Democracy Index 1990

V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 1990 — 169 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.

Liberal Democracy Index rankings, 1990 — 169 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	88.0	0.0	0.0
2	🇸🇪 Sweden	87.8	+0.3	+0.7
3	🇩🇪 Germany	85.3	+2.9	+3.1
4	🇦🇺 Australia	85.1	+0.7	+2.2
5	🇳🇴 Norway	84.5	+1.6	+1.8
6	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	83.8	+2.6	+7.1
7	🇨🇭 Switzerland	82.9	+1.2	+2.0
8	🇫🇮 Finland	81.9	+1.5	+5.0
9	🇵🇹 Portugal	81.5	−0.1	+3.9
10	🇳🇱 Netherlands	81.4	+0.1	+0.3
11	🇪🇸 Spain	81.1	+0.1	+2.3
12	🇳🇿 New Zealand	80.8	+0.2	+3.3
13	🇫🇷 France	80.2	0.0	+2.9
14	🇺🇸 United States of America	80.0	+0.6	+2.2
15	🇧🇪 Belgium	79.7	+1.9	+1.1
16	🇬🇷 Greece	78.8	+1.5	+5.8
17	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	78.5	+0.5	+0.5
18	🇦🇹 Austria	78.0	−0.3	+3.1
19	🇮🇸 Iceland	77.5	+0.7	+3.1
20	🇮🇪 Ireland	76.0	+0.8	+3.2
21	🇺🇾 Uruguay	76.0	+3.3	+71.5
22	🇯🇵 Japan	75.4	+0.3	+0.2
23	🇨🇦 Canada	75.4	+0.8	+0.7
24	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	74.2	+1.6	+2.3
25	🇮🇹 Italy	73.2	+0.7	+3.6
26	🇱🇹 Lithuania	72.9	—	—
27	🇭🇺 Hungary	71.5	+52.9	+61.5
28	🇨🇿 Czechia	71.0	+65.4	+65.4
29	🇮🇱 Israel	68.9	0.0	+1.2
30	🇪🇪 Estonia	68.1	—	—
31	🇧🇷 Brazil	67.8	+9.9	+55.9
32	🇵🇱 Poland	66.0	+36.9	+51.8
33	🇧🇧 Barbados	63.6	+0.4	+0.9
34	🇨🇱 Chile	63.0	+55.5	+58.6
35	🇦🇷 Argentina	61.7	−5.3	+56.6
36	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	61.7	+0.3	+5.6
37	🇨🇾 Cyprus	60.8	+3.1	+13.2
38	🇲🇺 Mauritius	60.3	−0.8	+1.2
39	🇻🇪 Venezuela	59.5	+1.0	+0.5
40	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	58.0	+0.6	−0.4
41	🇧🇼 Botswana	57.7	+1.4	+6.2
42	🇸🇷 Suriname	54.7	−2.9	+37.3
43	🇲🇹 Malta	54.5	0.0	+5.7
44	🇮🇳 India	54.0	+2.3	+3.7
45	German Democratic Republic	53.8	+47.3	+47.6
46	🇸🇮 Slovenia	51.3	+27.2	—
47	🇰🇷 South Korea	50.0	+0.2	+39.7
48	🇪🇨 Ecuador	46.7	−0.1	+3.0
49	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	45.4	+39.4	+39.7
50	🇱🇻 Latvia	45.2	—	—
51	🇯🇲 Jamaica	44.8	+1.7	+5.9
52	🇧🇴 Bolivia	43.1	+0.9	+40.0
53	🇵🇭 Philippines	43.0	+1.3	+37.0
54	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	42.5	0.0	−1.1
55	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	41.4	+23.6	+33.2
56	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	41.4	−0.1	+0.2
57	🇳🇦 Namibia	40.3	+29.8	+33.1
58	🇵🇪 Peru	39.3	−3.2	+21.3
59	🇸🇳 Senegal	38.1	+1.0	+6.4
60	🇵🇦 Panama	36.7	+29.4	+28.9
61	🇹🇷 Türkiye	34.8	+2.7	+15.2
62	🇧🇾 Belarus	34.3	—	—
63	🇬🇲 The Gambia	33.2	0.0	+0.7
64	🇦🇲 Armenia	32.7	—	—
65	🇨🇴 Colombia	31.6	+1.5	+4.6
66	🇲🇩 Moldova	30.1	—	—
67	🇸🇬 Singapore	29.9	+0.9	+1.9
68	🇷🇴 Romania	29.8	+25.6	+25.6
69	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	28.9	+1.1	+12.2
70	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	27.5	+0.7	−6.3
71	🇹🇿 Tanzania	27.0	+1.9	+3.0
72	🇹🇭 Thailand	26.4	+0.3	+8.0
73	🇭🇳 Honduras	25.7	+6.0	+18.3
74	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	25.2	+3.6	+4.8
75	🇲🇳 Mongolia	23.5	+17.6	+17.7
76	🇺🇦 Ukraine	22.7	—	—
77	🇹🇼 Taiwan	22.6	+2.8	+13.9
78	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	22.2	0.0	+0.7
79	🇬🇾 Guyana	21.8	+0.9	+3.7
80	🇳🇵 Nepal	21.7	+11.4	+11.6
81	🇳🇪 Niger	21.7	+9.7	+13.1
82	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	21.6	−2.2	−3.6
83	🇵🇾 Paraguay	20.8	+13.3	+16.3
84	🇬🇹 Guatemala	20.5	+1.0	+13.9
85	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	20.1	+3.3	+4.2
86	🇵🇰 Pakistan	19.8	−0.4	+14.0
87	🇯🇴 Jordan	19.7	+2.0	+7.9
88	🇱🇧 Lebanon	19.5	+2.1	0.0
89	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	18.8	+4.7	+4.8
90	🇲🇽 Mexico	18.6	+1.4	+5.8
91	🇱🇸 Lesotho	18.0	+6.0	+5.8
92	🇰🇲 Comoros	17.8	+8.2	+8.0
93	🇸🇨 Seychelles	17.8	+0.7	+1.3
94	🇲🇦 Morocco	16.9	+1.8	+2.0
95	🇩🇿 Algeria	16.4	+3.9	+5.3
