Latvia vs South Africa: Democracy
Latvia
7
in 2025
South Africa
7
in 2025
Latvia rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Latvia
- South Africa
How they compare
Latvia currently reports 7 against 7 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1918 it was South Africa ahead.
Latvia ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, Latvia averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Latvia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0 | 4 | 4 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 6 | 4 | 2 | Latvia |
| 1930s | 2.4 | 4 | 1.6 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 1 | 4 | 3 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 1 | 3 | 2 | South Africa |
| 1960s | 1 | 3 | 2 | South Africa |
| 1970s | 1 | 3 | 2 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 1 | 3 | 2 | South Africa |
| 1990s | 6.4 | 5.4 | 1 | Latvia |
| 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, Latvia or South Africa?
- Latvia, at 7 against 7 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Latvia and South Africa?
- 0, with Latvia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Latvia and South Africa?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1918 to 2025.
- How do Latvia and South Africa rank globally for democracy?
- Latvia 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).