North Korea vs Russia: Democracy
North Korea
1
in 2025
Russia
1
in 2025
North Korea rank
160th
Russia rank
160th
Democracy over time
- North Korea
- Russia
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 1 against 1 in Russia, a difference of 0.
Across all 78 years both countries report, Russia has been ahead every year.
North Korea ranks 160th and Russia ranks 160th of 198 countries.
Russia has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North Korea | Russia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 5.1 | 4.1 | Russia |
| 2000s | 1 | 4.2 | 3.2 | Russia |
| 2010s | 1 | 3 | 2 | Russia |
| 2020s | 1 | 1.67 | 0.6667 | Russia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, North Korea or Russia?
- North Korea, at 1 against 1 in Russia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between North Korea and Russia?
- 0, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and Russia?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do North Korea and Russia rank globally for democracy?
- North Korea ranks 160th and Russia ranks 160th 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).