Democracy Index 2005

V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 2005 — 177 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.

Liberal Democracy Index rankings, 2005 — 177 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	89.5	+1.5	+1.5
2	🇸🇪 Sweden	87.7	0.0	−0.2
3	🇳🇴 Norway	86.2	+0.2	+1.5
4	🇩🇪 Germany	85.9	+0.2	+0.6
5	🇨🇭 Switzerland	84.1	0.0	+0.6
6	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	83.9	−0.4	−0.2
7	🇦🇺 Australia	83.8	0.0	−1.0
8	🇵🇹 Portugal	83.5	+1.4	+2.9
9	🇫🇮 Finland	83.0	0.0	−0.2
10	🇳🇿 New Zealand	82.4	−0.1	+1.1
11	🇨🇱 Chile	82.1	+0.4	+3.8
12	🇺🇾 Uruguay	81.9	+1.1	+2.5
13	🇧🇪 Belgium	81.6	+2.1	+0.4
14	🇨🇿 Czechia	81.6	+0.1	−0.3
15	🇵🇱 Poland	81.5	+0.2	+0.5
16	🇳🇱 Netherlands	81.3	0.0	+0.1
17	🇪🇸 Spain	81.1	+0.3	−0.7
18	🇪🇪 Estonia	81.1	0.0	+0.9
19	🇮🇪 Ireland	80.6	0.0	+1.7
20	🇬🇷 Greece	80.4	+0.1	+1.1
21	🇫🇷 France	80.2	0.0	+0.4
22	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	80.0	+0.7	+4.9
23	🇺🇸 United States of America	79.4	−0.5	−1.4
24	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	78.7	0.0	+0.3
25	🇦🇹 Austria	78.4	−0.1	+0.5
26	🇮🇸 Iceland	78.1	−0.1	+0.3
27	🇧🇷 Brazil	77.2	+5.0	+6.0
28	🇯🇵 Japan	76.6	+0.3	+0.6
29	🇰🇷 South Korea	76.2	+0.1	+15.0
30	🇱🇹 Lithuania	76.2	+0.3	+0.5
31	🇮🇹 Italy	76.1	+0.8	+1.7
32	🇭🇺 Hungary	75.4	−0.5	−0.2
33	🇨🇦 Canada	75.1	0.0	−1.1
34	🇸🇰 Slovakia	74.8	0.0	+21.1
35	🇸🇮 Slovenia	73.3	−0.2	−2.4
36	🇱🇻 Latvia	71.0	−0.5	+4.0
37	🇨🇾 Cyprus	70.4	0.0	+7.0
38	🇮🇱 Israel	68.3	0.0	−1.1
39	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	68.2	0.0	+3.3
40	🇹🇼 Taiwan	67.5	−0.2	+39.6
41	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	66.2	0.0	+1.6
42	🇵🇪 Peru	65.9	+0.8	+55.3
43	🇿🇦 South Africa	65.8	+0.9	+13.0
44	🇸🇷 Suriname	65.4	−0.8	+1.5
45	🇧🇧 Barbados	65.0	0.0	+0.3
46	🇲🇺 Mauritius	64.4	−0.4	+2.5
47	🇭🇷 Croatia	63.5	+2.9	+41.6
48	🇬🇭 Ghana	63.4	−0.1	+23.8
49	🇯🇲 Jamaica	62.9	+1.2	+14.0
50	🇦🇷 Argentina	62.5	−0.7	−1.6
51	🇧🇼 Botswana	61.9	+0.4	+3.2
52	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	60.4	−1.9	+1.6
53	🇲🇹 Malta	59.9	0.0	+1.3
54	🇮🇳 India	57.3	−0.5	−0.9
55	🇲🇳 Mongolia	55.7	+0.2	−2.4
56	🇳🇦 Namibia	55.0	+1.3	−0.3
57	🇵🇦 Panama	54.7	−1.4	+1.3
58	🇸🇳 Senegal	53.6	0.0	+6.8
59	🇧🇴 Bolivia	53.4	−0.7	+4.2
60	🇮🇩 Indonesia	53.4	+0.6	+48.2
61	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	52.4	+0.7	+1.6
62	🇷🇸 Serbia	52.3	+0.2	+34.3
63	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	51.4	−0.3	−0.4
64	🇧🇯 Benin	50.8	+1.6	−0.4
65	🇲🇽 Mexico	50.5	0.0	+22.4
66	🇹🇷 Türkiye	48.4	−1.8	+11.1
67	🇷🇴 Romania	46.8	+3.3	+7.6
68	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	45.5	−1.3	+10.7
69	🇪🇨 Ecuador	45.4	+0.2	+0.4
