Finland vs United States: Democracy
Finland
7
in 2025
United States
7
in 2025
Finland rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Finland
- United States
How they compare
Finland currently reports 7 against 7 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 217 shared years of data; in 1809 it was United States ahead.
Finland ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 23 decades both report, Finland averaged higher in 5 and United States in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Finland | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1850s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1860s | 1.4 | 4 | 2.6 | United States |
| 1870s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1880s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1890s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1900s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1910s | 2.4 | 4 | 1.6 | United States |
| 1920s | 6 | 4 | 2 | Finland |
| 1930s | 6 | 4 | 2 | Finland |
| 1940s | 6 | 4 | 2 | Finland |
| 1950s | 7 | 4 | 3 | Finland |
| 1960s | 7 | 5.5 | 1.5 | Finland |
| 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, Finland or United States?
- Finland, at 7 against 7 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Finland and United States?
- 0, with Finland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and United States?
- 217 years are reported by both, from 1809 to 2025.
- How do Finland and United States rank globally for democracy?
- Finland 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).