Democracy Index 2025
V-Dem liberal democracy rankings as they stood in 2025 — 179 countries scored on a 0–100 scale, with changes versus one and ten years earlier.
| Rank | Country | Score (0–100) | 1y change | 10y change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 88.4 | −0.1 | −1.0 |
| 2 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 85.3 | +0.7 | −2.8 |
| 3 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 84.7 | 0.0 | −2.4 |
| 4 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 84.3 | 0.0 | −1.5 |
| 5 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 83.7 | −1.1 | −0.8 |
| 6 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 82.2 | −0.8 | −0.3 |
| 7 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 80.9 | 0.0 | −4.5 |
| 8 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 80.8 | +2.6 | −1.9 |
| 9 | 🇫🇷 France | 80.0 | 0.0 | −1.2 |
| 10 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 79.4 | −1.6 | −4.3 |
| 11 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 79.4 | −1.7 | +2.8 |
| 12 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 79.3 | −0.3 | −3.2 |
| 13 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 79.0 | +2.2 | −4.2 |
| 14 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 78.7 | −2.4 | −4.1 |
| 15 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 78.2 | +0.4 | −6.3 |
| 16 | 🇨🇱 Chile | 78.1 | −0.5 | −5.8 |
| 17 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 77.7 | −0.4 | −1.6 |
| 18 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 77.4 | +0.8 | −5.7 |
| 19 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 75.7 | −0.5 | −4.8 |
| 20 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 75.1 | −0.8 | −0.3 |
| 21 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 74.1 | −0.2 | −1.8 |
| 22 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 73.9 | +11.2 | +14.0 |
| 23 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 73.6 | −0.8 | +0.1 |
| 24 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 73.4 | −0.3 | −0.6 |
| 25 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 72.0 | −3.7 | −5.7 |
| 26 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 71.7 | −3.7 | −11.2 |
| 27 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 71.2 | −2.0 | −6.8 |
| 28 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 70.4 | −0.8 | −6.5 |
| 29 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 70.4 | −0.3 | +1.8 |
| 30 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 68.9 | −6.1 | −9.9 |
| 31 | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | 68.0 | +2.8 | +25.3 |
| 32 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 67.9 | +0.3 | 0.0 |
| 33 | 🇧🇧 Barbados | 67.9 | −0.6 | +1.7 |
| 34 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | 66.8 | +1.5 | −0.8 |
| 35 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 66.4 | +1.1 | −7.3 |
| 36 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 64.5 | +3.2 | −13.0 |
| 37 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 64.2 | −4.5 | −14.4 |
| 38 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 63.9 | +26.8 | +1.2 |
| 39 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 63.3 | −1.5 | −1.6 |
| 40 | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | 63.1 | −1.1 | −7.6 |
| 41 | 🇸🇷 Suriname | 62.6 | −0.8 | −0.7 |
| 42 | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 62.3 | −6.3 | −1.6 |
| 43 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 62.1 | 0.0 | +3.7 |
| 44 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 61.3 | +11.6 | +21.6 |
| 45 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 60.6 | +4.6 | −2.5 |
| 46 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 59.3 | −1.4 | −11.0 |
| 47 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 58.9 | −4.1 | −21.5 |
| 48 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 58.8 | −0.9 | −6.6 |
| 49 | 🇵🇦 Panama | 57.5 | −0.3 | +2.2 |
| 50 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 57.3 | −1.7 | −15.2 |
| 51 | 🇺🇸 United States of America | 57.1 | −18.0 | −27.7 |
| 52 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 56.8 | +0.3 | −21.7 |
| 53 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 55.5 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 54 | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 54.9 | +0.4 | +8.3 |
| 55 | 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | 53.9 | +0.3 | +8.3 |
| 56 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 52.4 | −3.4 | −6.6 |
| 57 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 52.3 | +3.1 | +9.8 |
| 58 | 🇬🇲 The Gambia | 52.2 | +1.2 | +41.6 |
| 59 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 52.0 | +5.0 | −6.7 |
| 60 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 51.9 | +0.3 | −6.0 |