70	🇱🇸 Lesotho	45.2	+0.3	+19.6
71	🇨🇴 Colombia	42.8	+0.4	0.0
72	🇵🇾 Paraguay	42.7	−0.1	+5.0
73	🇦🇱 Albania	42.5	+1.9	+8.1
74	🇳🇪 Niger	42.5	+1.6	+2.1
75	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	42.5	+0.9	+35.6
76	🇿🇲 Zambia	41.9	+1.4	+4.2
77	🇲🇱 Mali	41.6	0.0	−0.6
78	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	41.3	0.0	0.0
79	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	40.8	−0.3	—
80	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	39.6	−0.5	−1.7
81	🇲🇪 Montenegro	38.8	+0.3	—
82	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	38.3	+0.4	+17.8
83	🇬🇹 Guatemala	37.3	+0.1	+13.3
84	🇬🇪 Georgia	37.3	+1.6	+19.1
85	🇹🇿 Tanzania	37.2	−0.1	−2.2
86	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	37.2	0.0	−11.3
87	🇬🇾 Guyana	37.2	0.0	+7.4
88	🇫🇯 Fiji	37.1	0.0	−1.0
89	🇲🇼 Malawi	36.7	−1.0	−6.5
90	🇽🇰 Kosovo	36.4	−1.1	—
91	🇹🇭 Thailand	35.9	−2.3	+5.2
92	🇰🇪 Kenya	35.8	+0.3	+14.7
93	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	35.3	−0.7	+31.8
94	🇵🇭 Philippines	34.8	−0.6	−6.6
95	🇸🇨 Seychelles	34.8	+0.1	+9.1
96	🇲🇩 Moldova	34.5	−3.6	−6.6
97	🇸🇻 El Salvador	33.8	+0.2	+6.4
98	🇭🇳 Honduras	33.1	−0.2	+3.1
99	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	32.6	+0.2	+7.0
100	🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank	32.6	+2.0	+17.6
101	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	32.4	−0.1	+0.4
102	🇲🇿 Mozambique	31.2	+1.6	+0.7
103	🇸🇬 Singapore	30.7	−0.1	+1.0
104	🇳🇬 Nigeria	29.6	0.0	+20.1
105	🇰🇼 Kuwait	28.7	+2.2	+2.0
106	🇺🇦 Ukraine	28.5	+1.4	−4.0
107	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	28.0	−0.5	+10.1
108	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	27.8	−5.1	−6.8
109	🇲🇬 Madagascar	26.9	0.0	−8.8
110	🇱🇷 Liberia	26.7	+2.3	+12.4
111	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	26.3	+4.5	+6.0
112	🇰🇲 Comoros	24.1	+2.6	+4.7
113	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	23.3	0.0	−3.6
114	🇱🇧 Lebanon	23.2	+2.5	+4.4
115	Somaliland	23.2	+0.5	+10.5
116	🇺🇬 Uganda	23.1	+1.5	+0.6
117	🇲🇦 Morocco	22.7	+0.6	+4.0
118	Zanzibar	22.5	+0.4	+3.7
119	🇲🇾 Malaysia	20.9	+0.2	+4.7
120	🇯🇴 Jordan	20.3	+0.1	+0.7
121	🇬🇦 Gabon	20.3	+0.1	+0.4
122	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	19.0	+2.2	+0.8
123	🇵🇰 Pakistan	18.9	−0.3	−1.2
124	🇦🇲 Armenia	18.5	+0.4	−8.8
125	🇻🇪 Venezuela	18.2	−3.4	−42.2
126	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	17.4	+8.3	−4.6
127	🇩🇿 Algeria	16.8	+0.5	+5.5
128	🇧🇹 Bhutan	15.8	0.0	+2.7
129	🇨🇲 Cameroon	15.5	−0.3	+0.9
130	🇾🇪 Yemen	15.3	0.0	+2.1
131	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	15.3	−0.1	−7.2
132	🇪🇬 Egypt	15.2	+0.1	−0.5
