2025 country profile

How democratic is
Moldova?

Moldova scores 70.8 out of 100 and ranks 49 of 179 in our independent 2025 democracy measure. Its lowest-scoring test is free and fair elections. 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.

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DEMOCRACYS SCORE

70.8out of 100Substantial but incomplete

2025 rank49 of 179

10-year change+3.6

25-year change+8.5

Source-bound range64.4–78.4

Weakest areaElections

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

SCORE HISTORY

Moldova, 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.

2024 context · Freedom House assessment

A competitive election faced interference and unequal conditions

Freedom House describes the presidential contest as broadly competitive but affected by misuse of administrative resources, weak transparency, and foreign interference involving vote buying and disinformation. These problems operate differently: some distort the campaign environment, while others attempt to manipulate voters’ information or choices.

Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2025

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 Moldova rose 3.6 points, from 67.2 to 70.8 between 2015 and 2025. 3 of the five areas improved while 2 worsened, so the headline combines competing movements. Public reasoning contributed the largest upward push in the score calculation. The latest year moved in the opposite direction (−2.6), 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 more favorably.

Area score: 66.6 → 78.2
Approx. contribution to overall change: +2.3 points

Moving in the other direction

Rights and checks

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

Area score: 82.5 → 79.3
Approx. contribution to overall change: −0.6 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.

2019–2020+4.5 points
The overall score rose from 64.9 to 69.4. Elections supplied the largest upward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2020–2021+7.6 points
The overall score rose from 69.4 to 77.0. Public reasoning supplied the largest upward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2023–2024−5.1 points
The overall score fell from 78.5 to 73.4. Elections supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

Highest published score in this window: 79.2 in 2022. 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	66.6	78.2	+11.6	+2.3
Participation	59.3	65.8	+6.5	+1.4
Political equality	72.3	77.0	+4.7	+0.9
Rights and checks	82.5	79.3	−3.2	−0.6
Elections	57.0	55.3	−1.7	−0.4

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?

55.3

Rights and checks on power

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

79.3

Public participation

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

65.8

Public reasoning

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

78.2

Political equality

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

77.0

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

Moldova score table

Download Moldova CSV

Year	Score	Source-bound range	Elections	Rights & checks	Participation	Reasoning	Equality
2025	70.8	64.4–78.4	55.3	79.3	65.8	78.2	77.0
2024	73.4	67.5–80.6	62.2	79.4	67.1	81.7	77.8
2023	78.5	74.0–84.4	71.2	85.2	67.1	91.9	78.5
2022	79.2	74.7–85.0	76.0	84.7	65.9	92.8	77.9
2021	77.0	71.9–83.6	75.2	81.5	65.9	85.7	77.4
2020	69.4	63.3–77.6	65.1	78.0	64.3	66.5	73.6
2019	64.9	57.7–72.8	58.8	72.5	60.7	63.6	69.4
2018	61.2	54.1–69.5	50.6	72.8	58.3	57.1	68.7
2017	61.3	54.1–69.3	50.3	74.3	58.0	58.0	67.5
2016	64.9	58.1–72.4	52.9	79.1	59.7	62.4	71.9
2015	67.2	60.9–74.8	57.0	82.5	59.3	66.6	72.3
2014	71.0	65.2–78.0	62.3	82.3	61.2	77.8	72.7
2013	71.1	64.7–77.7	63.8	82.9	61.2	76.5	72.4
2012	72.8	67.1–79.6	66.5	84.1	60.6	81.1	73.1
2011	73.0	67.6–80.0	67.2	83.8	60.4	81.5	73.4
2010	71.6	66.0–78.3	60.3	83.9	60.8	81.8	73.2
2009	59.6	52.4–67.2	45.7	72.8	50.1	61.6	70.0
2008	55.8	48.1–63.3	43.5	72.0	48.4	48.9	69.3
2007	56.1	48.8–64.0	43.8	72.3	48.7	49.9	68.8
2006	55.5	47.9–63.3	43.5	72.0	47.9	48.8	68.4
2005	55.4	48.0–63.2	44.6	71.0	48.2	47.9	67.9
2004	54.9	46.7–62.7	50.6	70.8	48.5	40.1	67.8
2003	54.2	46.2–62.1	50.6	70.8	48.9	38.2	66.0
2002	55.1	46.7–62.8	50.6	70.8	48.9	40.3	67.8
2001	53.8	45.6–61.8	51.2	62.7	49.5	40.3	67.8
2000	62.3	54.0–70.4	57.9	72.4	54.5	59.8	67.9
1999	66.0	59.1–74.1	58.7	74.7	54.5	76.5	66.9
1998	58.3	50.1–67.0	58.2	69.9	47.1	51.4	66.4
1997	55.2	46.8–64.1	59.2	65.0	47.9	39.8	66.8
1996	54.7	47.0–64.1	59.1	65.0	46.0	39.8	66.5
1995	54.8	47.0–63.9	59.1	65.0	45.7	39.8	67.0
1994	55.1	46.7–63.9	57.5	67.0	46.1	42.6	64.7
1993	56.9	48.6–65.6	49.8	68.4	41.4	61.8	65.6
1992	57.9	49.8–66.1	50.1	68.3	41.4	64.7	67.9
1991	55.3	47.8–64.3	46.2	64.9	37.1	63.6	68.3
1990	52.3	44.3–60.7	42.1	63.0	33.7	58.4	68.5

CITE THIS PROFILE

Source and attribution

Democracys.org (2026), “Moldova 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

#47Barbados71.5 #48Montenegro71.1 #50Bulgaria70.4 #51Cape Verde70.4

All rankings

How democratic isMoldova?

Moldova, 1990–2025

A competitive election faced interference and unequal conditions

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.

Moldova score table

Source and attribution

How democratic is
Moldova?

Two kinds of evidence.
One clearer picture.