2025 country profile

How democratic is
Belarus?

Belarus scores 20.1 out of 100 and ranks 163 of 179 in our independent 2025 democracy measure. Its lowest-scoring test is public reasoning. Explore the evidence and history below.

Democracys.org beta estimate, derived from V-Dem v16. A measure of political institutions and conditions—not a percentage of democracy or a judgment of people.

Printable country brief Compare this country

DEMOCRACYS SCORE

20.1out of 100Far from the standard

2025 rank163 of 179

10-year change−11.6

25-year change−11.3

Source-bound range14.8–23.8

Weakest areaReasoning

The source-bound range is an uncertainty guide, not a confidence interval for this combined score. How to read the range →

SCORE HISTORY

Belarus, 1990–2025

The shaded area is a plain-language uncertainty guide. Treat small score differences cautiously.

About uncertainty

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

What changed on the ground?

A documented development to help interpret the institutions behind the score.

2025 context · Freedom House assessment

An election occurred without meaningful political openness

The January presidential election took place amid severe repression. Freedom House also reports releases of political prisoners, alongside continued large-scale imprisonment and restrictions on organizations through anti-extremism measures. Releases and an election calendar are not, on their own, evidence that opponents can organize or challenge incumbents freely.

Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2026

AI-assisted source summary · not independently expert-reviewed

What this context does—and does not—explain

This is a selected development, not a complete political history. Its date may differ from the selected comparison period. It is not evidence that one event caused a particular number of points, and it may describe progress even when this index declines.

The scores use V-Dem. The narrative summarizes a separate assessment by Freedom House, whose definitions and coverage differ. Neither organization endorses this website. The summary is AI-assisted, source-linked, and has not received independent country-expert review. Source checked October 5, 2026.

Why democracy measures can disagree →

UNDERSTAND THE CHANGE

What drove the score?

2015–2025 · the measured story

The score for Belarus fell 11.6 points, from 31.7 to 20.1 between 2015 and 2025. All five areas declined. Public reasoning contributed the largest downward push in the score calculation. The latest year moved in the opposite direction (+0.5), so the longer trend is not the whole story.

Read the political context ↓

Largest influence on the calculation

Public reasoning

The evidence rates public justification, consultation, and engagement with opposing arguments less favorably.

Area score: 20.8 → 6.4
Approx. contribution to overall change: −4.0 points

Another important influence

Rights and checks

The evidence points toward weaker civil liberties, equality before the law, or constraints on executive power.

Area score: 23.7 → 8.6
Approx. contribution to overall change: −3.7 points

These contributions explain the calculation—not the causes. The five area scores combine several indicators; they do not identify which individual law, election, or event changed.

When did the biggest shifts appear?

The largest year-to-year movements within this period. These are changes in annual estimates, not precise dates of political events.

2015–2016+1.3 points
The overall score rose from 31.7 to 33.0. Participation supplied the largest upward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2019–2020−9.7 points
The overall score fell from 32.6 to 22.9. Rights and checks supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2020–2021−2.9 points
The overall score fell from 22.9 to 20.0. Participation supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

Highest published score in this window: 33.1 in 2017. Small differences may fall within the source’s uncertainty.

See all five areas and how contributions are calculated

Changes in inputs versus contributions to the overall score
Area	2015	2025	Input change	Approx. contribution
Public reasoning	20.8	6.4	−14.4	−4.0
Rights and checks	23.7	8.6	−15.1	−3.7
Elections	24.7	16.3	−8.4	−1.7
Participation	20.0	14.2	−5.8	−1.3
Political equality	82.9	76.6	−6.3	−0.8

We change the five inputs from their starting to ending values in every possible order, then average each area’s effect on the formula. This distributes the formula’s interactions (a Shapley allocation). It is a mathematical attribution, not a causal estimate.

Inputs and published scores are rounded, so contributions are approximate and may not add exactly to the displayed total. No significance test is implied. Read the full scoring method →

BENEATH THE SCORE

Five dimensions of democracy

The headline score cannot show where a political system is strong or constrained. These five tests can. Each has equal weight in the beta standard.

Free and fair elections

Can people choose their leaders through broad voting rights, honest elections, free political groups, and open public debate?

16.3

Rights and checks on power

Are basic freedoms protected, laws applied fairly, courts independent, and leaders prevented from abusing power?

8.6

Public participation

Can people shape public life through civic groups, direct voting, and meaningful local and regional government?

14.2

Public reasoning

Do leaders explain decisions, consult the public, answer opposing arguments, and consider the common good?

6.4

Political equality

Do different social groups have equal rights, access, resources, and a real chance to influence political power?

