V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · Participatory Democracy Index
Participatory democracy by country
How far do citizens take part in politics beyond voting for representatives?
Switzerland placed first of the 176 countries compared in 2025, at 0.785, and Eritrea last, at 0.008. In the middle country the figure was 0.298. Among the 166 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from 0.165 to 0.287.
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Part ofDemocracy & Civil Liberties
Participatory democracy · 2025
Context statistic
Highest of 176Switzerland
0.785012025 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 176 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
2
3Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Lowest in 2025
- 176
Eritrea0.008 - 175
Saudi Arabia0.026 - 174
United Arab Emirates0.031
Positions out of 176. Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Participatory democracy on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 0.008–0.118
- 0.119–0.233
- 0.236–0.349
- 0.354–0.510
- 0.519–0.785
- No reading in 2025
- Europe
0.531
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Switzerland0.785
Belarus0.054Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Americas
0.441
the middle country, of 27 measured · 48 members
Uruguay0.716
Cuba0.054Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Oceania
0.376
the middle country, of 6 measured · 21 members
Australia0.648
Fiji0.265Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
0.201
the middle country, of 55 measured · 55 members
Mauritius0.481Eritrea0.008Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Asia
0.148
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Taiwan0.652Saudi Arabia0.026Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Northern Europe
0.608
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Denmark0.700
United Kingdom0.533Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.593
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Switzerland0.785
Netherlands0.553Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
0.459
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Spain0.572
Serbia0.217Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- South America
0.455
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Uruguay0.716
Venezuela0.148Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Caribbean
0.411
the middle country, of 6 measured · 24 members
Jamaica0.524Cuba0.054Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Europe
0.393
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia0.562Belarus0.054Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Southern Africa
0.369
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa0.470
Eswatini0.110Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Central America
0.337
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica0.606
Nicaragua0.098Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Eastern Asia
0.281
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Taiwan0.652
China0.036Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
0.271
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde0.458
Burkina Faso0.104Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.246
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Sri Lanka0.520
Iran0.042Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Eastern Africa
0.201
the middle country, of 19 measured · 19 members
Mauritius0.481Eritrea0.008Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
0.175
the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members
Timor-Leste0.462
Myanmar0.041Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
0.130
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
São Tomé and Príncipe0.391
Equatorial Guinea0.041Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Western Asia
0.120
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Cyprus0.490Saudi Arabia0.026Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Northern Africa
0.091
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Tunisia0.242
Sudan0.051Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Central Asia
0.082
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kyrgyzstan0.163
Turkmenistan0.033Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.648
New Zealand0.581Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Solomon Islands0.429Fiji0.265Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada0.589
United States0.510Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
176 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.298; a quarter are above 0.471, and a quarter below 0.130. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 176 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. The index rewards the channels through which people can take part, not how many actually vote: it is not a measure of turnout. A country with strong national elections but little direct democracy or local self-government can sit lower than a reader expects.
Showing 25 of 176 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2025 · 36 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1990, all of them re-estimated together in V-Dem's v16 release. Because national elections are built into the index it moves with the Electoral Democracy Index; a gap opening between the two reflects change in the other channels of participation.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 166 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 176 | 0.298 | 0.130 – 0.471 | 0.287 |
| 2024 | 176 | 0.306 | 0.131 – 0.477 | 0.297 |
| 2023 | 176 | 0.304 | 0.143 – 0.490 | 0.301 |
| 2022 | 176 | 0.318 | 0.143 – 0.493 | 0.308 |
| 2021 | 176 | 0.323 | 0.156 – 0.490 | 0.323 |