| 61 | 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe | 51.9 | 0.0 | −3.5 |
| 62 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 51.2 | +0.5 | +6.7 |
| 63 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 50.6 | +0.5 | −18.2 |
| 64 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 50.5 | −1.5 | −2.9 |
| 65 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 50.5 | +1.0 | +16.1 |
| 66 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 50.0 | 0.0 | +11.3 |
| 67 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 49.9 | −3.4 | −6.7 |
| 68 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 48.4 | +2.3 | −10.2 |
| 69 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 46.4 | +1.5 | −14.5 |
| 70 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 46.2 | −1.0 | +1.8 |
| 71 | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | 45.7 | −1.4 | +0.7 |
| 72 | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 45.7 | 0.0 | −2.2 |
| 73 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 44.9 | −5.4 | −2.7 |
| 74 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 44.6 | +0.9 | +2.0 |
| 75 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 42.4 | +3.9 | −13.2 |
| 76 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 41.7 | +1.9 | −3.4 |
| 77 | 🇲🇻 Maldives | 41.6 | −1.9 | +22.9 |
| 78 | 🇫🇯 Fiji | 39.8 | −1.2 | +12.8 |
| 79 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 38.6 | −5.7 | +12.3 |
| 80 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | 38.4 | +0.4 | +3.9 |
| 81 | 🇦🇱 Albania | 38.2 | −1.6 | −5.3 |
| 82 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 38.0 | −0.3 | +13.5 |
| 83 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | 37.6 | −1.4 | −4.0 |
| 84 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 37.5 | −1.5 | +0.4 |
| 85 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 37.4 | +0.4 | +10.4 |
| 86 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 37.1 | −4.1 | +16.8 |
| 87 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 36.0 | +1.2 | +2.9 |
| 88 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 35.5 | −0.4 | +15.1 |
| 89 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 35.2 | +4.2 | −1.6 |
| 90 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 34.8 | −1.5 | +3.0 |
| 91 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 33.9 | +0.3 | −2.4 |
| 92 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 32.8 | +1.4 | −11.6 |
| 93 | 🇧🇯 Benin | 32.3 | 0.0 | −20.0 |
| 94 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 31.5 | −1.0 | −16.2 |
| 95 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 31.4 | +0.8 | +20.9 |
| 96 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 31.1 | −0.3 | −9.0 |
| 97 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 29.7 | −6.0 | −9.4 |
| 98 | Somaliland | 29.7 | +2.5 | +5.0 |
| 99 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 29.6 | −3.6 | −21.5 |
| 100 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 29.1 | −1.0 | −11.8 |
| 101 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 27.5 | −5.2 | −22.9 |
| 102 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 27.4 | +0.4 | +5.3 |
| 103 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 26.7 | +4.1 | −2.8 |
| 104 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 26.5 | −0.6 | −36.4 |
| 105 | 🇮🇳 India | 26.0 | −2.1 | −15.7 |
| 106 | Zanzibar | 25.3 | +0.6 | +1.9 |
| 107 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | 25.1 | −0.1 | +2.1 |
| 108 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 24.0 | +1.0 | +1.2 |
| 109 | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | 22.8 | −2.0 | −7.6 |
| 110 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 22.1 | −2.5 | −21.2 |
| 111 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 22.0 | +1.0 | −1.6 |
| 112 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 20.8 | −1.7 | −13.3 |
| 113 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 18.7 | −1.4 | −7.1 |
| 114 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 17.8 | +2.7 | −4.5 |
| 115 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 17.8 | −0.7 | −13.9 |
| 116 | 🇳🇪 Niger | 17.7 | −0.5 | −31.6 |
| 117 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 17.6 | −1.7 | −8.8 |
| 118 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 17.5 | −1.4 | −12.4 |
| 119 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 16.5 | −0.3 | −5.7 |
| 120 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 16.3 | +0.2 | +4.1 |
| 121 | 🇹🇬 Togo | 15.7 | −1.0 | −10.1 |
| 122 | 🇲🇱 Mali | 15.0 | +0.9 | −19.9 |
| 123 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 14.7 | −0.9 | −6.5 |
| 124 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 14.2 | 0.0 | −16.1 |