76.6

HOW TO READ THIS PROFILE

Two kinds of evidence.
One clearer picture.

The score breakdown identifies which parts of the measure changed most. The country report adds documented political context. Together they help explain the institutions at stake—but they do not prove that a specific event produced a specific number of points.

Why this score differs from other democracy indices →

What a declining score can—and cannot—tell us about democratic backsliding

A recent improvement can coexist with a long-term decline. Always compare the dates, check the linked source, and consider developments the selected narrative does not cover.

ANNUAL DATA

Belarus score table

Download Belarus CSV

Year	Score	Source-bound range	Elections	Rights & checks	Participation	Reasoning	Equality
2025	20.1	14.8–23.8	16.3	8.6	14.2	6.4	76.6
2024	19.6	14.7–23.6	16.0	7.8	14.6	5.6	76.8
2023	18.9	13.6–22.3	15.7	7.7	15.5	4.0	75.0
2022	20.0	14.5–23.4	17.1	7.4	16.6	5.4	76.1
2021	20.0	14.5–23.9	17.2	6.8	15.7	7.5	73.2
2020	22.9	16.9–27.1	20.8	8.0	21.8	8.3	76.5
2019	32.6	26.5–38.7	25.9	25.8	22.1	21.8	79.2
2018	32.7	26.4–38.7	25.2	26.3	22.8	21.8	79.0
2017	33.1	26.7–38.9	25.4	25.3	23.1	21.8	82.7
2016	33.0	26.3–38.3	25.6	25.2	22.2	22.5	82.2
2015	31.7	24.7–36.8	24.7	23.7	20.0	20.8	82.9
2014	31.1	24.7–36.4	24.3	23.8	18.7	20.0	82.8
2013	30.7	24.0–35.7	24.2	23.9	19.0	18.4	82.3
2012	29.5	23.3–34.2	22.1	23.8	19.4	15.4	82.4
2011	29.5	23.1–34.0	21.6	24.0	19.7	15.4	82.2
2010	29.7	23.5–34.5	22.6	23.8	20.0	15.4	82.1
2009	30.3	23.9–35.2	22.7	24.3	20.8	16.8	80.8
2008	30.3	23.9–35.2	22.4	24.3	21.1	16.8	80.8
2007	30.2	23.8–35.0	22.2	24.1	21.1	16.8	81.2
2006	29.7	23.5–34.7	22.5	23.5	21.1	15.2	81.2
2005	30.3	23.5–35.0	23.3	23.3	21.1	16.8	81.2
2004	30.5	23.6–35.2	24.0	23.4	21.1	16.8	81.2
2003	30.3	23.4–35.1	24.1	23.5	20.2	16.8	81.2
2002	30.5	23.5–35.2	24.3	23.8	20.5	16.8	81.2
2001	30.4	23.2–35.4	24.7	24.4	20.8	15.6	81.0
2000	31.4	24.5–37.0	29.6	21.6	21.1	17.5	81.0
1999	31.9	24.9–37.8	33.2	20.8	21.9	17.5	79.9
1998	34.3	27.1–40.3	34.3	24.7	27.4	17.5	79.9
1997	36.0	29.1–42.6	36.9	24.7	27.9	21.5	79.9
1996	44.6	36.5–52.9	44.3	37.0	42.0	26.9	80.5
1995	54.6	45.7–62.7	50.1	66.0	50.5	31.4	81.7
1994	58.7	50.3–67.1	54.6	70.0	47.9	42.8	82.5
1993	60.2	51.9–68.4	55.9	76.6	49.1	42.8	81.3
1992	62.7	54.8–71.1	56.5	76.0	49.1	54.6	80.5
1991	57.6	49.8–66.1	48.9	70.1	45.5	47.6	79.8
1990	55.7	47.5–64.2	45.7	68.5	41.3	47.6	79.9

CITE THIS PROFILE

Source and attribution

Democracys.org (2026), “Belarus Democracy Score, 1990–2025,” Democracys Standard v1.0 beta; derived from Coppedge et al. (2026), V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16.

Open source DOI

NEARBY IN THE 2025 RANKING

#161Bahrain21.0 #162Palestine/Gaza20.3 #164Cambodia17.9 #165Saudi Arabia16.9

All rankings

How democratic isBelarus?

Belarus, 1990–2025

An election occurred without meaningful political openness

Public reasoning

Rights and checks

When did the biggest shifts appear?

Five dimensions of democracy

Free and fair elections

Rights and checks on power

Public participation

Public reasoning

Political equality

Two kinds of evidence.One clearer picture.

Belarus score table

Source and attribution

How democratic is
Belarus?

Two kinds of evidence.
One clearer picture.