia	13.9	−0.1	+2.3
62	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	13.0	+0.1	—
63	🇮🇷 Iran	13.0	+0.5	+4.6
64	🇱🇦 Laos	13.0	+0.1	+6.8
65	🇨🇴 Colombia	12.4	0.0	−6.7
66	🇭🇳 Honduras	12.1	0.0	—
67	🇸🇳 Senegal	11.9	0.0	+6.7
68	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	11.4	+0.3	+7.1
69	🇰🇼 Kuwait	11.1	0.0	+0.3
70	🇭🇹 Haiti	10.9	0.0	+1.3
71	Somaliland	10.9	0.0	+0.2
72	🇳🇬 Nigeria	10.8	+0.1	+0.6
73	🇱🇷 Liberia	10.8	−0.2	−4.6
74	🇿🇲 Zambia	10.7	0.0	+0.5
75	🇵🇱 Poland	10.6	0.0	—
76	🇺🇬 Uganda	10.6	+0.4	+0.7
77	🇱🇾 Libya	10.5	+2.9	—
78	🇹🇭 Thailand	10.4	−0.3	−0.4
79	🇸🇾 Syria	10.3	−5.3	+4.1
80	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	10.3	0.0	+5.4
81	Zanzibar	10.3	0.0	0.0
82	🇿🇦 South Africa	10.2	0.0	−3.0
83	🇧🇼 Botswana	10.2	0.0	+0.4
84	🇩🇿 Algeria	9.6	+0.1	+0.7
85	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	9.6	+0.2	+3.1
86	🇲🇽 Mexico	9.5	0.0	+0.2
87	🇻🇳 Vietnam	9.5	−0.1	—
88	🇨🇾 Cyprus	9.5	0.0	+0.1
89	🇲🇱 Mali	9.4	+0.1	+5.7
90	🇷🇸 Serbia	9.3	+0.1	+7.9
91	🇱🇸 Lesotho	9.2	+0.3	+1.2
92	Palestine/Gaza	9.1	0.0	—
93	🇹🇿 Tanzania	9.0	0.0	0.0
94	🇧🇹 Bhutan	8.6	+0.5	+0.7
95	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	8.6	+0.7	+2.0
96	🇲🇷 Mauritania	8.5	+0.1	+2.1
97	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	8.3	0.0	0.0
98	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	8.2	+0.1	+2.6
99	🇧🇴 Bolivia	8.0	+1.7	+0.8
100	🇧🇯 Benin	7.7	+3.3	+3.5
101	🇪🇷 Eritrea	7.5	−1.0	−1.5
102	🇲🇬 Madagascar	7.5	0.0	+1.9
103	🇵🇹 Portugal	7.3	0.0	+0.1
104	🇸🇿 Eswatini	7.3	0.0	+0.3
105	🇳🇪 Niger	7.2	0.0	+0.5
106	🇲🇻 Maldives	7.1	0.0	+0.1
107	🇳🇵 Nepal	7.0	+1.5	+5.1
108	🇭🇺 Hungary	6.9	0.0	−13.9
109	🇸🇻 El Salvador	6.8	−0.1	+1.7
110	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	6.7	−0.2	0.0
111	Republic of Vietnam	6.6	0.0	+2.0
112	🇹🇩 Chad	6.4	0.0	+4.0
113	🇸🇴 Somalia	6.4	0.0	+0.8
114	🇬🇦 Gabon	6.2	0.0	+4.0
115	German Democratic Republic	6.2	0.0	—
116	🇪🇸 Spain	6.1	0.0	+1.2
117	🇰🇭 Cambodia	6.0	+0.4	+1.8
118	🇸🇩 Sudan	5.9	0.0	+1.6
119	🇳🇦 Namibia	5.7	0.0	−0.1
120	🇵🇪 Peru	5.6	0.0	−10.1
121	🇦🇱 Albania	5.4	0.0	−0.6
122	🇹🇼 Taiwan	5.4	+0.2	+1.7
123	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	5.4	0.0	−7.8
124	🇧🇮 Burundi	5.2	0.0	+0.2
125	🇵🇾 Paraguay	5.2	0.0	+1.7
126	🇰🇪 Kenya	5.1	−0.2	−0.1
127	🇲🇳 Mongolia	5.1	+1.1	+1.5
128	🇶🇦 Qatar	5.1	0.0	+0.1
129	🇻🇪 Venezuela	5.0	−0.1	−6.7
130	🇰🇲 Comoros	4.9	0.0	—
131	🇲🇦 Morocco	4.6	0.0	+0.1
132	🇹🇬 Togo	4.5	0.0	+2.6
133	🇬🇳 Guinea	4.1	−0.8	+1.0
134	🇲🇼 Malawi	4.1	0.0	+0.1
135	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	3.4	0.0	+0.1
136	🇦🇴 Angola	3.4	0.0	0.0
137	🇹🇳 Tunisia	3.3	0.0	0.0
138	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	3.3	0.0	0.0
139	🇨🇿 Czechia	3.3	−0.1	+2.1
140	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	3.3	−0.1	−0.3
141	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	3.0	0.0	+0.5
142	🇷🇴 Romania	3.0	0.0	−3.3
143	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	2.9	0.0	−0.5
144	🇨🇳 China	2.9	0.0	−2.2
145	🇩🇯 Djibouti	2.8	0.0	+0.8
146	🇷🇼 Rwanda	2.6	0.0	+0.1
147	🇴🇲 Oman	2.5	0.0	0.0
148	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	2.4	0.0	+0.1
149	🇲🇿 Mozambique	2.0	0.0	0.0
150	🇾🇪 Yemen	1.8	0.0	+0.6
151	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.7	0.0	—
152	🇷🇺 Russia	1.5	0.0	+0.1
153	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	1.5	0.0	+0.4
154	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	1.2	0.0	0.0

Frequently asked questions

Which countries are the most liberal democracies?

Denmark ranks #1 of 154 countries on the V-Dem liberal democracy index index in 1952, with the highest score of 86.4 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 1952?

In 1952, the top three of 154 ranked countries are Denmark (86.4), Finland (76.2), and Germany (75.2).

Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 1952?

Guinea-Bissau ranks #154 of 154 with a score of 1.2.

Which country changed most on liberal democracy index over the last decade?

Germany shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 74.1 points over the past decade, standing at 75.2 (rank #3) in 1952.

How is the liberal democracy index index measured?

The index comes from the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) project; scores are shown here on a 0–100 scale (higher-precision source data runs 0–1). Higher scores are better. The 1952 edition covers 154 countries.