The change explorer
Where is democracy
heading?
A high score and an improving score are different things. Explore what moved between two years, then open a profile to look beneath the change.
Overall democracy score · 2015–2025
179 places. Two snapshots.
0 excluded because an endpoint has no observation. Reversed years are put in chronological order.
- Higher
- 56
- Lower
- 122
- Unchanged*
- 1
Largest increases
Change in points · 2015 → 2025
Largest decreases
Change in points · 2015 → 2025
THE COMPLETE VIEW
Every comparable place
Sorted from greatest increase to greatest decrease. All values use a 0–100 scale.
| Country or territory | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Gambia | 30.3 | 68.4 | +38.1 |
| Thailand | 21.1 | 44.3 | +23.2 |
| Syria | 9.6 | 27.4 | +17.8 |
| Maldives | 44.7 | 61.4 | +16.7 |
| Uzbekistan | 14.8 | 28.8 | +14.0 |
| Seychelles | 59.8 | 73.1 | +13.3 |
| Guatemala | 52.6 | 63.5 | +10.9 |
| Malaysia | 50.0 | 60.6 | +10.6 |
| Fiji | 51.6 | 62.0 | +10.4 |
| Honduras | 45.3 | 55.6 | +10.3 |
| Sri Lanka | 62.7 | 72.7 | +10.0 |
| Armenia | 47.6 | 57.3 | +9.7 |
| Dominican Republic | 56.4 | 65.3 | +8.9 |
| Kazakhstan | 28.2 | 36.9 | +8.7 |
| Sierra Leone | 56.9 | 64.7 | +7.8 |
| South Korea | 75.0 | 82.5 | +7.5 |
| Angola | 21.2 | 28.4 | +7.2 |
| Somalia | 28.2 | 34.4 | +6.2 |
| North Macedonia | 53.0 | 59.0 | +6.0 |
| Jordan | 45.0 | 50.8 | +5.8 |
| Timor-Leste | 60.3 | 65.6 | +5.3 |
| Egypt | 22.5 | 27.5 | +5.0 |
| Republic of the Congo | 29.8 | 34.6 | +4.8 |
| Zambia | 56.7 | 61.2 | +4.5 |
| Bangladesh | 27.7 | 32.0 | +4.3 |
| Laos | 23.8 | 27.9 | +4.1 |
| Montenegro | 67.1 | 71.1 | +4.0 |
| Somaliland | 44.5 | 48.5 | +4.0 |
| Ethiopia | 30.4 | 34.2 | +3.8 |
| Moldova | 67.2 | 70.8 | +3.6 |
| Taiwan | 81.3 | 84.5 | +3.2 |
| Bahrain | 17.9 | 21.0 | +3.1 |
| Djibouti | 33.0 | 36.0 | +3.0 |
| Solomon Islands | 58.2 | 60.7 | +2.5 |
| Mauritania | 35.7 | 38.1 | +2.4 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 35.4 | 37.6 | +2.2 |
| Mauritius | 75.3 | 77.4 | +2.1 |
| Morocco | 50.7 | 52.7 | +2.0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 15.0 | 16.9 | +1.9 |
| Qatar | 21.8 | 23.6 | +1.8 |
| Barbados | 69.9 | 71.5 | +1.6 |
| Malawi | 64.0 | 65.4 | +1.4 |
| Australia | 84.7 | 86.0 | +1.3 |
| Kosovo | 59.2 | 60.1 | +0.9 |
| North Korea | 9.4 | 10.3 | +0.9 |
| Singapore | 52.3 | 53.2 | +0.9 |
| Jamaica | 76.9 | 77.7 | +0.8 |
| Turkmenistan | 10.9 | 11.7 | +0.8 |