96	🇲🇾 Malaysia	16.3	+0.2	−3.3
97	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	16.2	+0.6	−2.5
98	🇧🇯 Benin	16.2	+7.8	+7.7
99	🇪🇬 Egypt	16.1	−1.1	+4.1
100	🇺🇬 Uganda	16.1	+1.1	+11.8
101	🇿🇲 Zambia	16.1	+1.2	+1.4
102	🇷🇼 Rwanda	15.7	+0.5	+3.6
103	🇬🇦 Gabon	15.2	+5.0	+5.0
104	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	15.0	—	—
105	🇷🇸 Serbia	15.0	+2.1	+2.5
106	🇫🇯 Fiji	14.7	+0.3	−27.4
107	🇲🇱 Mali	14.5	+1.8	+1.9
108	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	14.1	—	—
109	🇿🇦 South Africa	13.9	+1.8	+4.6
110	🇬🇪 Georgia	13.1	—	—
111	🇧🇹 Bhutan	12.8	+0.2	+0.2
112	🇨🇲 Cameroon	12.7	+2.6	+4.7
113	🇰🇪 Kenya	12.3	+2.6	+0.8
114	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	12.3	+0.7	+4.9
115	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	12.3	—	—
116	Zanzibar	12.2	+0.5	+2.2
117	🇾🇪 Yemen	11.4	+4.1	+5.4
118	🇲🇿 Mozambique	11.1	+6.0	+6.3
119	🇮🇷 Iran	11.1	+0.3	+2.3
120	🇰🇼 Kuwait	11.1	−1.2	−1.4
121	🇲🇬 Madagascar	11.0	+1.1	+2.1
122	🇸🇿 Eswatini	10.4	−0.1	−0.5
123	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	10.2	+0.2	−8.3
124	🇳🇬 Nigeria	10.0	+0.1	−15.4
125	🇬🇭 Ghana	9.7	+1.0	−30.8
126	🇷🇺 Russia	9.6	+3.2	+6.8
127	South Yemen	9.3	+0.3	−1.1
128	🇹🇳 Tunisia	9.2	+1.4	−6.5
129	🇱🇦 Laos	9.2	+0.1	+2.4
130	🇧🇮 Burundi	8.6	+0.1	+0.4
131	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	8.6	−0.1	+0.2
132	🇸🇻 El Salvador	8.5	+0.5	+4.3
133	🇩🇯 Djibouti	8.4	+0.2	+0.2
134	🇭🇹 Haiti	8.0	+0.4	+4.5
135	🇶🇦 Qatar	8.0	+0.4	+0.5
136	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	7.8	—	—
137	🇲🇼 Malawi	7.7	0.0	0.0
138	🇻🇳 Vietnam	7.3	+0.4	+1.3
139	🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank	7.1	−0.5	−0.6
140	🇦🇱 Albania	7.0	+1.2	+1.4
141	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	6.9	—	—
142	🇴🇲 Oman	6.6	0.0	+0.4
143	🇨🇳 China	6.5	−0.1	−0.1
144	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	6.5	+3.3	+3.3
145	🇹🇬 Togo	6.4	+0.1	+0.6
146	🇱🇷 Liberia	6.3	−5.4	+0.2
147	🇮🇶 Iraq	6.2	−0.4	+0.6
148	🇲🇻 Maldives	5.9	+0.2	0.0
149	🇮🇩 Indonesia	5.7	+0.1	−0.1
150	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	5.5	+0.2	+0.7
151	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	5.1	+1.8	+1.6
152	🇦🇴 Angola	5.0	+0.5	+0.5
153	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	4.9	+0.3	+2.8
154	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	4.8	+0.3	−0.5
155	🇱🇾 Libya	4.8	0.0	+0.2
156	🇬🇳 Guinea	4.7	+0.8	+1.1
157	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	4.5	−0.2	+0.3
158	🇲🇷 Mauritania	4.5	+0.1	+0.2
159	🇹🇩 Chad	4.3	+0.9	+1.3
160	🇸🇴 Somalia	3.9	−0.1	+0.7
161	🇸🇾 Syria	3.7	+0.2	+0.2
162	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	3.7	0.0	0.0
163	🇨🇺 Cuba	3.3	0.0	+0.1
164	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	3.2	+0.1	+1.7
165	🇰🇭 Cambodia	2.7	+0.6	+0.5
166	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	2.0	+0.3	−0.7
167	🇪🇷 Eritrea	1.5	+0.5	+0.6
168	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.4	0.0	0.0
169	🇸🇩 Sudan	1.2	−4.8	−6.5

Frequently asked questions

Which countries are the most liberal democracies?

Denmark ranks #1 of 169 countries on the V-Dem liberal democracy index index in 1990, with the highest score of 88.0 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 1990?

In 1990, the top three of 169 ranked countries are Denmark (88.0), Sweden (87.8), and Germany (85.3).

Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 1990?

Sudan ranks #169 of 169 with a score of 1.2.

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

Uruguay shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 71.5 points over the past decade, standing at 76.0 (rank #21) in 1990.

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 1990 edition covers 169 countries.