| 2020 | 176 | 0.328 | 0.163 – 0.482 | 0.328 |
| 2019 | 176 | 0.335 | 0.162 – 0.484 | 0.335 |
| 2018 | 176 | 0.337 | 0.164 – 0.480 | 0.337 |
| 2017 | 176 | 0.332 | 0.165 – 0.479 | 0.332 |
| 2016 | 176 | 0.339 | 0.171 – 0.493 | 0.341 |
| 2015 | 176 | 0.334 | 0.169 – 0.483 | 0.339 |
| 2014 | 176 | 0.330 | 0.166 – 0.483 | 0.335 |
| 2013 | 176 | 0.327 | 0.165 – 0.497 | 0.334 |
| 2012 | 176 | 0.335 | 0.168 – 0.512 | 0.337 |
| 2011 | 176 | 0.328 | 0.168 – 0.509 | 0.333 |
| 2010 | 175 | 0.325 | 0.160 – 0.510 | 0.320 |
| 2009 | 175 | 0.319 | 0.159 – 0.513 | 0.309 |
| 2008 | 175 | 0.318 | 0.156 – 0.510 | 0.315 |
| 2007 | 175 | 0.318 | 0.148 – 0.499 | 0.318 |
| 2006 | 175 | 0.319 | 0.150 – 0.496 | 0.320 |
| 2005 | 175 | 0.319 | 0.145 – 0.493 | 0.318 |
| 2004 | 175 | 0.316 | 0.138 – 0.497 | 0.315 |
| 2003 | 175 | 0.304 | 0.134 – 0.494 | 0.303 |
| 2002 | 175 | 0.290 | 0.132 – 0.491 | 0.291 |
| 2001 | 174 | 0.292 | 0.128 – 0.483 | 0.303 |
| 2000 | 174 | 0.280 | 0.123 – 0.497 | 0.283 |
| 1999 | 174 | 0.279 | 0.120 – 0.481 | 0.287 |
| 1998 | 173 | 0.276 | 0.118 – 0.481 | 0.282 |
| 1997 | 172 | 0.279 | 0.120 – 0.482 | 0.279 |
| 1996 | 172 | 0.274 | 0.118 – 0.481 | 0.278 |
| 1995 | 172 | 0.241 | 0.118 – 0.478 | 0.269 |
| 1994 | 172 | 0.246 | 0.105 – 0.469 | 0.260 |
| 1993 | 172 | 0.232 | 0.105 – 0.463 | 0.239 |
| 1992 | 171 | 0.215 | 0.093 – 0.444 | 0.227 |
| 1991 | 170 | 0.191 | 0.090 – 0.422 | 0.202 |
| 1990 | 166 | 0.165 | 0.075 – 0.396 | 0.165 |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Mauritius0.316 → 0.481 · 86th → 43rd+0.165
- Sri Lanka0.439 → 0.520 · 54th → 34th+0.081
South Korea0.478 → 0.551 · 43rd → 27th+0.073
Ghana0.318 → 0.361 · 85th → 69th+0.043
Afghanistan0.012 → 0.051 · 175th → 162nd+0.039
Declined most
before → after
Vanuatu0.514 → 0.323 · 36th → 80th−0.191- United States0.602 → 0.510 · 16th → 36th−0.092
Bulgaria0.453 → 0.397 · 52nd → 64th−0.056
Moldova0.442 → 0.389 · 53rd → 66th−0.053
Georgia0.282 → 0.236 · 93rd → 105th−0.046
176 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025.
07Across every edition
Participatory democracy in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
0.808
Participatory democracy index (0–1)
Lowest reading on record
0.008
Participatory democracy index (0–1)
Biggest improvement between editions
+0.273
0.357 → 0.630
Biggest decline between editions
−0.191
0.514 → 0.323
Most improved since first measured
+0.497
0.155 → 0.652
At the top most often
36 of 36
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About participatory democracy
V-Dem's Participatory Democracy Index asks how far citizens take part in politics beyond electing representatives — through civil society organisations, referendums and citizens' initiatives, and elected local and regional government — while also requiring genuine national elections. It runs from 0 to 1, and a higher figure is more democratic.
What the number is: Participatory democracy index (0–1).
What it does not measure
It is not a measure of turnout: it scores the channels open to citizens, not how many use them.
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Democracy & Civil Liberties, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where participatory democracy is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- V-Dem Electoral Democracy IndexKeyV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ 0.97
- Liberal Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ 0.96
- Deliberative Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ 0.94
Moves against
Where participatory democracy is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Neopatrimonial Rule IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ −0.88
- Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ −0.69
- Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries in commonρ −0.67
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 379 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
More from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
11Questions
Participatory democracy: questions and answers
Which country has the highest participatory democracy?
Switzerland, at 0.785, among the 176 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the lowest participatory democracy?
Eritrea, at 0.008, among the 176 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the Participatory Democracy Index cover?
176 in 2025. The number measured varies from 166 to 176 between editions.
What is the world average participatory democracy?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 176 compared in 2025, the figure was 0.298.
Is this V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own ranking?
No. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Participatory Democracy Index published?
This site holds 36 reference years, 1990–2025, all recalculated in V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s 2026 report on one method — not 36 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1789; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Participatory Democracy Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1789; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country.
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: Coppedge, M. et al. V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, University of Gothenburg.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-26.
How this page reads the numbers
- V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Switzerland — Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Uruguay — Elemaki, CC BY 3.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Participatory democracy by country: Participatory Democracy Index, data from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/participatory-democracy