South Korea vs South Africa: Democracy
Democracy over time
- South Korea
- South Africa
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 7 against 7 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 78 shared years of data; in 1948 it was South Africa ahead.
South Korea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 3 | 4 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 2.7 | 3 | 0.3 | South Africa |
| 1970s | 1.3 | 3 | 1.7 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 3.3 | 3 | 0.3 | South Korea |
| 1990s | 6.3 | 5.4 | 0.9 | South Korea |
| 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, South Korea or South Africa?
- South Korea, at 7 against 7 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between South Korea and South Africa?
- 0, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and South Africa?
- 78 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and South Africa rank globally for democracy?
- South Korea ranks 1st and South Africa 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).