Democracy Index 1996

V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 1996 — 173 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.

Liberal Democracy Index rankings, 1996 — 173 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	88.0	0.0	+0.2
2	🇸🇪 Sweden	87.9	0.0	+0.6
3	🇩🇪 Germany	85.4	+0.1	+3.5
4	🇦🇺 Australia	84.9	+0.1	+0.5
5	🇳🇴 Norway	84.7	0.0	+1.7
6	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	84.0	−0.1	+5.1
7	🇨🇭 Switzerland	83.9	+0.4	+2.4
8	🇫🇮 Finland	83.2	0.0	+3.3
9	🇪🇸 Spain	82.0	+0.2	+1.5
10	🇳🇿 New Zealand	82.0	+0.7	+1.7
11	🇨🇿 Czechia	81.7	−0.2	+75.9
12	🇵🇹 Portugal	81.6	+1.0	+1.1
13	🇳🇱 Netherlands	81.2	0.0	−0.1
14	🇧🇪 Belgium	81.2	0.0	+2.9
15	🇺🇸 United States of America	80.8	0.0	+1.6
16	🇪🇪 Estonia	80.4	+0.2	—
17	🇵🇱 Poland	80.2	−0.8	+65.8
18	🇫🇷 France	80.2	+0.4	+1.2
19	🇬🇷 Greece	79.7	+0.4	+3.3
20	🇺🇾 Uruguay	79.6	+0.2	+9.6
21	🇮🇪 Ireland	79.3	+0.4	+4.7
22	🇨🇱 Chile	78.4	+0.1	+73.5
23	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	78.4	0.0	+0.5
24	🇮🇸 Iceland	78.3	+0.5	+3.5
25	🇦🇹 Austria	78.0	+0.1	+1.7
26	🇸🇮 Slovenia	76.7	+1.0	—
27	🇨🇦 Canada	76.5	+0.3	+0.8
28	🇯🇵 Japan	75.9	−0.1	+0.7
29	🇭🇺 Hungary	75.6	0.0	+65.0
30	🇱🇹 Lithuania	75.3	−0.4	—
31	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	75.1	0.0	+2.8
32	🇮🇹 Italy	75.0	+0.6	+2.6
33	🇧🇷 Brazil	71.1	−0.1	+39.8
34	🇮🇱 Israel	69.5	+0.1	+1.6
35	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	69.0	+4.1	+42.3
36	🇱🇻 Latvia	67.4	+0.4	—
37	🇸🇷 Suriname	65.0	+1.1	+46.4
38	🇧🇧 Barbados	64.7	0.0	+2.2
39	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	64.6	0.0	+6.0
40	🇨🇾 Cyprus	63.5	+0.1	+7.9
41	🇦🇷 Argentina	63.4	−0.7	−3.8
42	🇰🇷 South Korea	61.8	+0.6	+47.0
43	🇲🇺 Mauritius	61.7	−0.2	+0.9
44	🇻🇪 Venezuela	60.4	0.0	+2.0
45	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	59.7	+0.9	+53.9
46	🇲🇹 Malta	59.6	+1.0	+12.1
47	🇲🇳 Mongolia	59.1	+1.0	+53.2
48	🇮🇳 India	58.8	+0.6	+6.7
49	🇧🇼 Botswana	58.7	0.0	+3.7
50	🇿🇦 South Africa	56.0	+3.2	+44.1
51	🇳🇦 Namibia	55.3	0.0	+47.2
52	🇸🇰 Slovakia	53.7	0.0	—
53	🇵🇦 Panama	53.4	0.0	+46.4
54	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	51.8	0.0	−6.4
55	🇧🇯 Benin	50.7	−0.5	+42.3
56	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	50.0	−0.8	+34.1
57	🇧🇴 Bolivia	49.2	0.0	+8.1
58	🇯🇲 Jamaica	49.0	+0.1	+7.6
59	🇸🇳 Senegal	47.1	+0.3	+10.2
60	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	45.0	−3.5	+29.1
61	🇪🇨 Ecuador	44.1	−0.9	+3.8
62	🇲🇼 Malawi	43.9	+0.7	+36.2
63	🇨🇴 Colombia	42.6	−0.2	+11.8
64	🇬🇭 Ghana	42.5	+2.9	+34.7
65	🇲🇱 Mali	42.2	0.0	+29.7
66	🇵🇭 Philippines	41.6	+0.2	+28.8
67	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	41.3	0.0	−2.5
68	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	41.3	0.0	−1.0
69	🇲🇩 Moldova	41.1	0.0	—
70	🇷🇴 Romania	40.8	+1.6	+36.6
71	🇹🇿 Tanzania	40.3	+0.9	+15.4
72	🇹🇼 Taiwan	38.9	+11.0	+27.2
73	🇿🇲 Zambia	38.4	+0.7	+23.6
74	🇹🇷 Türkiye	38.2	+0.9	+9.9
75	🇫🇯 Fiji	38.2	+0.1	−3.7
76	🇵🇾 Paraguay	38.0	+0.3	+33.3
77	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	35.7	+0.9	—
78	🇲🇬 Madagascar	35.1	−0.6	+25.7
79	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	34.6	0.0	+4.6
80	🇦🇱 Albania	32.1	−2.3	+26.3
81	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	32.0	0.0	+10.5
82	🇺🇦 Ukraine	31.9	−0.6	—
83	🇳🇵 Nepal	31.2	−0.6	+20.9
84	🇭🇳 Honduras	30.5	+0.5	+11.4
85	🇲🇿 Mozambique	30.4	−0.1	+25.6
86	🇸🇬 Singapore	29.9	+0.2	+1.1
87	🇬🇾 Guyana	29.8	0.0	+9.7
88	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	29.7	+0.6	+26.5
89	🇲🇽 Mexico	29.3	+1.2	+15.0
90	🇷🇺 Russia	29.0	−0.7	+25.3
91	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	28.1	+7.6	+2.8
92	🇸🇻 El Salvador	28.0	+0.6	+20.0
93	🇹🇭 Thailand	27.8	−2.9	+5.6
94	🇭🇹 Haiti	27.5	+3.7	+24.6
95	🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank	27.2	+12.2	+19.5
96	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	27.1	+0.2	+13.7
97	🇰🇼 Kuwait	26.8	+0.1	+14.2