| 125 | 🇴🇲 Oman | 14.0 | +0.1 | −0.1 |
| 126 | 🇰🇲 Comoros | 13.2 | +1.0 | −10.8 |
| 127 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 13.1 | −0.2 | +2.1 |
| 128 | 🇸🇴 Somalia | 12.8 | +0.1 | +0.5 |
| 129 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 12.7 | −0.9 | −5.1 |
| 130 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 12.7 | −5.2 | −15.1 |
| 131 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 12.6 | +0.3 | −4.9 |
| 132 | 🇩🇯 Djibouti | 11.8 | 0.0 | +0.4 |
| 133 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 11.6 | +1.9 | +0.8 |
| 134 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 11.5 | −0.8 | +2.2 |
| 135 | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | 11.5 | −0.8 | −0.7 |
| 136 | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | 11.5 | −0.4 | +1.3 |
| 137 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 11.4 | −1.2 | −3.8 |
| 138 | 🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank | 11.4 | −0.4 | −4.8 |
| 139 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 11.0 | +0.1 | −12.0 |
| 140 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 11.0 | −0.7 | +2.1 |
| 141 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 10.3 | −2.3 | −20.3 |
| 142 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 10.3 | +1.5 | −3.3 |
| 143 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 10.2 | −0.7 | −1.3 |
| 144 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 10.2 | +0.5 | −7.7 |
| 145 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 10.0 | +0.7 | −0.2 |
| 146 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | 9.8 | −0.3 | −14.5 |
| 147 | 🇱🇾 Libya | 9.8 | −1.1 | −7.4 |
| 148 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | 9.7 | −0.4 | 0.0 |
| 149 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 9.5 | +2.0 | −6.6 |
| 150 | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 9.5 | −4.5 | −19.5 |
| 151 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 9.1 | −0.4 | +0.2 |
| 152 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 9.0 | 0.0 | −37.2 |
| 153 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | 9.0 | −0.1 | −4.8 |
| 154 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 7.9 | +0.5 | +4.3 |
| 155 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 7.7 | 0.0 | −1.3 |
| 156 | 🇸🇸 South Sudan | 6.4 | −0.7 | −0.2 |
| 157 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 6.2 | +0.8 | −2.9 |
| 158 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 6.2 | 0.0 | +1.1 |
| 159 | 🇧🇮 Burundi | 6.0 | −0.2 | −0.3 |
| 160 | Palestine/Gaza | 5.8 | +0.3 | −0.5 |
| 161 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | 5.7 | +0.1 | 0.0 |
| 162 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 5.6 | −0.1 | −5.3 |
| 163 | 🇸🇾 Syria | 5.4 | 0.0 | +2.9 |
| 164 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 5.3 | 0.0 | −1.0 |
| 165 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 5.1 | +0.3 | −6.4 |
| 166 | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | 4.7 | −0.2 | −0.3 |
| 167 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 4.7 | 0.0 | +0.1 |
| 168 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 4.3 | −0.4 | −2.6 |
| 169 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 4.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 170 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 4.2 | −0.4 | −6.1 |
| 171 | 🇨🇳 China | 3.9 | +0.2 | −1.3 |
| 172 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | 3.8 | +0.2 | −6.2 |
| 173 | 🇸🇩 Sudan | 3.4 | +0.4 | −3.0 |
| 174 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 3.4 | 0.0 | +1.0 |
| 175 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 1.9 | −0.1 | −10.5 |
| 176 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 1.8 | +0.4 | −18.3 |
| 177 | 🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar | 1.5 | 0.0 | −16.6 |
| 178 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 179 | 🇪🇷 Eritrea | 0.9 | 0.0 | +0.3 |
Frequently asked questions
Which countries are the most liberal democracies?
Denmark ranks #1 of 179 countries on the V-Dem liberal democracy index index in 2025, with the highest score of 88.4 on a 0–100 scale.
What are the top 3 countries for liberal democracy index in 2025?
In 2025, the top three of 179 ranked countries are Denmark (88.4), Sweden (85.3), and Norway (84.7).
Which country ranks last on liberal democracy index in 2025?
Eritrea ranks #179 of 179 with a score of 0.9.
Which country changed most on liberal democracy index over the last decade?
The Gambia shows the largest 10-year shift: its score improved by 41.6 points over the past decade, standing at 52.2 (rank #58) in 2025.
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 2025 edition covers 179 countries.