| Cuba | 25.9 | 26.6 | +0.7 |
| Lesotho | 67.0 | 67.6 | +0.6 |
| Suriname | 72.6 | 73.1 | +0.5 |
| Chile | 80.5 | 80.8 | +0.3 |
| Japan | 81.7 | 82.0 | +0.3 |
| South Africa | 73.5 | 73.8 | +0.3 |
| Bhutan | 71.5 | 71.6 | +0.1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 57.6 | 57.7 | +0.1 |
| Ireland | 84.1 | 84.1 | 0.0 |
| Czechia | 81.8 | 81.7 | −0.1 |
| Malta | 77.4 | 77.3 | −0.1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 51.6 | 51.5 | −0.1 |
| Switzerland | 93.2 | 93.1 | −0.1 |
| Tajikistan | 14.4 | 14.3 | −0.1 |
| Ecuador | 54.9 | 54.6 | −0.3 |
| Oman | 33.9 | 33.6 | −0.3 |
| Ukraine | 57.1 | 56.8 | −0.3 |
| Denmark | 90.9 | 90.4 | −0.5 |
| Iceland | 83.1 | 82.6 | −0.5 |
| Norway | 89.3 | 88.6 | −0.7 |
| Ghana | 68.4 | 67.4 | −1.0 |
| Chad | 24.3 | 23.2 | −1.1 |
| Iraq | 47.9 | 46.8 | −1.1 |
| Estonia | 85.3 | 84.1 | −1.2 |
| Nepal | 63.8 | 62.6 | −1.2 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 76.5 | 75.2 | −1.3 |
| Germany | 88.5 | 87.1 | −1.4 |
| Eritrea | 10.3 | 8.8 | −1.5 |
| United Arab Emirates | 23.4 | 21.9 | −1.5 |
| Poland | 80.6 | 78.9 | −1.7 |
| Senegal | 72.1 | 70.4 | −1.7 |
| Sweden | 88.4 | 86.5 | −1.9 |
| Belgium | 86.0 | 84.0 | −2.0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 17.5 | 15.4 | −2.1 |
| Kenya | 65.6 | 63.5 | −2.1 |
| Panama | 68.5 | 66.4 | −2.1 |
| Spain | 82.5 | 80.4 | −2.1 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 67.5 | 65.2 | −2.3 |
| Paraguay | 50.3 | 47.9 | −2.4 |
| Brazil | 79.3 | 76.8 | −2.5 |
| Lebanon | 54.9 | 52.3 | −2.6 |
| Togo | 50.9 | 48.3 | −2.6 |
| South Sudan | 15.4 | 12.7 | −2.7 |
| Costa Rica | 87.6 | 84.8 | −2.8 |
| France | 85.8 | 83.0 | −2.8 |
| Liberia | 64.3 | 61.5 | −2.8 |
| Latvia | 84.4 | 81.4 | −3.0 |
| Netherlands | 85.8 | 82.8 | −3.0 |
| Luxembourg | 87.0 | 83.9 | −3.1 |
| Uruguay | 89.0 | 85.9 | −3.1 |
| Vietnam | 44.8 | 41.7 | −3.1 |
| Canada | 80.0 | 76.5 | −3.5 |
| Yemen | 16.7 | 13.2 | −3.5 |
| Eswatini | 28.3 | 24.7 | −3.6 |
| Cyprus | 80.6 | 76.9 | −3.7 |
| Finland | 86.6 | 82.9 | −3.7 |
| Israel | 76.0 | 72.3 | −3.7 |
| Sudan | 16.2 | 12.4 | −3.8 |
| Colombia | 69.2 | 65.3 | −3.9 |
| United Kingdom | 82.8 | 78.9 | −3.9 |
| Austria | 86.0 | 81.9 | −4.1 |
| Bulgaria | 74.5 | 70.4 | −4.1 |
| Lithuania | 85.8 | 81.7 | −4.1 |
| Zanzibar | 54.3 | 49.9 | −4.4 |
| Azerbaijan | 20.1 | 15.6 | −4.5 |
| Nigeria | 60.7 | 56.1 | −4.6 |
| Albania | 59.7 | 55.0 | −4.7 |
