France vs Spain: Democracy
France
7
in 2025
Spain
7
in 2025
France rank
1st
Spain rank
1st
Democracy over time
- France
- Spain
How they compare
France currently reports 7 against 7 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 16 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Spain ahead.
France ranks 1st and Spain ranks 1st of 198 countries.
France has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 2.1 | 0 | 2.1 | France |
| 1800s | 2 | 0 | 2 | France |
| 1810s | 2 | 0.6 | 1.4 | France |
| 1820s | 2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | France |
| 1830s | 2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | France |
| 1840s | 2.6 | 2 | 0.6 | France |
| 1850s | 2.5 | 2 | 0.5 | France |
| 1860s | 2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | France |
| 1870s | 5 | 1.4 | 3.6 | France |
| 1880s | 5 | 2 | 3 | France |
| 1890s | 5 | 2 | 3 | France |
| 1900s | 5 | 2 | 3 | France |
| 1910s | 5 | 2 | 3 | France |
| 1920s | 5 | 0.6 | 4.4 | France |
| 1930s | 5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | France |
| 1940s | 2.8 | 0 | 2.8 | France |
| 1950s | 7 | 0 | 7 | France |
| 1960s | 7 | 0 | 7 | France |
| 1970s | 7 | 1.9 | 5.1 | France |
| 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, France or Spain?
- France, at 7 against 7 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between France and Spain?
- 0, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Spain?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do France and Spain rank globally for democracy?
- France ranks 1st and Spain 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).