Democracy Index 1963

V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 1963 — 154 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.

Liberal Democracy Index rankings, 1963 — 154 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	87.6	+0.1	+1.1
2	🇩🇪 Germany	79.9	+0.5	+3.4
3	🇦🇺 Australia	78.7	+0.9	+2.5
4	🇳🇴 Norway	77.1	0.0	+5.7
5	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	77.0	+0.5	+3.5
6	🇧🇪 Belgium	75.9	+0.2	+11.9
7	🇫🇮 Finland	75.8	0.0	−0.9
8	🇳🇿 New Zealand	75.3	+0.9	+6.4
9	🇯🇵 Japan	75.1	0.0	+5.3
10	🇳🇱 Netherlands	73.4	−0.5	+3.0
11	🇨🇦 Canada	73.3	+1.2	+7.5
12	🇸🇪 Sweden	72.8	0.0	+0.4
13	🇮🇸 Iceland	70.2	−0.1	+0.4
14	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	69.9	0.0	+0.1
15	🇮🇪 Ireland	69.6	+0.1	+2.6
16	🇦🇹 Austria	68.9	0.0	+6.5
17	🇫🇷 France	66.6	+3.0	+3.6
18	🇺🇾 Uruguay	64.9	−1.5	−1.2
19	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	63.2	0.0	+7.0
20	🇮🇹 Italy	61.8	+0.7	+6.6
21	🇺🇸 United States of America	57.0	+1.0	+5.5
22	🇨🇭 Switzerland	56.5	0.0	+0.4
23	🇮🇱 Israel	53.7	0.0	+4.7
24	🇻🇪 Venezuela	52.5	−0.2	+47.8
25	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	50.6	0.0	+0.9
26	🇲🇹 Malta	50.2	+27.8	−0.3
27	🇮🇳 India	49.9	−0.2	−0.7
28	🇧🇧 Barbados	46.5	−0.3	+18.9
29	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	45.1	+0.9	+17.8
30	🇸🇷 Suriname	42.8	+0.2	+2.1
31	🇯🇲 Jamaica	41.2	+0.9	+11.2
32	🇨🇱 Chile	40.3	+0.7	+10.8
33	🇲🇺 Mauritius	40.3	+0.1	+9.9
34	🇨🇾 Cyprus	33.3	−0.2	+23.9
35	🇬🇷 Greece	30.7	+0.3	+2.8
36	🇸🇬 Singapore	30.0	+0.5	+12.2
37	🇸🇳 Senegal	29.2	−0.1	+17.4
38	🇵🇭 Philippines	29.2	0.0	+2.8
39	🇹🇿 Tanzania	28.2	+3.7	+18.8
40	🇧🇷 Brazil	26.9	−0.3	+1.0
41	🇨🇴 Colombia	25.1	0.0	+14.2
42	🇰🇼 Kuwait	24.8	+3.6	+13.7
43	🇹🇷 Türkiye	24.5	+1.4	+1.5
44	🇸🇴 Somalia	24.1	0.0	+17.7
45	🇱🇧 Lebanon	23.2	0.0	+1.5
46	🇺🇬 Uganda	22.7	+6.8	+12.1
47	🇦🇷 Argentina	22.6	+2.1	+4.1
48	🇬🇭 Ghana	22.5	−0.2	+1.9
49	🇧🇯 Benin	22.3	0.0	+15.0
50	🇬🇲 The Gambia	21.9	+1.6	+8.0
51	🇲🇾 Malaysia	21.8	0.0	+7.8
52	🇫🇯 Fiji	21.4	+2.2	+2.4
53	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	21.3	0.0	+8.3
54	🇵🇦 Panama	21.2	0.0	+1.2
55	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	21.0	0.0	+1.8
56	🇬🇾 Guyana	21.0	0.0	+1.8
57	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	20.2	+13.9	+17.2
58	🇳🇬 Nigeria	19.6	0.0	+8.0
59	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	18.6	0.0	+9.8
60	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	18.1	0.0	+0.7
61	🇵🇪 Peru	18.0	+3.9	+12.5
62	🇷🇼 Rwanda	17.6	−0.1	+15.0
63	🇲🇱 Mali	17.3	−0.3	+7.9
64	🇧🇼 Botswana	17.3	+0.1	+7.1
65	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	17.2	−0.2	−1.4
66	South Yemen	17.2	−0.4	+0.5
67	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	17.0	−1.8	+6.7
68	🇯🇴 Jordan	16.3	0.0	−1.5
69	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	15.7	0.0	+6.1
70	Zanzibar	15.5	+3.7	+5.0
71	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	15.2	0.0	−0.1
72	Republic of Vietnam	15.2	−1.4	+8.6
73	🇰🇭 Cambodia	15.1	−0.1	+10.6
74	🇸🇨 Seychelles	15.1	+0.2	+0.1
75	🇹🇳 Tunisia	14.8	0.0	+11.5
76	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	14.3	0.0	+6.0
77	🇱🇾 Libya	13.7	+0.7	+3.0
78	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	13.5	−1.3	+10.2
79	🇧🇮 Burundi	13.4	+0.3	+8.0
80	🇳🇪 Niger	13.2	0.0	+6.0
81	🇵🇱 Poland	13.1	0.0	+2.6