133	🇷🇺 Russia	14.9	−0.4	−14.8
134	🇳🇵 Nepal	14.9	+0.4	−16.9
135	🇹🇬 Togo	14.9	−1.7	−1.6
136	🇧🇮 Burundi	14.8	−0.3	−2.2
137	🇮🇷 Iran	12.8	−1.5	+0.8
138	🇴🇲 Oman	12.5	+0.1	+4.1
139	🇷🇼 Rwanda	12.4	+0.1	+0.6
140	🇰🇭 Cambodia	12.3	−0.3	−1.7
141	🇲🇷 Mauritania	12.0	−2.6	−0.4
142	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	12.0	−0.2	−2.7
143	🇬🇳 Guinea	11.7	+0.1	+1.5
144	🇲🇻 Maldives	11.7	+5.6	+5.9
145	🇩🇯 Djibouti	11.6	−0.5	+0.6
146	🇬🇲 The Gambia	11.6	0.0	+4.2
147	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	11.5	+0.5	+1.8
148	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	11.1	+2.2	+8.9
149	🇮🇶 Iraq	10.7	0.0	+4.5
150	🇻🇳 Vietnam	10.3	+1.2	+2.3
151	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	9.8	+0.2	+6.2
152	🇭🇹 Haiti	9.7	−1.1	−14.1
153	🇶🇦 Qatar	9.7	+0.1	+1.4
154	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	9.7	0.0	−19.4
155	🇹🇩 Chad	9.6	0.0	+1.9
156	🇸🇿 Eswatini	9.6	0.0	−0.3
157	🇧🇾 Belarus	9.5	−0.2	−26.3
158	🇹🇳 Tunisia	9.2	+0.1	+0.1
159	🇸🇴 Somalia	9.2	+3.4	+6.5
160	🇧🇭 Bahrain	9.0	+0.2	—
161	🇱🇦 Laos	8.9	0.0	+0.2
162	🇦🇴 Angola	8.6	+0.1	+1.0
163	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	7.4	−0.1	−0.9
164	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	7.0	−1.0	+1.5
165	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	7.0	+0.2	+0.2
166	🇸🇩 Sudan	6.1	+2.1	+4.3
167	🇨🇳 China	5.7	−1.6	−1.2
168	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	5.3	0.0	+0.1
169	🇸🇾 Syria	5.0	+0.1	+1.3
170	🇱🇾 Libya	4.5	0.0	−0.3
171	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	4.2	+0.3	+0.3
172	🇨🇺 Cuba	4.1	+0.1	+0.4
173	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	3.1	−0.4	−1.0
174	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	1.8	0.0	+0.1
175	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	1.5	+0.1	−1.3
176	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.4	0.0	0.0
177	🇪🇷 Eritrea	0.6	0.0	−3.0

Frequently asked questions

Which countries are the most liberal democracies?

Denmark ranks #1 of 177 countries on the V-Dem liberal democracy index index in 2005, with the highest score of 89.5 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 2005?

In 2005, the top three of 177 ranked countries are Denmark (89.5), Sweden (87.7), and Norway (86.2).

Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 2005?

Eritrea ranks #177 of 177 with a score of 0.6.

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

Peru shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 55.3 points over the past decade, standing at 65.9 (rank #42) in 2005.

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 2005 edition covers 177 countries.