98	🇬🇹 Guatemala	26.1	+2.1	+9.6
99	🇱🇸 Lesotho	25.8	+0.2	+15.1
100	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	25.6	0.0	+14.3
101	🇸🇨 Seychelles	25.5	−0.2	+8.4
102	🇭🇷 Croatia	24.2	+2.3	—
103	🇺🇬 Uganda	24.1	+1.6	+13.4
104	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	23.9	+6.0	+9.8
105	🇦🇲 Armenia	23.5	−3.8	—
106	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	22.8	+0.3	+0.6
107	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	22.0	0.0	+15.1
108	🇧🇾 Belarus	21.3	−14.5	—
109	🇰🇪 Kenya	21.1	0.0	+11.1
110	🇬🇪 Georgia	20.8	+2.6	—
111	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	20.3	0.0	+15.8
112	🇵🇰 Pakistan	20.1	0.0	+8.8
113	Zanzibar	20.1	+1.3	+7.1
114	🇬🇦 Gabon	19.8	−0.1	+9.6
115	🇯🇴 Jordan	19.6	0.0	+2.5
116	🇲🇦 Morocco	19.6	+0.9	+4.6
117	🇱🇧 Lebanon	18.8	0.0	−0.2
118	🇷🇸 Serbia	18.5	+0.5	+5.0
119	🇳🇪 Niger	18.2	−22.2	+9.6
120	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	17.9	−0.3	—
121	🇹🇬 Togo	16.7	+0.2	+10.4
122	🇲🇾 Malaysia	16.1	−0.1	−0.7
123	🇩🇿 Algeria	15.7	+4.4	+4.1
124	🇪🇬 Egypt	15.6	−0.1	−1.7
125	🇧🇮 Burundi	15.5	−1.5	+1.9
126	🇨🇲 Cameroon	14.4	−0.2	+4.4
127	🇰🇲 Comoros	14.2	−5.2	+4.9
128	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	14.1	+7.2	—
129	🇰🇭 Cambodia	14.0	0.0	+11.9
130	🇲🇷 Mauritania	13.5	+1.1	+9.2
131	🇾🇪 Yemen	13.2	0.0	+7.2
132	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	13.2	−1.5	—
133	🇧🇹 Bhutan	13.1	0.0	+0.7
134	🇵🇪 Peru	12.9	+2.3	−29.3
135	Somaliland	12.7	0.0	—
136	🇮🇷 Iran	12.3	+0.3	+3.3
137	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	12.0	+8.5	+3.4
138	🇷🇼 Rwanda	12.0	+0.2	−3.0
139	🇱🇷 Liberia	11.7	−2.6	−1.2
140	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	11.1	+1.4	+9.5
141	🇩🇯 Djibouti	11.0	0.0	+2.8
142	🇬🇳 Guinea	10.9	+0.7	+6.9
143	🇸🇿 Eswatini	9.8	−0.1	−0.8
144	🇳🇬 Nigeria	9.4	−0.1	−0.4
145	🇹🇳 Tunisia	9.1	0.0	−6.7
146	🇶🇦 Qatar	8.7	+0.4	+1.2
147	🇱🇦 Laos	8.7	0.0	+1.6
148	🇴🇲 Oman	8.6	+0.2	+2.1
149	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	8.3	0.0	—
150	🇻🇳 Vietnam	8.2	+0.2	+1.7
151	🇹🇩 Chad	8.2	+0.5	+4.8
152	🇬🇲 The Gambia	8.0	+0.6	−24.7
153	🇦🇴 Angola	7.6	0.0	+3.1
154	🇮🇶 Iraq	7.0	+0.8	+0.4
155	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	7.0	+0.2	+1.9
156	🇨🇳 China	6.8	−0.1	+0.1
157	🇲🇻 Maldives	5.8	0.0	+0.1
158	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	5.6	+0.1	—
159	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	5.2	0.0	+0.7
160	🇮🇩 Indonesia	5.1	−0.1	−0.6
161	🇱🇾 Libya	4.8	0.0	0.0
162	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	4.1	0.0	—
163	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	3.9	0.0	+0.2
164	🇨🇺 Cuba	3.8	+0.1	+0.5
165	🇸🇾 Syria	3.7	0.0	0.0
166	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	3.6	0.0	+0.3
167	🇪🇷 Eritrea	3.5	−0.1	+2.6
168	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	2.8	0.0	—
169	🇸🇴 Somalia	2.7	0.0	−1.3
170	🇸🇩 Sudan	2.4	+0.6	−12.2
171	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	1.9	−0.3	−2.6
172	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	1.7	0.0	−1.0
173	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.4	0.0	0.0

Frequently asked questions

Which countries are the most liberal democracies?

Denmark ranks #1 of 173 countries on the V-Dem liberal democracy index index in 1996, with the highest score of 88.0 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 1996?

In 1996, the top three of 173 ranked countries are Denmark (88.0), Sweden (87.9), and Germany (85.4).

Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 1996?

North Korea ranks #173 of 173 with a score of 1.4.

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

Czechia shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 75.9 points over the past decade, standing at 81.7 (rank #11) in 1996.

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 1996 edition covers 173 countries.