82	🇲🇬 Madagascar	13.1	0.0	+5.6
83	🇱🇦 Laos	12.4	0.0	−0.4
84	🇲🇦 Morocco	12.2	+3.8	+7.6
85	🇲🇷 Mauritania	12.1	0.0	+3.7
86	🇵🇰 Pakistan	12.0	+1.9	−4.0
87	🇧🇹 Bhutan	12.0	0.0	+1.8
88	🇰🇪 Kenya	11.8	+4.6	+6.7
89	🇿🇲 Zambia	11.7	+0.6	+1.1
90	🇬🇦 Gabon	11.4	0.0	+5.2
91	🇷🇸 Serbia	11.3	+1.6	+1.6
92	🇧🇴 Bolivia	11.0	−0.1	+1.1
93	🇲🇼 Malawi	11.0	+1.9	+6.9
94	🇰🇷 South Korea	10.8	+0.5	−4.0
95	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	10.6	−1.0	−0.9
96	🇱🇷 Liberia	10.6	0.0	−0.2
97	🇸🇾 Syria	10.6	−5.0	−0.4
98	🇲🇽 Mexico	10.4	0.0	+0.9
99	Palestine/Gaza	10.4	+0.9	+1.3
100	🇮🇩 Indonesia	10.3	−0.2	−9.4
101	🇱🇸 Lesotho	10.3	−0.7	+1.1
102	🇪🇬 Egypt	10.1	+0.5	+0.5
103	🇹🇬 Togo	10.0	−0.1	+5.4
104	🇹🇩 Chad	9.9	−0.4	+3.5
105	🇿🇦 South Africa	9.4	0.0	−0.8
106	🇩🇿 Algeria	9.2	+5.0	−0.1
107	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	8.5	0.0	+0.6
108	🇹🇭 Thailand	8.4	0.0	−2.0
109	🇭🇺 Hungary	8.3	−0.2	+0.8
110	🇳🇵 Nepal	8.0	+3.0	+0.9
111	🇭🇳 Honduras	7.8	−1.1	−4.3
112	🇵🇹 Portugal	7.4	0.0	+0.1
113	🇸🇿 Eswatini	7.4	+0.1	+0.1
114	🇮🇷 Iran	7.2	+0.1	−1.8
115	🇻🇳 Vietnam	7.1	0.0	−1.9
116	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	7.1	+0.5	+0.4
117	🇨🇲 Cameroon	7.1	0.0	—
118	🇸🇻 El Salvador	6.8	+0.6	0.0
119	🇪🇸 Spain	6.6	0.0	+0.5
120	🇲🇻 Maldives	6.2	−0.3	−0.1
121	🇹🇼 Taiwan	6.1	0.0	+0.7
122	🇬🇹 Guatemala	6.0	−1.7	−12.8
123	German Democratic Republic	6.0	0.0	−0.2
124	🇲🇳 Mongolia	5.8	0.0	+0.6
125	🇰🇲 Comoros	5.8	0.0	+0.9
126	🇪🇨 Ecuador	5.7	−12.8	−12.2
127	🇳🇦 Namibia	5.7	0.0	0.0
128	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	5.6	0.0	+0.1
129	🇶🇦 Qatar	5.5	0.0	+0.4
130	🇨🇿 Czechia	5.5	+0.1	+2.9
131	🇦🇱 Albania	5.4	0.0	0.0
132	🇮🇶 Iraq	5.4	−2.2	−12.0
133	🇸🇩 Sudan	4.8	0.0	−4.1
134	🇾🇪 Yemen	4.2	+0.9	+1.9
135	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	4.2	+0.2	+0.9
136	🇷🇴 Romania	4.1	0.0	+0.9
137	🇵🇾 Paraguay	3.9	+0.2	−1.3
138	🇬🇳 Guinea	3.8	−0.2	−0.8
139	🇨🇳 China	3.7	0.0	+0.8
140	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	3.7	+0.1	+2.2
141	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	3.5	0.0	+1.1
142	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	3.4	0.0	+0.5
143	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	3.4	0.0	0.0
144	🇦🇴 Angola	3.4	0.0	0.0
145	🇩🇯 Djibouti	3.4	0.0	+0.6
146	🇭🇹 Haiti	3.0	0.0	−7.9
147	🇨🇺 Cuba	2.6	+0.1	−8.8
148	🇪🇷 Eritrea	2.5	−1.7	−5.9
149	🇴🇲 Oman	2.4	−0.1	−0.1
150	🇷🇺 Russia	2.3	0.0	+0.8
151	🇲🇿 Mozambique	2.0	0.0	0.0
152	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	1.8	−3.5	−26.3
153	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.5	0.0	−0.2
154	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	1.2	−0.1	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 1963, with the highest score of 87.6 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 1963?

In 1963, the top three of 154 ranked countries are Denmark (87.6), Germany (79.9), and Australia (78.7).

Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 1963?

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

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

Venezuela shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 47.8 points over the past decade, standing at 52.5 (rank #24) in 1963.

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 1963 edition covers 154 countries.