| Cape Verde | 75.2 | 70.4 | −4.8 |
| Burundi | 28.3 | 23.4 | −4.9 |
| Tanzania | 65.6 | 60.3 | −5.3 |
| Croatia | 78.0 | 72.6 | −5.4 |
| Pakistan | 43.4 | 37.4 | −6.0 |
| Palestine/Gaza | 26.4 | 20.3 | −6.1 |
| Gabon | 56.7 | 50.4 | −6.3 |
| Mongolia | 70.0 | 63.6 | −6.4 |
| Italy | 87.6 | 81.0 | −6.6 |
| New Zealand | 85.8 | 79.1 | −6.7 |
| Slovenia | 87.1 | 80.2 | −6.9 |
| Algeria | 42.1 | 35.1 | −7.0 |
| China | 23.3 | 16.1 | −7.2 |
| Zimbabwe | 49.2 | 41.5 | −7.7 |
| Argentina | 71.5 | 63.6 | −7.9 |
| Iran | 33.4 | 25.4 | −8.0 |
| Cameroon | 36.1 | 27.8 | −8.3 |
| Greece | 83.8 | 75.4 | −8.4 |
| Madagascar | 46.7 | 38.3 | −8.4 |
| Guyana | 60.3 | 51.7 | −8.6 |
| Namibia | 69.4 | 60.7 | −8.7 |
| Guinea | 39.1 | 30.3 | −8.8 |
| Cambodia | 27.1 | 17.9 | −9.2 |
| Serbia | 60.9 | 51.6 | −9.3 |
| Uganda | 51.1 | 41.3 | −9.8 |
| Libya | 45.6 | 35.7 | −9.9 |
| Portugal | 85.8 | 75.6 | −10.2 |
| Vanuatu | 73.5 | 62.9 | −10.6 |
| Botswana | 70.4 | 59.6 | −10.8 |
| Ivory Coast | 59.0 | 48.2 | −10.8 |
| Rwanda | 47.6 | 36.8 | −10.8 |
| Mozambique | 54.1 | 43.2 | −10.9 |
| India | 60.6 | 49.1 | −11.5 |
| Palestine/West Bank | 44.0 | 32.5 | −11.5 |
| Belarus | 31.7 | 20.1 | −11.6 |
| Haiti | 40.8 | 29.1 | −11.7 |
| Peru | 71.5 | 59.7 | −11.8 |
| Russia | 36.2 | 24.1 | −12.1 |
| Central African Republic | 38.6 | 26.2 | −12.4 |
| Mexico | 59.5 | 47.1 | −12.4 |
| Bolivia | 64.1 | 51.4 | −12.7 |
| Romania | 73.2 | 60.2 | −13.0 |
| Georgia | 70.6 | 57.0 | −13.6 |
| Mali | 60.3 | 46.6 | −13.7 |
| Hungary | 64.1 | 49.9 | −14.2 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 45.5 | 31.2 | −14.3 |
| Slovakia | 78.4 | 64.1 | −14.3 |
| Venezuela | 30.7 | 16.2 | −14.5 |
| Comoros | 53.3 | 38.1 | −15.2 |
| Indonesia | 70.5 | 55.2 | −15.3 |
| Kuwait | 50.4 | 35.0 | −15.4 |
| Philippines | 63.5 | 48.0 | −15.5 |
| Türkiye | 46.4 | 30.2 | −16.2 |
| Benin | 73.0 | 56.5 | −16.5 |
| Tunisia | 74.8 | 58.3 | −16.5 |
| United States | 84.5 | 66.1 | −18.4 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 59.6 | 39.9 | −19.7 |
| Niger | 71.8 | 52.1 | −19.7 |
| Nicaragua | 33.0 | 11.9 | −21.1 |
| Hong Kong | 52.7 | 29.6 | −23.1 |
| Burkina Faso | 59.1 | 28.1 | −31.0 |
| El Salvador | 57.4 | 25.7 | −31.7 |
| Burma/Myanmar | 44.8 | 10.8 | −34.0 |
| Afghanistan | 42.9 | 7.1 | −35.8 |
Democracys Standard v1.0 beta · Derived from V-Dem v16 · Annual data through 2025. This is not a live news feed or a V-Dem endorsement.