South Africa: Liberal democracy index

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
 South Africa

Liberal democracy index

 Latest value 0.652
 Year 2024
 Measure index points
 Data availability 1960 - 2024
 Average 0.347
 Min - Max 0.093 - 0.662
 Source Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
 Available for Data download
The latest value from 2024 is 0.652 index points, an increase from 0.6 index points in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 0.377 index points, based on data from 171 countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from 1960 to 2024 is 0.347 index points. The minimum value, 0.093 index points, was reached in 1961 while the maximum of 0.662 index points was recorded in 2010. See the global rankings for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.
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 Recent values South Africa: Liberal democracy index
 2024 0.652
 2023 0.600
 2022 0.605
 2021 0.607
 2020 0.606
 2019 0.617
 2018 0.639
 2017 0.627




Definition: Measures the protection of individual rights and freedoms within a political system.

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 Related indicators Latest Reference Measure
 Electoral democracy index 0.734 2024 index points
 Liberal democracy index 0.652 2024 index points
 Participatory democracy index 0.468 2024 index points
 Deliberative democracy index 0.652 2024 index points
 Egalitarian democracy index 0.509 2024 index points
 Government accountability 1.383 2024 index points
 Freedom of expression 0.842 2024 index points
 Political corruption 0.555 2024 index points
 Women political empowerment 0.844 2024 index points
 Academic freedom 0.838 2024 index points
 Clean elections index 0.812 2024 index points
 Judicial constraints on executive 0.914 2024 index points
 Legislative constraints on executive 0.943 2024 index points
 Civil society participation index 0.780 2024 index points
 Direct popular vote index 0.020 2024 index points
 Equal protection index 0.775 2024 index points
 Parliamentary elections 1.00 2024 1 elections, 0 otherwise
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