Australia vs United States: Democracy
Democracy over time
- Australia
- United States
How they compare
Australia currently reports 7 against 7 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United States ahead.
Australia ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 25 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 8 and United States in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1790s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1800s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1810s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1820s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1830s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1840s | 1.4 | 4 | 2.6 | United States |
| 1850s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1860s | 3 | 4 | 1 | United States |
| 1870s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 4 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 4.4 | 4 | 0.4 | Australia |
| 1900s | 6.8 | 4 | 2.8 | Australia |
| 1910s | 6.5 | 4 | 2.5 | Australia |
| 1920s | 7 | 4 | 3 | Australia |
| 1930s | 6.9 | 4 | 2.9 | Australia |
| 1940s | 6.4 | 4 | 2.4 | Australia |
| 1950s | 7 | 4 | 3 | Australia |
| 1960s | 7 | 5.5 | 1.5 | Australia |
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Australia or United States?
- Australia, at 7 against 7 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Australia and United States?
- 0, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Australia and United States rank globally for democracy?
- Australia ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).